Best Pots and Pans For Your Airbnb

My wife Kate and I have been Airbnb hosting for about 5 years now across 4 different listings and we’ve picked up on a thing or two in that time.

One of those things is that a well stocked home makes for happy guests.

It’s true that not every guest will have a need for a pot or pan. But most guests have the need for something slightly out of the ordinary. Maybe they have allergies and need tissues, maybe they’re having their local friends over and want to play a board game, or maybe they want to cook a meal and need some things in the kitchen.

We regularly have guests inquire about our kitchens and what amenities are available. So we do our best to keep those spaces well stocked with all the common items a guest might want.

The best pots and pans for your Airbnb have a non-stick surface and are durable.

Obviously durability is important because you don’t want to be replacing things regularly.

And the reason I strongly recommend non-stick is because they are SO much easier to clean. In fact, a lot of the time our guests do the cleaning for us. Imagine how much cleaning time is saved by having non-stick pots and pans.

Cleaning will be a headache if you don’t opt for non-stick.

One Airbnb Horror Story For Your Entertainment

When family and friends have asked for stories about our Airbnb guests over the years, there is one story that stands out among all this others. My wife Kate has a different story, but this one is my “Who were your worst guests ever?” story.

And to be honest, I can imagine situations being far worse than this, so we’ve been pretty lucky so far.

I’ll leave out some details for brevity…

My worst guests ever

We had a guest instantly book our luxury listing for 2 nights. There was nothing really out of the ordinary about the booking, just two sisters staying at our place for a couple nights while they were in town.

The evening before their last night they sent us a message asking for a late check out, still totally normal. Guests do this all the time.

I told them that we had guests checking in at 3pm the next day (our checkout time is 11am) and that I would be there at noon to clean, so as long as they were gone by noon then we’re good.

So nothing too interesting happens and I show up at the house to clean at noon the next day.

There’s no cars at the house so I think we’re all good, right?

I walk in and it looks like they moved in and threw a 48 hour party with 100 of their closest friends.

Oh and by the way, they’re both still asleep in the bedrooms (fortunately no one else was still in the house)

I wake them up and say as calmly as I can manage, “I need you all to leave the house as quickly as you can. We have guests checking in in 3 hours.”

The great cleanup

So while they start getting themselves together I start:

Cleaning up floors with food stuck to them
Washing 75% of all the dishes/utensils/cooking supplies in the house (all used during their stay)
Changing out sheets stained with nail polish, glitter and grease
Emptying an oven full of “baked potatoes” that had been left in too long
Moving piles of clothes the size of the couch outside the house
A window screen that had been punched out (to allow someone to smoke inside the house I guess?)
And oh yeah, there were drugs just left out on tables and dressers

After about an hour and a half of nose to the grind cleaning I had to call in reinforcements. We had three people cleaning that house and didn’t actually finish until 4 pm (4 hours later).

And after 4 hours of cleaning with three people that house was still smelling like smoke and honestly didn’t feel very clean.

One of the most stressful afternoons of my life.

Did you forget that there was no car?

Remember when I said there was no car outside the house? Yeah they had no means of transportation.

So I’m stuck in this house with them until 3pm cleaning while they try to call someone to come pick them up.

All the while they’re trying to ask me questions and get information about this and that. Needless to say, I was short with them.

When it was all said and done we got a review that said “The place was really nice, but the host was very rude.”

I’ll never forget that review. I had to just laugh about it. It really goes to show that nobody sees themselves as the bad guy. Anyways, we survived and unfortunately had to give a discount to our next guests for the smell.

But considering everything we get from our Airbnbs, one or two bad guests a year is worth it.

Should You Stock Pots and Pans in Your Airbnb?

There were times during that 4 hour cleanup that I was asking myself whether it’s worth it to stock pots, pans, dishes, utensils and really anything and everything in our kitchen.

But for every group that takes advantage and treats the home disrespectfully, there are 20 guests who are thankful for all the amenities they have at their disposal. And they treat them with the utmost respect.

We’ve had several dozens of guests ask questions specifically about what’s available in the kitchen.

I live in a college town, so Moms (and Dads) are always coming in town wanting to make a home cooked meal for their kids.

And we host get togethers where cakes are being baked.

And you’re only like to get longer stays (a week or more) if your listing has a fully functioning kitchen. A usable kitchen is a serious asset for any listing.

So yes, I absolutely believe that we make more money because we stock our kitchens with everything from pots and pans to Keurig coffee machines.

Pots and Pans We Stock In Our Listings

We typically go for just a non stick standard set of pots and pans. Here are two we’ve used in our listings that have held up well.

Amazon Basics Non-stick 15 piece Cookware Set

Used in one of our Airbnbs for 4 years
Comes with 4 pots, 2 pans, 5 utensils and 4 lids
Everything is non-stick
Durable and affordable

View on Amazon

There’s really not a lot to say here. We’ve been using this Amazon Basics set in one of our Airbnbs for over 4 years now. Everything has held up very well and there has been very little scratching of the non-stick finish.

I would say only one in every 10-15 guests actually use a pot or pan, so they don’t get a ton of usage.

As long as you stock utensils that can’t scratch the surface, these should hold up really well (at least they have for us).

There are easy to clean, which encourages guests to clean themselves, and it is rare that we ever have to wash them.

Overall, we’ve been very happy with this set and we expect them to last another 4 years at least.

COLIBYOU 18 Piece Non-stick Pots & Pans

Used in one of our Airbnbs for just over 2 years
Comes with 4 pots, 2 pans, a griddle, 6 utensils, a strainer and 4 lids
Everything is non-stick except the strainer
Affordable and durable

View on Amazon

Pretty similar story here. We do have this COLIBYOU set in one of our newer Airbnbs and it’s also held up very well and none of the non-stick surface has started coming off yet.

Again, one in every 12 guests or so actually use a pot or pan and this means that they don’t get a ton of usage.

One perk of this set is that it comes with a strainer, and I recommend stocking a strainer in your kitchen. Pasta is one of the most common dishes guests will cook, so if you don’t have a strainer then guests will be calling and messaging you about it.

This is just an affordable non-stick set that has everything your guests will need and they’ll hold up well over time.

Conclusion

The benefit of stocking your kitchen with pots and pans is that your guests will be happy and you won’t get inundated with calls and requests.

Keeping our places well stocked with all amenities is one way we keep our guests happy and our bookings flowing. About 10-20% of our bookings are repeat guests at this point and a huge part of that is that they know they’ll have everything they need.

As long as you stock some non-stick pots and pans that will hold up over time, your guests will have what they need.

Happy investing.