Aparthotel unit or your own apartment: which is better?
An aparthotel unit suits a buyer who wants no involvement and accepts a smaller share of the income; an ordinary apartment suits a buyer who wants control, a wider choice of tenants and a wider pool of buyers later. Under a typical 60/40 revenue split, the hotel operator has to bring in about a third more gross income than a manager charging 20% would, just to leave you the same amount. In return the unit is run as a hotel, which in Batumi reaches higher nightly rates than flats let on platforms. And since May 2026 a unit inside a hotel is not treated as a home when you sell it, which can raise the tax on a gain.
How the aparthotel model works, offer by offer, is explained in our guide to aparthotel units in Batumi. This page puts the two choices side by side.
The two models side by side
| Question | Aparthotel unit | Own apartment |
|---|---|---|
| Who lets it | The hotel operator, usually with exclusive rights | You, or a manager you choose and can replace |
| Who sets the price | The operator | You or your manager |
| Your share of income | A split, often quoted as 60% to 80% to the owner | All of it, less a manager's fee of about 15% to 30% |
| Running charges | Service charge per m², furniture replacement, some utilities | Building fee, utilities, cleaning, repairs |
| Your own stays | Days set by the contract | Whenever you want |
| Long let in winter | Usually not possible | Possible |
| Registry record | Often a hotel room or non-residential space | A residential flat |
| Tax on a gain when you sell | Not the rules for a home (Public Ruling No 143, 2026) | The rules for a home |
| Buyers when you sell | Mostly investors | Investors and people looking for a home |
What a revenue split costs you
The simplest way to compare the two is to ask how much more the operator must earn to leave you as much as a manager would. With a manager charging 20%, you keep 80% of the gross income. With a 60/40 split you keep 60%. To end up with the same amount, the hotel must therefore bring in 0.8 divided by 0.6, or about 1.33 times, the gross income. With a 70/30 split the figure is about 1.14 times.
| Owner's share in the hotel | Gross income needed, compared with a self-managed flat |
|---|---|
| 60% | 1.33 times |
| 70% | 1.14 times |
| 80% | 1.00 times |
A service charge per m² widens the gap: listings in Batumi quote about $1 per m² a month, or $480 a year for a 40 m² unit, paid whether the unit is let or not. Ask how the split is calculated as well as its percentage: from gross bookings, after VAT and platform commissions, or after the operator's costs, and whether income is paid per unit or shared across a pool of all units.
Hotels and flats in Batumi: what each earns
The case for the hotel model is that hotels in Batumi charge more per night than flats let on platforms, and in the high season fill more nights. Galt & Taggart's figures show the gap:
| Period | Hotel occupancy | Hotel average nightly rate | Airbnb average nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| July-September 2025 | 83% | $129 | $57 |
| January-September 2025 | 67% | $103 | $45 |
| January-March 2026 | 31% | $81 | $28 |
Three cautions apply. The hotel figures are for a sample of established hotels, not for aparthotel units, and an aparthotel run by a local operator may perform nothing like a branded hotel. Hotel demand in Batumi depends heavily on visitors from the Middle East: in 2024, 90% of Israeli and 83% of Saudi visitors to Adjara stayed in hotels, against 36% of Russian and 23% of Turkish visitors, and the fall to 31% occupancy in early 2026 was linked to that dependence. And reports describing hotel occupancy of about 70% and nightly rates near $286 refer to branded hotels at the top of the market; one market report warned that "pseudo-branded" residences using a brand name "will perform as ordinary apartments".
Supply is growing on both sides. Galt & Taggart counts 3,116 branded hotel rooms in Batumi in 2025, rising to 4,079 by 2027, while flats let for short stays are expected to grow from about 18,000 to 20,000 at the end of 2024 to 35,000 to 40,000 by 2029. Of all international visitors to Adjara in 2024, 47% stayed in hotels and 53% in apartments.
Fixed return offers
Many Batumi aparthotel projects are sold with a promised fixed return. In offers seen in 2025 and 2026, developers advertised returns such as 8% a year for five years or 10% a year written into the contract, sometimes with an offer to buy the unit back. Sales agents themselves describe the pattern: fixed payments of about 7% to 10% a year for the first one to three years, after which income can fall by 30% to 40%, and units sold with such a promise priced 10% to 15% above the market. These are agents' and developers' statements, not audited data.
A fixed return is a promise by the company that signs it, paid from that company's money. Before relying on one, ask who exactly pays it, from which income, what secures it, whether the contract is registered, and what the unit is expected to earn after the fixed period ends. Compare the price per m² with similar flats nearby: if the unit costs more, part of the promised return may simply be your own money paid back.
Control, use and flexibility
With your own flat you decide how it is used every month: short stays in summer, a long let in winter, a family visit in September, or a sale when the market suits you. You can change manager if the results are poor. An aparthotel contract usually gives the operator the exclusive right to let the unit, sets the days you may stay, and runs for a fixed term; seller listings mention owner stays such as up to 20 days or one month a year, but only your contract counts. A long let to a tenant in the quiet months is rarely possible in a hotel. From 1 June 2027 the Law on Tourism's rules on timeshare take effect, including mandatory registration of timeshare contracts with the Public Registry; whether a given aparthotel contract falls under them depends on its terms.
The trade is real in the other direction too. An aparthotel owner does not deal with guests, cleaners, check-ins, repairs or platform reviews, and a hotel with a reception, restaurant and brand can attract guests that a single flat cannot. For an owner who lives abroad and wants no involvement at all, that can be worth the smaller share.
Legal status and tax: where the two differ
Units in hotel buildings are often recorded differently. An auction notice published in 2021, for example, describes a mortgaged unit in a large Batumi tower as "hotel" number 4640, not as a flat. The record matters for tax:
- When you sell. Public Ruling No 143 of the Minister of Finance (14 May 2026) says the actual function of a property decides whether it is a home, and that space forming a functional part of a non-residential object, such as a room within hotel infrastructure, is not a residential flat. The income tax relief for selling a home held for more than two years therefore does not apply, and the general relief for assets held two years does not cover assets used in economic activity, such as a let unit. A tax adviser quoted in the press expects the gain to be taxed at 20%.
- VAT on resale. Under the Tax Code, delivering a non-residential building is always an economic activity for VAT, so an owner registered for VAT would charge it on the sale. A resale in which the buyer takes over the contract with a tourist enterprise is exempt.
- While you earn. If the operator holds tourist enterprise status, its payments to you are taxed at 5% at source and the tax is final. Otherwise, the reduced 5% rate for rent covers only residential space let for living, so income from a hotel unit let to an operator falls under the general 20% rate. Our aparthotel guide explains the tourist enterprise regime.
- Short stays from your own flat. The optional fixed tax per square metre, extended to 1 January 2028, applies to letting a living place for short periods; our guide to rental income tax covers the options.
- Property tax. The same for both: an individual's property is exempt if the family's income was GEL 100,000 or less in the previous year.
To be added by the team: the partner accountant to confirm how Ruling 143 applies to the sale of a hotel unit, the rate on income from an operator without tourist enterprise status, and whether the fixed short-stay tax can apply to a registered hotel room.
Mortgage and residence permit
A hotel unit can serve as security for a bank loan: the auction notice above concerns a unit mortgaged to a bank. Under the National Bank's lending rules, a loan to an individual to buy non-residential property for letting may be treated as a business loan, which falls outside the payment-to-income and loan-to-value limits for retail loans; the bank then sets its own terms. Ask in writing before you commit. For a residence permit, the law requires immovable property, other than agricultural land, worth more than $150,000, without distinguishing residential from non-residential property; most single aparthotel units cost far less. See our page on the $150,000 property route.
Selling later
An ordinary flat can be sold to an investor or to someone who wants to live in it. An aparthotel unit is normally bought by another investor, who will ask for the income statements of past years, the remaining length of the operating contract and the operator's record. No source publishes how long aparthotel units take to sell or at what discount. Across the Batumi market, Galt & Taggart estimates that roughly three in ten new flats come back on the market as resales within two years of purchase, so either kind of unit will meet competition from similar ones.
Who should choose which
| Owner profile | Better choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Lives abroad, wants no involvement | Aparthotel unit with a proven operator | Everything is handled; income arrives as a statement |
| Wants the highest share of income | Own apartment | No split, a manager you choose |
| Plans to use the property often | Own apartment | No limit on your stays |
| Wants winter income from a long let | Own apartment | Hotels rarely allow it |
| Wants an easy resale | Own apartment | A wider pool of buyers and the rules for selling a home |
| Values a brand and hotel services | Aparthotel unit in a truly branded hotel | Higher rates where the brand and operator are real |
Risks and exceptions
- The split. A 60/40 split needs a third more income to match a managed flat.
- Fixed returns. They end, and depend on the company that pays them.
- Tax on sale. A hotel unit is not treated as a home when sold.
- Hotel demand. Batumi hotels depend on a few source markets.
- Less control. The operator sets prices and your stays.
Frequently asked questions
Does an aparthotel earn more than a flat?
Hotels charge more per night, but you keep only your share; with a 60/40 split the hotel must earn about a third more to match a managed flat.
What revenue split is usual in Batumi?
Offers quote 60% to 80% for the owner; check what is deducted before the split.
Are fixed returns reliable?
They are promises by the company that signs them, usually for one to five years.
Is a hotel unit taxed like a flat when sold?
No; a May 2026 public ruling of the Minister of Finance says a room within hotel infrastructure is not a residential flat.
Can I live in an aparthotel unit?
Only for the days the contract allows.
Can I let an aparthotel unit to a long-term tenant?
Usually not; the operator normally has the exclusive right to let it.
Can I get a mortgage on a hotel unit?
Hotel units have been used as loan security, but ask your bank whether it gives home loans on them.
Which is easier to sell?
An ordinary flat, which can be sold to investors and to people looking for a home.
Sources
- How the sale of apartment-type units is taxed: the ministry's ruling (in Georgian), BM.ge, 20 May 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Public Ruling No 143 of the Minister of Finance, 14 May 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia (Articles 81, 82, 133.2, 158, 171 and 309), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- National Bank of Georgia Order No 44/04 on lending to individuals, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Tourism, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Public auction notice for a mortgaged hotel unit in Batumi, Legislative Herald of Georgia, December 2021 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Tourism in Ajara, Galt & Taggart, October 2025 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Tourism Market Watch, 3Q25, Galt & Taggart (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Q1 2026 hotel occupancy and room rates, Kedaro News, 21 April 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Real Estate Trends in Batumi, October 2025, Galt & Taggart (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi housing market: TBC Capital report, International Investment, 23 February 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- From housing to hotels: how investment in Batumi is changing, International Investment, 3 November 2025 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Passive income from real estate in Batumi (agency article), BD Group, 11 February 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Investing (developer's page), Wyndham Grand Batumi Gonio (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi aparthotel listing with a service charge per m², Realting (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Property management, Wehost (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Financial conditions, Batumi Apartment Management (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Article 15), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
Change log
- - Comparison published from Galt & Taggart tourism data, TBC Capital and agency reports, developer offers, Public Ruling No 143, the Tax Code, NBG Order 44/04 and the Aliens Law.