Actually, it seems that the hosts have become the worlds insurance underwriter.
Guests who fail to take any reasonable precaution against unforseen circumstances by insuring themselves are refunded in direct contradiction of the host cancellation policy using money that contractually at least partly belongs to the host.
Airbnb sets itself up as a meeting place and is at pains to set out that it is not party to any contract between the host and the guest yet rides roughshod over the contract that exists between the host and the guest at will.
Even more insulting and offensive to hosts is the other part of this special policy whereby, if the guests flight is cancelled, a full refund is available also.
Seems that hosts are expected to accept responsibility for the failures of both airlines and guests in this situation too. In fact, even if a guest has travel insurance, I would venture to suggest it's easier to call Airbnb and get a refund than it is to make the legitimate claim against the travel insurance policy.
We're even responsible, apparently for road closures that might prevent a guest from travelling to the listing.
Clearly the current situation is ununsual, however, guests enter into a contract with the host and expect the host to abide by the terms thereof. It doesn't seem to work the other way around though once Airbnb decides that is is a higher authority than the contract between guest and host.
It certainly doesn't promote confidence on the part of the host and is starting to raise questions about just how reliable Airbnb is and actually is there any guarantee that Airbnb won't step in and void the reservation.
This also happens when a guest fails to pay at the point of booking, Airbnb doesn't void the reservation request, it simply makes the host wait for the payment to come through, like we run a charity allowing people to sort out their finances whilst blocking our calendar. I'd like to see how many poeple walk out of the supermarket with a full trolley if their card is declined at the checkout.