Hostel renovation in Batumi: bathrooms, bed spaces, quiet dorms

The number of beds first, then the layout

A hostel fits several times more people into the same floor area than a hotel, and they share the bathrooms, the kitchen and the showers. That is why we plan a hostel renovation in Batumi from three numbers: how many beds there are in the dorms, how many private rooms, and how many guests stay at the peak of the season. These decide the number of cubicles, the hot water reserve, the ventilation, the power and the fire alarm.

A hostel is often made from a large apartment, two apartments on one floor or an old building. Which partitions can be moved as part of a renovation and what will need approval, we check with the architect and our partner lawyer before work starts. We don't touch load-bearing walls without a design and a structural engineer, and the approval procedure is described on our page about layout change and legalisation.

If the hostel will be in a residential complex, read the building's rules on guests and visitors before you rent or buy. The management company may restrict the flow of people through the shared entrance, and that changes the whole plan.

Bathrooms and showers for many guests

A hostel gets a queue twice a day: in the morning before check-out and in the evening, when everyone comes back from the beach. So we put the shower, the toilet and the washbasin in separate cubicles: while one guest showers, a second brushes their teeth at the shared basin and a third uses the toilet. A combined bathroom for eight people creates a queue, however much space there is in it.

We start the calculation from a rule of thumb: one shower and one toilet per 6–8 bed spaces. This is our practice, not a standard, and it is adjusted for private rooms with their own bathrooms and for the position of the risers. The cubicles get partitions reaching almost to the floor, with a lock and hooks inside, and the washbasins go in a separate row by the mirror, with a socket for a hairdryer. How a bathroom renovation goes step by step is described on our page about bathroom or WC renovation.

We waterproof the whole floor of the shared shower room: a liquid membrane in the toilets, a flexible cement-based compound in the trayless showers. Floor drains go not only in the cubicles but also in the passage where guests step out wet. Hot water is split between two or three water heaters, so that one breaking down in August doesn't leave the whole hostel without a shower.

Dorms and the bed space

A guest sees their bed in a bunk as a small room of their own. They need a socket with USB, a reading light, a shelf for a phone and glasses, a hook and a privacy curtain, with a lockable locker for a backpack next to it. If there is one socket per room, extension leads run across the floor, people trip over them, and they overheat.

Beds are fixed to the wall or the floor: a bunk frame without fixings sways when the guest on top turns over in their sleep. In a plasterboard partition we build in timber for these fixings before the boarding goes on. We check the ceiling height at the site measurement: the top bunk needs room to sit up without hitting your head.

Eight people in a closed dorm breathe out a lot of moisture overnight, so by morning it is stuffy and there is condensation on the windows. In the dorms we install supply and extract ventilation, and hang the air conditioner so that it doesn't blow on the top bunk. Beds and lockers can be ordered from us together with the renovation; how this works is described on our page about the furniture package.

Noise inside the hostel and late arrivals

Most of a hostel's noise comes from the hostel itself. The shared kitchen, the lounge and reception are busy until late at night, and guests arrive on late flights. We put the noisy zones further from the dorms, and between them we build partitions soundproofed right up to the slab, constructed the same way as wall soundproofing in an apartment.

A dorm door is opened dozens of times a night. We fit it with a seal and a door closer that shuts it smoothly, without a bang, and use soft-close hinges on the lockers. In the corridors we fit floor-level lights on motion sensors: guests find their room without switching on the main light.

Under the laminate in the dorms and corridors we lay a sound-absorbing underlay, otherwise the wheels of a suitcase in the corridor at night can be heard in every room. If the hostel is in a residential building, walls shared with the neighbours' apartments are lined in the same way as the dorm partitions, and the hours for noisy work during the renovation are agreed with the management company.

Fire safety

Where many strangers sleep under one roof, fire safety goes into the design from day one. In every dorm, in the corridors and in the kitchen we fit alarm detectors connected to a control panel with sounders, and on the escape routes, emergency lighting and exit signs. We don't narrow corridors and stairs with lockers and shelving, and finishes on the escape routes are made from non-combustible materials.

We fit enough sockets by the beds that extension leads aren't needed, and spread the dorm circuits over several breakers. In the guest kitchen we leave space for a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket. If the cooker runs on gas, the gas service makes the connection; we don't touch the gas pipe.

Which requirements apply to your hostel depends on the number of beds, the number of storeys and the building itself. We check them with a fire safety specialist before the design and put them straight into the estimate, rather than adding them after the renovation.

Finishes, doors and locks

How we choose floors and walls to stand up to suitcases and daily cleaning is covered on our page about hotel renovation. For a hostel the choice is the same, but the wear is heavier: hundreds of guests with backpacks pass through a dorm over a summer. The wall by a bunk bed gets hit by the ladder, heels and straps, so up to the height of the top bunk we cover it with panels or a dense washable finish.

Interior doors have a strong edge and frame, with hinges and handles rated for frequent opening. At the entrance and on the dorm doors, electronic locks with a code or a card are convenient: the administrator doesn't have to hunt for lost keys and change cylinders.

Kitchen, laundry and common area

Five or six people use the shared kitchen at the same time. We fit several cooking zones and two or three fridges on separate circuits, a hood over the hob and a large sink with a dishwasher, otherwise dirty dishes pile up in the evening and wait until morning. Sockets above the worktop are spread along its whole length, so the kettle and the slow cooker don't share one.

The laundry needs a washing machine and a tumble dryer, its own extraction and a waterproofed floor. By reception we plan a luggage room: guests check out in the morning but fly out in the evening. The lounge is placed by the entrance and made the brightest space in the hostel, with its lighting arranged in groups: at night only the night light stays on.

How much a hostel renovation costs in Batumi

A turnkey hostel renovation costs from 840 to 1,140 ₾ per m², labour and materials included. Furniture, including beds and lockers, is not included in this price.

As a guide to individual lines: fitting out one bed space to an agreed list costs from 1,320 to 1,920 ₾, a separate turnkey 4–6 m² bathroom for a private room from 5,880 to 8,400 ₾, and a fire alarm, installed, from 17 to 24 ₾ per m² of floor area. Converting apartments with the wet areas moved, an old building with timber floors and a lot of private rooms with their own bathrooms all cost more. A former hotel or hostel with sound risers and dorms of one type cost less.

We send a preliminary estimate from a plan and the number of beds within 24 hours on business days. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed, and the price of each stage is written into the contract.