@Vicki0 Well, if you are trying to give the local feel, then AirBnb encourages you, the Host, to work with the customer directly in any circumstances. I think this policy is in the Community Guidelines. You as the host set your cancellation policy before the host is booked and are like the local franchise owner. You get to do what you feel is best for your customer and your property. I had one customer who had to leave the country during his stay, and we had to negotiate some things with his original contract. We worked it all out as a team and he was satisfied with the result. He wrote a great review and is probably still an AirBnb advocate. The local state laws could come into effect as well depending on jurisdiction. In my area, I had another instance where we had a personal issue with the hosting team that minimally affected the customer. The customer did not work with the host as listed in the guidelines and that burned a bridge with the hosting couple. The local law came into effect for a short-term rental which requires the customer to give thirty days notice for refunds. Since our team had super-host status, we had the right to decide what to do in this instance since it was, in essence, our private property in which we were sharing with a student.
