What guests actually say

Knife complaints tend to show up in understated language:

• “Kitchen was fine, but the knives were dull.”
• “Hard to prep food.”
• “Would’ve cooked more if the knives were better.”
• “Everything was great, except the kitchen tools.”

These comments don’t always dominate a review, but they erode confidence. And once mentioned, they’re hard to ignore.

Why this keeps happening (even to good hosts)

Dull knives in rentals aren’t a sign of neglect. They’re a systems problem.

• Knives dull gradually, not all at once
• Multiple guests use them differently
• No single person notices the decline
• Sharpening is easy to postpone

By the time a complaint appears, the knives have usually been struggling for months.

These complaints aren’t about bad hosts. They’re about systems that allow knives to quietly degrade between bookings.

• Why Airbnb kitchen knives go dull
• What actually works in short-term rental kitchens

Why replacing knives doesn’t solve it

Many hosts respond by buying new knives. That works, briefly.

But without a plan for maintenance, the same pattern repeats:

• New knives feel great
• Edges slowly degrade
• Prep becomes harder
• Complaints return

The issue isn’t the knife. It’s the lack of a refresh cycle.

Why knife rental feels tempting (and why it disappoints)

Knife rental exists because it offers predictability: someone else owns the knives, someone else sharpens them, and it feels “handled.”

In practice, rental knives are optimized for logistics, not cooking. They’re often briefly sharp, then forgettable.

Many kitchens describe them the same way: “okay… for a day or two.”

What actually reduces knife complaints

Kitchens with consistently good feedback do three things well:

• Use durable, forgiving work knives
• Standardize knife shapes guests recognize
• Refresh edges before frustration sets in

When knives are predictable, guests stop noticing them and that’s the goal.

A better system: own, standardize, refresh

The most reliable approach for short-term rentals is simple:

• Own the knives
• Consider our New Star packages designed for heavy, shared use
• Refresh them on a schedule instead of waiting for complaints

This keeps kitchens functional without constant monitoring.

If you want to eliminate knife complaints entirely, the fix isn’t gadgets or rental programs. It’s predictable knives paired with predictable maintenance.

See the Guest Kitchen Knife Set →

Where to go next

• Kitchen knives designed for short-term rentals →
• Guest Kitchen Knife Set →
• Knife refresh service when edges fade →
• Why knife rental exists (and why many kitchens move on) →

Bottom line

Airbnb knife complaints don’t come from bad intentions. They come from missing systems.

When knife care becomes predictable, the complaints quietly disappear.