- when guests book a stay, the cancellation policy is very transparent. If they booked a property with a strict policy, they chose to do so, which influences how listings are priced, etc. - While health organizations made recommendations about travel, the choice to cancel is wholly the guests in most cases (given that a few may have had flights cancelled that couldn't be replaced). - trip insurance is a thing and it exists.

Everyone needs to share some responsibility here, so using the term "theft" and saying hosts are "trying to profit off a pandemic" is absurd.