@Jeanie12
Well for me...... it's not just about the refund. I am an onsite host with a single occupancy private room listing so......my message is very clear - I won't put up with tresspassers in my home. I do not think a pre-approval is a mixed message. It's a very clear message that I pre-approve under the assumption ALL house rules will be strictly enforced by me, and fully respected by the guest. And I clearly spell it out..... if you have any intention of breaking ANY of my rules, don't book 🙂 and especially, don't expect a refund after booking and NOT getting away with breaking my rules. I clearly state I don't allow a second guest regardless of age - only one adult guest.
I agree that there are A LOT of issues Airbnb needs to address but as long as we are on this platform, we need to find a way to "play the game" to our advantage since it's pretty clear Airbnb isn't listening to us. Airbnb is simply just a booking platform. They never have and never will "care" about hosts and our homes.