Apartment management in a Batumi residential complex: house rules, guests and costs

Apartment management in a Batumi residential complex differs from managing an apartment in an ordinary building. A complex has a management company, a reception desk and security, its own rules for guests and renovation, and a pool and parking accessed by pass. These decide whether the apartment can be let by the night, who meets the guest and how much the owner keeps in the end. So we start with the rules of the specific building, and only then calculate the income and put the apartment on the platforms.

Apartment management in a Batumi residential complex: what the complex changes

In a large complex on the New Boulevard or along the Airport Highway, an apartment competes with hundreds of neighbouring ones, often with the same layout and the same view. Guests choose by photos, reviews and price, so the listing has to stand out: by floor and view, by renovation and furniture, by an honest description of what the complex offers. How we run short-term letting in general is explained on our page about managed short-term rentals.

The second difference is that some decisions are made not by the owner but by the building's management company. Some allow short-term letting only through their own operator, require guests to be registered at reception or restrict code locks on the front door. We read these rules before the launch, otherwise the very first guest may get stuck at the barrier.

House rules and the management company

The rules are usually set out in the service agreement or in the complex's internal regulations. We request them from the management company and look at the points that concern letting: whether short-term rentals are allowed, how guests are registered, how many people may live in the apartment, quiet hours, rules on pets and smoking on balconies, access to the pool and gym.

If the building bans short-term letting or allows it only through the complex operator, we say so straight away. Then we compare the options: letting long-term, for 1–3 months or handing the apartment to the building's operator. How long-term letting works is described on our page about managed long-term rentals.

Reception, keys and guest registration

In complexes with a reception desk, guests are often met downstairs: staff check an ID and issue a lift card or a pool pass. We agree with reception in advance who hands over the key or card, where the spare set is kept and how quickly neighbours' complaints reach us. We share a guest's details only to the extent the house rules require. If the building allows a code lock, the guest checks in on their own, and we send them instructions with photos of the entrance, the lift and the door.

Access cards and parking passes get lost more often than keys. We record their number and replacement cost in the apartment inventory, and the listing rules say that the guest pays for a lost card. How check-in and check-out work is explained on our page about check-in and self check-in.

The service charge, utility bills and common areas

The owner pays the complex service charge every month, even when the apartment is empty. It usually covers cleaning of common areas, security, reception, lifts and the pool, while electricity, water and gas in the apartment come as separate bills. We pay these bills on the owner's behalf and show them in the report, so that the income calculation contains the real figure, not just the nightly rate.

A pool, a gym and a playground help the listing, but each has its own hours and rules. An outdoor pool usually works only in the warm months, and we say so plainly in the listing, so that a winter guest does not expect a swim and lower the rating.

Several apartments in one building

If you own two or three apartments in one complex, they are easier to run: one cleaner covers them in a single shift, spare keys are kept in one place, and the price calendar is shared, so the apartments do not take guests from each other. If the layouts are the same, a booked apartment can be swapped for the one next door when the air conditioning breaks down or the bathroom floods in the first. The commission for a pool of apartments in one building is lower than for each apartment separately on short-term letting.

An apartment from the developer: from handover to the first guest

Many apartments in Batumi complexes are bought off-plan and handed over as a frame or with the developer's renovation. Before the first guest we go step by step: handover with a list of defects, renovation or finishing the developer's renovation, furniture and appliances, photos and listings. How we accept an apartment and launch it for rent is described on our page about accepting an apartment from the developer. Renovation in a complex also follows the house rules; they are covered in detail on our page about apartment renovation in residential complexes.

How much apartment management in a complex costs

The commission for short-term letting is 30–36 % of income, for letting for 1–3 months 21–24 %, and for long-term rental 15–18 % of the monthly rent. If you own two or three apartments in one building, the commission for the pool is 21–24 % of income. Paid once, at launch, are listings on Airbnb, Booking and local platforms, 360–540 ₾, and a professional photo shoot, 330–480 ₾. Cleaning a studio or one-bedroom apartment between stays costs 96–145 ₾, and meeting and checking in a guest 45–60 ₾.

The complex service charge, utility bills and rental tax are not included in these prices: the owner pays them, and we pay the bills and show them in the report. The final cost is fixed in the contract after we inspect the apartment and the house rules.