Our cancellation by a host in Portland, Oregon was issued about a week before the arrival date. The excuse given was pipe repair and the apartment was to be closed from August 18th. This booking was made well ahead of August 21st so that we could see the full solar eclipse. At the time of the cancellation all reasonable Airbnb accommodation was gone; most hotels were fully booked and those that were not were asking astronomical rates. We could not find anything and have changed our itinerary and have to forgo seeing the full eclipse (a once in a lifetime experience). When asked for proof of the pipe issue, none was offered by the host or Airbnb. Did the host cancel on us for a much better offer? We will never know. Did Airbnb offer appropriate remorse and compensation? That we do know; they did not. They offered a full refund or if we booked another Airbnb property we could use the refund plus 10%. What a joke when demand for that night was through the roof and at a massively increased cost. So… highlight of vacation ruined, extra cost incurred, and the host and Airbnb carry on regardless. Preplanning a stay is fraught with risk under these circumstances. We will never use Airbnb again and will revert to less expensive hotels of good quality where a bed for the night is guaranteed. Airbnb should be held liable.
Well, apartment rentals are largely illegal in Portland, and while I am sorry for your experience I would caution anyone reading this post to remember that the jerks who break our short term rental laws are jerks to guests, too.
It could have been worse- if the apartment rental was illegal you could have been treated as a trespasser by building management and even locked out.
Its a shame about your experience. Most hosts are not like that. One way to answer your question is to check the hosts feedback. Because they canceled it will show up on their reviews not to mention they would have their calendar blocked and would get fined.