I miss the keyword search and REALLY think AirBNB needs to put this feature back !! So as for the king bed, you're out of luck because it seems your only option is to read through all the ads closely to see if they mention a king-sized bed. You can use CTRL+F and type in "king" to make your search easier when you're in a listing. CTRL+F will find ANY mentions of king so that you don't have to read through potentially 100s of listings.
As for cancellations--- Airbnb actually does NOT recommend you stay at a place where the host has been non-responsive, even if the reviews are good. I'll copy/paste what I said to another traveler recently:
I am not sure if you've hosted or if you just travel, so as a host, let me tell you something! Airbnb actually rates us by our response time. (Sadly, "accepting" a request, even if you never message back, counts as responding.) Airbnb also rates us by if we CANCEL an already-existing reservation. We will potentially lose SUPERHOST status and also possibly get bumped further down the listings, so most hosts will rarely cancel on you. It reflects badly on us. Most hosts would rather decline if there's a potential clash with you staying, than EVER cancel, because canceling is bad for everyone- airbnb, the guest, and the host.
If you are VERY concerned, I suggest:
a) ONLY picking Superhosts, which are people who have completed more than 10 guest stays, have a 80% or better response time, and do NOT cancel on their guests. It'll say on people's listings if they are superhosts and superhosts generally show up first on the listings. I know that narrows your choices even more because of the king-sized bed, but this would be a good guarantee you're getting a superb host.
b) Getting in touch with the host and having them respond to you, BEFORE your stay. That's a good sign they won't cancel. Again, I know you've said people don't respond so this isn't helpful. I'm actually surprised people aren't responding as I respond to 100% of my inquiries and try my hardest to answer all questions. I'm sorry you've had this experience 😞 You can actually "report" people who don't respond within a timely manner (more than 2 days is TOO long) to airbnb for conflict resolution and AirBNB will look into it.
c) If all else fails and the host does cancel, you will NOT lose any money. You'll be refunded ALL of it.
The king-sized bed may be something you have to compromise on, as I think this may not be very common. Would a Queen be enough?
I also suggest you contact AirBNB through their Contact Us page to tell them you miss the keyword feature and that you think they should add Twin, XL Twin, Queen, Full, and Other to their filters... I'm sure you're not the only one with this problem! I hope some of this helped!
