So far a lot of us Montana hosts haven’t seen many cancellations, though with the closure of the National parks expect they’ll be forthcoming. I have a fully booked summer in both my listings starting at the beginning of June and running through September. It was going to be a fantastic year! I purchased a second home here close to Glacier National Park to run an AirBNB through it last spring, with a substantial mortgage. My husband is a federal law enforcement officer and has been approached with an inquiry on whether or not our house would be available to rent to detailing officers on the northern border for likely the next 6 months. What would you as a host do, and or/ what are my options? I wish that I had a crystal ball to know if all my guests are going to cancel anyway. If I cancel on everyone first and take the government contract, what would it look like for hosting in the future? I have really enjoyed using AirBNB, and if and when this all straitens out, Id love to proceed as before. I could really use the sure bet though to cover the large mortgage.
Take the 6 month booking!
Work out what the market will bear and include a weekly clean fee.
The potential for limited vacation travel is huge!
Our big booking times are Xmas and Easter and every forward booking I have had been cancelled. I am empty for Easter.
The 6 month booking makes the most sense. It will help you cover your mortgage and also give a home to the law enforcement officers. (I imagine it will also keep your property very safe 
)
As far as the reservations you have, it’s unlikely that any of the will be appropriate anytime this summer, e.g. this thing hasn’t peaked yet and people shouldn’t be vacationing. You don’t necessarily have to cancel all of them right now. You could reach out to your guests and politely inquire as to whether they are still planning to come or not and some of them will probably cancel then.
Some may not cancel and some may not respond and then you can wait until Airbnb extends the dates for penalty-free cancellations. It’s very likely they’ll 1. extend the dates and you’ll be able to cancel penalty-free or 2. more guests will cancel in the meantime. Either way you can always cancel later and take the penalties then if needed. Host status is not more important than doing the right things for yourself and your community (paying your mortgage, housing law enforcement, discouraging nuts going on vacation).
@Rachaelanderberg Unless you don’t care if you add to the problem of increased coronavirus infections and possible deaths in your community, take the 6 month booking. No one should be travelling, and I can assure you this isn’t going to go away by the first of June.
Thank you for the reply. I am thinking your right. It’s such a tumultuous time everywhere, weird choices to be made.
No brainer - take the booking. You can only let to key workers through Airbnb now anyway.
EDIT
Sorry you can only let to key workers if you live in the UK. Not sure how it works in other countries.
I would contact each of my guests for the near and longer term and discuss their plans with them now. If I were you, I’d encourage them to cancel because the parks will be closed and this disease is rolling out across the US slowly, which sucks. I’d then take the 6 month rental. As an in-home host, I don’t know when I’ll be able to reopen and my county has banned all STRs unless we’re renting to the folks on the front line. Which I can’t do, due to my own health issues.
IMHO all states should have locked down back in February when Italy shut down. We’d be through the mess instead of watching is spread via vacationers, spring breakers, etc. (I live in FL and the stupidity of crowded beaches and dispersal of now contagious kids across the country has me livid).
Just read today about some a-hole who told the hospital, when questioned, that he was feeling fine, so that he could be with his wife when she was in labor. At that point, the hospital was using the honor system, assuming that no one would willingly expose others to the virus. The guy lied- he was definitely feeling ill, with all the coronavirus symptoms, which he only admitted when his wife came down with COVID. If govts don’t start mandating and enforcing stay-at-home orders, idiots like this, who was willing to expose his wife and newborn, and everyone else he came in contact with, will ensure that everyone is stuck at home forever.