1) As Coronavirus exemptions phase out, most of the major midrange hotel chains appear to be reverting to the standard of 24 or 48 hours notice for free cancellations. Luxury and resort properties sometimes have a longer notice period (the Ritz-Carlton used to be 7 days, for example). Airbnb's practice of charging a cancellation penalty based on a percentage of the total booking is pretty different from most chain hotels, which either charge a flat fee to cancel/change, or withhold the value of the first night's stay.
With most hotels it's also possible to change the dates on your booking without charge, whereas with an Airbnb the guest is limited to the availability of a single unit. I don't think most hosts could offer as much flexibility as hotels without sustaining some brutal losses.
2) Yes. Trip Cancellation would be within the normal scope of travel insurance, but the flexibility to voluntarily cancel for any reason is one of the more expensive add-on benefits (or a perk of having a Platinum AmEx). The cost of the benefit and the excess fee for placing a claim would have to be weighed against the potential losses.
The Extenuating Circumstances cancellation policy is also a sort of de facto insurance for guests, provided unwilfully by the host. Many kinds of "emergency" still fall under that umbrella, although personal circumstances such as sickness no longer apply.
To sum it up: travelers who want the freedom to cancel have a lot of options and alternatives to a moderate/strict Airbnb listing. Flexible might be the way to go if hotels are your main competition, but plenty of guests are happy to accept inflexibility as the trade-off for getting more bang for their buck.
