Yesterday as I was about to send check-in instruction to a guest I saw that the reservation had been cancelled with a full-refund, even though the event had happened within the 5-day window before checking in (I have a moderate cancellation policy).
What is unbelievable is that there is no email, no notification, nothing anywhere from AirBnb to warn me about this. What happened? I asked for help and was told that the guest had cancelled because of "extenuating circumstances". What are those extenuating circumstances? I don't know.
Can't possibly be related to my cabin since we have guests there now and will have more next week. Could it be related to a wildfire 50 miles away that is now 80% contained and is not responsible for any road closure in the area anymore? Maybe, but how come I don't have a say in this?
Be aware that AirBnb can dictate cancellations as they please and give full refunds without any notification nor explanation. I just got superhost status and that's a very nice way to reward my hard work. I'm extremely disappointed to say the least.
At least now I know that policies do not matter, and neither do superhosts.