Yeah, the ability for hosts to cancel on a whim and the couple of cases where racist hosts canceled in the middle of the night kinda put me off trying them. I know exactly what I'm getting in a hotel.
This has bitten me in the ass. I fully prepaid for a booking via Expedia but due to plane delays arrived a few hours late (1am). By the time I got there the hotel had rented the room to someone else, had no more available, and everyone else in town was booked.
They blamed me for not checking in on time but considering there was a room available for the couple that came in after us, the real story is that there was a convention going on in town and last-minute attendees were willing to pay 10x more than I did. So they silently dropped my reservation and left me to fuck myself.
Don't count on hotels letting you check in whenever you want. Times have changed...