@Sarah977
Yes, that's certainly very possible. It wouldn't surprise me if they have changed something, whether deliberately or not because it does seem to be happening often.
However, there have always been system glitches with payouts. Perhaps some of these used to get fixed more quickly, maybe not. I have always had a nightmare getting any missing payouts sorted.
What I have noticed more recently though is that the people dealing with these concerns seem less well trained. They complain a lot about being understaffed and that it will take longer than usual to sort it.
In the most recent case, they just did not seem to understand the problem at all. First rep I spoke to told me that the guest had not paid in full the amount due (for a non-COVID cancellation). I explained that she actually had, because that was confirmed to be by the rep I spoke to at the time of cancellation (I had to wait a couple of months because they only pay you after the check in date). She insisted the guest hadn't. The guest insisted she had, and had proof.
It then transpires that Airbnb was trying to charge some erroneous extra amount to the guest (50% of all the nights that were fully refundable, in addition to the nights that she should have paid for). I explained this clearly to TWO reps who both agreed. What happens next? They charge the guest the extra money anyway. I then have to spend even more time on this to get that money back to the guest. This is really clueless behaviour which is potentially the result of people being too overworked to read the bleeping message thread before they act!