Renovating a flat for short-term rental is not the same as renovating a home for yourself. Every decision has to pass two tests: will a guest notice it, and will it survive a steady stream of people with suitcases. Below we look at how to estimate the budget, where not to cut corners, where you can avoid overpaying, and how to run this kind of renovation if you don’t live in Batumi.
How to think about payback
We won’t promise you attractive yield percentages: occupancy and nightly rates in Batumi depend heavily on the district, the view, the building, the season and how you manage the property. Any “city average” figure is more likely to mislead you than help. Instead, here is a simple sequence of steps.
- Find 10 – 15 flats on Airbnb and Booking that are as close to yours as possible: same district, similar size, a comparable building and view.
- Look at their calendars several months ahead and at their prices in different seasons. Note which listings have plenty of recent reviews — that is a sign of real occupancy.
- Decide which tier your flat belongs to: budget, mid-range or above average. The renovation should match that tier, not your personal taste.
- Divide the renovation budget by the expected net income for the year (after platform commissions, cleaning, utilities and management). This gives you a rough payback period — and shows you straight away whether the estimate makes sense.
The most common investor mistake is over-renovating. Designer lighting, expensive stone and made-to-measure furniture in a mid-range studio rarely raise the nightly rate enough to cover the difference. Guests choose by photos, location, reviews and price — they pay for comfort, not for the brand of the tap.
What guests actually value
Read the reviews of flats in any resort town and the same complaints keep coming up. Deal with these points and half of the bad reviews simply won’t happen.
- Sleep. A decent mattress rather than the cheapest one, good-quality bed linen and windows with good sound insulation.
- Blackout curtains. In summer it gets light early in Batumi, and guests often come back late.
- Air conditioning. Ideally with some spare capacity, and positioned so that it cools the bed area, not just the kitchen.
- Fast Wi-Fi. Many guests come to work remotely. Place the router so that the signal reaches every part of the flat, and plan a socket for it in advance.
- Storage. A wardrobe or open hanging system that fits two suitcases, hooks in the hallway, a shelf in the bathroom.
- Sockets by the bed and at the desk. A small detail that guests mention in reviews all the time.
- Good photos. Light but not sterile interiors with one or two accents photograph well and stand out in search results.
Which materials survive short-term letting
A rental flat wears out many times faster than a home you live in: new people every few days, suitcases, sand from the beach, humid sea air. So choose materials for durability.
- Floors: quartz vinyl or porcelain tiles. Low-grade laminate and parquet quickly lose their looks in a rental.
- Walls: washable paint, not wallpaper. A chip or a mark can be painted over in half an hour between guests.
- Bathroom: porcelain tiles, a glass screen instead of a shower curtain, sanitaryware with easily available spare parts.
- Kitchen: unit fronts and a worktop that can cope with heat and water. Avoid high gloss — it shows everything.
- Furniture: removable sofa covers, dark or mid-tone upholstery, as little fragile decor as possible.
Budget example: a 32 m² studio
Let’s take a typical 32 m² studio in a new building and work out the cost at our rates. The flat is larger than 25 m², so there is no small-flat surcharge. The first line is renovation from white frame, the developer’s handover state with levelled walls and floor.
| Item | Rate | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| White frame: labour and rough materials | 650 ₾/m² | 650 × 32 | 20,800 ₾ |
| Finishing materials | ≈390 ₾/m² | 390 × 32 | ≈12,480 ₾ |
| Furniture and appliances | ≈520 ₾/m² | 520 × 32 | ≈16,640 ₾ |
| Total, turnkey with furniture | from 1,560 ₾/m² | 1,560 × 32 | from 49,920 ₾ |
If you need an interior design project, add from 1,280 ₾ (40 ₾/m²) to 2,880 ₾ (90 ₾/m²), depending on what the project includes. For a rental studio the basic level is often enough: layout, electrical plan, kitchen and bathroom elevations, and choice of materials.
For very small flats, allow for a surcharge on labour: +20% for flats under 25 m² and +35% under 18 m². There is more work per square metre: the same bathroom, the same kitchen, the same wiring and pipework — just on a smaller floor area.
Set money aside for textiles, crockery, small items for guests and a professional photo shoot. None of this is part of the renovation, but without it the flat won’t start earning.
Where you can save and where you can’t
- Save on decor, complex ceilings, expensive feature tiles and built-in lighting that is only there for effect.
- Don’t save on electrics, plumbing, waterproofing, air conditioning, the mattress or the windows. Redoing any of these in a working rental means a blocked calendar and lost bookings.
How to manage the renovation if you’re not in Batumi
Most of our clients with rental flats live abroad, so we built our remote renovation process from the start. The contract is signed remotely. Labour is paid in three instalments: 30% when the contract is signed, 35% at the halfway point and 35% at final acceptance; materials are paid for before they are purchased. Every week we send a photo and video report, and you approve all materials in a messenger app: you see the samples and the price, and only then confirm.
The work itself in a studio or a 1+1 flat (one bedroom plus a living room) from white frame takes about 3 weeks; turnkey with furniture takes roughly a week longer. Plan so that the flat is finished and photographed before the season starts: a renovation that ends in mid-summer loses the most profitable months.
In short
- Study real comparable listings first, then work out the estimate.
- Renovate to the level of the flat and the district, not above it.
- Invest in sleep, climate control, internet and hard-wearing surfaces.
- Plan to be ready for the season rather than “whenever it’s done”.
Want a rough budget for your floor area? Open the calculator on our prices page — it uses the same rates as the example above, and we will refine the estimate after measuring the flat.