Aparthotel rental pools: how the income is shared among owners

What is an aparthotel rental pool?

A rental pool is a shared income pot, not a swimming pool. In an aparthotel, the operator lets all the units in the programme, adds their room income together, takes off agreed costs and its own share, and divides what is left among the owners by a fixed key. Your income therefore depends on how the whole building performs and on the contract's formula, not on how often your own unit was booked.

In Georgia, the country, aparthotel sales listings quote only a headline split, such as 60% or 70% for the owner, and a Batumi broker describes owners' shares as usually 60% to 80% after the operator's commission. We found no Georgian project that publishes its full formula. This page explains how pools work in practice, drawing on published contracts and consultancy reports from other markets, labelled as such, and lists the clauses to ask for before you buy. The model itself, and the tourist enterprise tax status, are covered in our guide to aparthotel units in Batumi.

From the guest's payment to your share

Why "65% to owners" can mean different things

An illustrative building: guests pay USD 1,000,000 a year for the rooms in the pool. Booking commissions and payment fees take USD 170,000, and a furniture reserve takes 4% of gross revenue, USD 40,000. Two contracts both promise owners 65%.

In the second column, 65% is applied to the USD 790,000 left after commissions, fees and the reserve. The difference between the two owners' pots is USD 73,500, about 14%, with the same headline. In both cases the owner may still pay the service charge and other costs outside the pool.

What comes off before the split

Pool contracts differ mainly in what they deduct. A published US resort pool defines its base as gross revenue less agents' commissions, audit fees, linen replacement and card fees. A consultancy review of Asian resort programmes found reserves for furniture and equipment of often 3% to 5% of revenue, and another long-standing US agreement sets 4%. Restaurant, spa and meeting income usually stays with the hotel and is not part of the pool.

Where the operator charges fees rather than a split, the hotel industry pattern is a base fee plus an incentive fee. HVS reported in 2024 that US base fees run at 2% to 4% of total revenue, most often 3%, with incentive fees of 10% to 20% of cash flow above a return to the owner of 8% to 12%. Its survey for the Middle East and Africa found base fees mostly at 1.5% to 2%.

Outside the pool, owners usually still pay their own costs. In Batumi, one aparthotel listing quotes a service charge of USD 1 per m² a month, and a local broker notes that major repairs, equipment replacement and sometimes utilities are charged separately.

How the owners' pot is divided

The allocation key decides your slice. Three methods appear in published contracts:

• By size and category. Each unit gets points for its area, view or room type, and the pot is shared by points. A Wyndham Grand project in Gonio describes pooling receipts by room category after expenses.
• By occupied days first. A US resort pays each owner a fixed fee for every day the unit was occupied, scaled by size, then shares the rest by a participation factor.
• By days in the pool. A Dutch holiday park operator shares the pot by pool share and counts July and August days more heavily than winter days, so withdrawing a unit in summer costs more.

Ask how owner stays and days when the unit is out of service affect your share, because most keys reduce it.

Staying in your own unit

Pool contracts limit personal use, because a unit used by its owner earns nothing for the pool. Asian resort programmes reviewed in 2007 gave owners 30 to 60 days a year, with a charge for cleaning and utilities; a US agreement allowed 10 nights, none in summer. In Georgia, one Batumi listing offers owners up to a month a year, and a Gonio resort offered an 80% discount on the owner's own room during the holiday period. A separate tax rule exempts up to 60 days of free stays a year when the operator is a tourist enterprise; the contract sets the actual allowance.

Statements, audits and payments

Look for monthly statements that show room revenue, every deduction and the allocation key, and an annual report checked by an independent auditor. A US pooling agreement pays quarterly within 30 days of each quarter's end, provides an audited annual report and lets owners inspect the books; inspection is not the same as an audit, which is a costly review by an accountant. In Georgia, one Tbilisi aparthotel says it reports revenue, operating costs and net profit to investors every month, and a Batumi project gives owners an online view of bookings and income. Ask which currency you are paid in, how often, and from which account.

Term, exit and resale

Operators want certainty that enough units stay in the pool, so contracts often run for long terms and restrict withdrawal; a UK law firm notes that owners may still owe baseline costs when a unit is not let. A Gonio resort set its operator's term at no less than 20 years. In an HVS survey, only 10.5% of management agreements ended when the property was sold.

Georgian law adds three points, which depend on how your contract is drafted:

• A lease to the operator survives a sale. Under the Civil Code the buyer of a let unit takes the landlord's place, so the lease binds the next owner, and a lease of more than 1 year with a company is registered in the Public Registry.
• A management mandate can be ended. Article 720 allows either side to end a contract of mandate whenever it chooses, and an agreement giving up that right is void; work already done is still paid for.
• Trust management. Under Articles 724 to 729 the manager acts in its own name but at the owner's risk and expense, and the income belongs to the owner.

How the contract type affects tax

If the operator holds tourist enterprise status, its payments to an individual owner are taxed at 5% at source and not taxed again. If it does not, the Tax Code requires a company that pays an individual for a service, which includes letting property, to withhold tax at source, and the reduced 5% rate covers only homes let for living, so 20% may apply. Under a pure management contract the income may instead be the owner's own and need declaring. Ask the operator in writing how it treats tax on your payments, and see our guide to declaring rental income.

When a fixed return ends

Many Batumi projects sell units with a fixed return for the first years and switch to the pool afterwards. A Batumi broker wrote in February 2026 that such fixed returns usually run at 7% to 9% a year for 1 to 3 years, and that income can fall by 30% to 40% once the pool takes over. Read the pool formula as carefully as the fixed-return clause, because it governs most of the years you will own the unit.

What a pool can realistically earn

Savills observes that units in branded-residence rental programmes often run about 20 percentage points below the occupancy of the hotel next to them. In Batumi, Galt & Taggart's sample of hotels reached 67% occupancy at an average rate of USD 103 in the first 9 months of 2025, while trackers of short-stay flats show lower figures, 54% on Airbtics. Treat developer claims of 90% occupancy with caution, and run the formula on conservative numbers.

Questions to ask before buying

• Is the split taken from gross room revenue or after deductions?
• Which costs are deducted, listed in full?
• How large is the furniture reserve, and who owns it?
• What is the allocation key, and how do owner stays affect it?
• Which costs do I pay outside the pool?
• How often, in which currency and from which account am I paid?
• Do I get monthly statements and an audited annual report?
• What is the term, and how can I or the operator end it?
• What happens to the contract if I sell?
• Is the contract a lease, a management agreement or a trust, and how is tax withheld?

Reading a pool contract step by step

1. Find the contract type

   Lease, management mandate or trust.

2. Trace the money

   From room revenue to your transfer, line by line.

3. Model a weak year

   Use occupancy well below the developer's figure.

4. Check the exit

   Term, notice, sale and the operator's rights.

5. Ask for sample statements

   From an existing owner if the hotel already runs.

6. Have a lawyer read it

   Before signing the purchase and the operating contract.

Risks and exceptions

• Unclear base. A high headline split on gross can pay less than a lower one on net.
• Hidden costs. Repairs and replacements charged outside the pool.
• Long lock-in. Leaving may be costly or slow.
• Operator change. Brands and operators of Batumi projects have changed before opening.
• Tax withholding. The rate depends on the operator's status.
• Optimistic occupancy. Programme units often trail the hotel.

Frequently asked questions

What is a rental pool in an aparthotel?

A shared income pot divided among owners after costs and the operator's share.

What split do Batumi aparthotels offer?

Listings quote 60% to 80% for owners; the base of the split is rarely stated.

Is a 70/30 split good?

Only if you know what is deducted before the split.

Do I earn if my unit was empty?

Yes, in a pool your share comes from the whole building's income.

Can I stay in my own unit?

For the days the contract allows, often with a cleaning charge.

Can I leave the rental pool?

It depends on the contract; a pure management mandate can be ended at any time under the Civil Code.

What happens when I sell?

A lease to the operator passes to the buyer; other contracts may end or need the buyer's signature.

How is pool income taxed?

At 5% at source with a tourist enterprise; otherwise check the withholding with the operator.

Sources

1. Branded residences and rental programmes, Savills, 12 October 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
2. Lifestyle investment: rents and raves, C9 Hotelworks, 11 April 2007 (accessed 20 October 2026)
3. A new approach to hotel management fees, HVS, 25 April 2024 (accessed 20 October 2026)
4. Hotel management agreements in the Middle East and Africa, HVS via Hospitality Net (accessed 20 October 2026)
5. Innisbrook rental pool, notes to financial statements, Salamander Innisbrook LLC, SEC filing (accessed 20 October 2026)
6. Rental pooling and agency agreement, Wilderness Development Corp., SEC exhibit, 1997 (accessed 20 October 2026)
7. How does the rental pool work?, EuroParcs (accessed 20 October 2026)
8. Investing in branded residences, Lewis Silkin, 1 September 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
9. Passive income from real estate in Batumi, BD Group, 11 February 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
10. Subtropic aparthotel listing, Realting, February 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
11. Boulevard Point listing, Homesoverseas (accessed 20 October 2026)
12. Pontus Rotana Resort and Spa Gonio, Entrepreneur Georgia, 30 October 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
13. What to know before buying at Wyndham Grand Batumi Gonio, RESIDENT Magazine, 9 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
14. Aura Tbilisi Living, Entrepreneur Georgia, 1 July 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
15. Tourism Market Watch, 3Q25, Galt & Taggart (accessed 20 October 2026)
16. Airbnb revenue in Batumi, Airbtics (accessed 20 October 2026)
17. Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 209, 572, 709, 720, 724-729), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
18. Tax Code of Georgia (Articles 81, 133-2, 154), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)

Change log

• 20 October 2026 - Explainer published from published pool agreements, Savills, C9 Hotelworks and HVS reports, Batumi listings and broker guidance, the Civil Code and the Tax Code.