Exactly. I didn't really want open that can of worms about them preferring larger, whole unit management companies, but that's basically what this seems like. I am aware that the best option, financially, for airbnb would be to have large, whole unit listings managed by companies on a large scale, which are instant-booked and basically run as close to a traditional hotel as possible. It's more profitable, per unit, and there's less liability and complaints, since those companies rarely complain about small issues such as noise or smaller missing items.
They should absolutely notify us at least if they're making a big change such as removing a popular feature. Even if it is temporary, like the rep suggested. My bank warns me of outages to online banking, and road construction always puts up detour signs weeks in advance. It's just the right thing to do, IF you care about your 'employees' that is. That we are not the former, and thus all of this happening, is yet another can of worms I will not open here.
I'm not 100% sure that there is this more in-depth conspiracy going on, but it certainly seems that way especially with them pushing instant-book so much -- it makes things 'easier' for the guests, who are after all what makes the bulk of airbnb's profits. So anything to do with less hassle for the guest results in a hit against the hosts, if the issue conflicts, and the guests' side always win for the reasons mentioned above. Instant book also easily deals with their racism issue, which I'm all for dealing with that 100% but this is not the way to do it. This is simply the just the easy way that limits liability for them but inconveniences hosts who screen their guests on featuers which actually matter.
Way off topic, but it seems like this multicalendar thing is just another small way in which they want to tailor their site and traffic to be towards the big, non host-occupied, instant-booked, large-volume, whole-multi-unit properties. Another contributing factor is probably that there's a worldwide crackdown on Airbnb's, and in some locales (such as mine) they are making it either outright illegal to host even your own private home on airbnb, or so difficult that essentially only large companies who are set up as hotel chains and have the resources to be able to deal with it, get licensed and pass all of the hotel level requirements and inspections. So airbnb is not doing anything that surprising, per se, they're just catering to the majority demand and what would make them the most money with the least hassle. I don't really blame them though, that's capitalism for you.
I know this is only a vaguely-related rant, but a good start would be for them to bring back the multicalendar functionality the way they describe it in their documentation. *multiple* properties, as in, more than 1. We can deal with splitting the atom later, when I have more time...