I've slowly come round to expecting guests to honor their reservation commitment (and related responsibilities on their part to execute it) same as I honor my side of the reservation commitment. If I have to pay double for an emergency repair, I have to do it, the guest is coming... While Airbnb holds hosts to 100% commitment, they are soft on guest commitments, unfortunately. To respect your own commitment, you simply have to realize that you do not offer travel insurance--that is where someone goes for compensation for their unexpected change in plans, not to you--the "small business"--who has relied upon their commitment and made commitments of your own. It's hard to find non-preachy words to express this in response to a plea for money back, but I now do it routinely. A reservation is a commitment. Change thy plans, pay 50%. And how many people have husbands getting cancer treatments and other surgeries, sheesh! At first, I believed them, but it's outside the standard deviation of reason.