@Cody when you request to stay somewhere you have to ad your credit card info so you are ready to pay the first part in case the host accepts the request. A host will get penalised harshly - will have to pay a fine + loose superhost status for a year /or loose the ability to get the superhost badge if they don’t already have and that is if the host cancels an already agreed to reservation. Also the dates would get blocked by Airbnb so no one could book the dates again - they wouldn’t be able to let you rent for the 150 dollar higher price tag. It is therefore very likely that your request just wasn’t accepted in the first place. Airbnb is very different from the ordinary hotel industry as many Airbnbs got amateur hosts and lots of hosts don’t got a lot of experience. So things like what you describe might happen now and then. Airbnb doesn’t make it very easy for new hosts. For instance when a host starts out Airbnb gives a 20% discount on the first 3 bookings on top of that 30-40% discount for guests who book longer stays without really explaining it to the new host. And they start out with a wide open calendar. Airbnb also set instant book on as default - also without really explaining to the new host what it really means. I can understand that it is incredibly annoying and why you want to just book a hotel. In my part of the world Copenhagen, Denmark most Airbnbs are amateur hosts renting out their own home - when they are on vacation themselves. They are not business owners and don’t see themselves as such.
I personally wouldn’t book an Airbnb without reaching out to the host first - if I had to instant book - it would only be with very experienced, superhost hosts as they got the experience and are more likely to have an updated calendar and updated prices. Sorry you had such an annoying experience.
