IN looking for my listing, the airbnb rep could not find it at all....we finally realized it is because the listings that get preference in the search engines, are those that opted for "Free Cancellation"
Although i am a superhost and have opted into Instant Book, when i realized that was the default setting on the computers of most perspective guests, i certainly have never had any problems getting bookings over 290 a year with my strict policy….but now, i and many other hosts that don’t have a free, or flexible cancellation policy, seem to be not even showing up in a search.
what made airbnb special in the first place, was the unique quality of the listings, and the personalities of the hosts. We are losing this to the big corporate standards and the algorhythms that set us last.