I’m new to this forum, but I also just got the notice about the new cancellation policy. My listings are also in Italy. This stinks. My guests are primarily North Americans who plan their trips up to 6 months in advance. We tend not to focus on the last minute travel who is looking for a bargain, for us people planning travel to Europe only 30 days in advance are the least profitable. They expect big discounts from desperate owners eager to fill nights at any price. We also find that last minute bookers tend to be the most time consuming & stressful to work with, so it costs us more in time & effort (e.g. disorganized, don’t read anything, expect to be able to check in at any time like a hotel).
The old policy was bad enough, even the Strict designation which has been one reason we have been so cautious of using Airbnb at all. The new Strict policy is lousy too not only because it punishes us with a higher fee for a Strict cancellation policy, but even worse is that 30 days in advance for a 100% refund really hurts us. 30 days out is when we typically offer deep discounts for unfilled nights. Chances of a decent booking are not good at 30 days out since travelers to Italy from North America plan well in advance of that to get best airfares, get time off work for a trip to Europe or to use frequent flier miles.
For example I have a few open nights in Sept & Oct in a Florence apartment that normally rents for €115 Euros/night. The Airbnb price tip suggests I rent it for €45/night to get a booking in the next 30 days. No thanks, at that price it is like me paying the guests to stay there!