@Mike1034 A host's acceptance rate doesn't directly impact his eligibility for Superhost. You can fall well below 88% in the "Basics" target and still get your badge. Here's the perverse thing about this system: hosts who care about their orange badge often find themselves screening out guests who they suspect might give them a rating less than 5 stars. Guests who are also experienced hosts, and guests who seem a litlte pushy in their initial correspondence, are right at the top of that list.
I don't know whether this host was genuinely holding out for a Friday check-in or chose to decline you for undisclosed reasons. If his explanation was honest, I don't think it was unreasonable; rather, it was just gauche for him to admit it. There are a few ways he could've adjusted his calendar settings (custom minimum stay for specified date range; check-in only on x date, etc) but I doubt the majority of hosts know about all these options.
Maybe he wanted more money for that weekend. Greedy? Well, we don't know what his financial situation is - maybe he can't afford to lose that day of occupancy, so it feels rather callous to judge. And at any rate, he took a gamble since there's no guarantee the dates will be booked at all. You found another property that suited your needs, and the host didn't get stuck with a booking he didn't want, so it sounds to me like the situation is resolved well for everyone.