By Joseph Kalaydjian, Founder & CEO, Cheez Hospitality
A Beirut apartment that sits empty eleven months a year is common in the diaspora. It waits for the summer, the holidays, a visit that keeps getting postponed. Meanwhile the building fees, the generator and the damp keep running.
Three ways to rent, one apartment
- Short-term, under 60 days: Airbnb, Booking.com and direct bookings. Highest nightly rate, highest workload.
- Mid-term, 60 days to 12 months: NGO staff, journalists, consultants, families back for a season.
- Long-term, a year or more: a tenant, a lease, steady income.
The apartment is furnished once. Which way it rents is a pricing decision you can change as the year changes.
Who rents in Beirut
The diaspora drives demand. Summer, Christmas and Easter fill the city with people coming home who want a home, not a hotel. Between those peaks, the steady demand is professional: international organisations, media, consultants and project teams on stays of weeks or months.
Mar Mikhael, Gemmayzeh, Achrafieh, Badawi and Hamra are where we run apartments today, because that is where guests ask to stay.
The rules
Lebanon has no national short-term rental registration. That is not the same as no rules. Your building may have its own, your co-owners may have a view, and every stay should run under a written contract with a screened guest. We run all three.
How you get paid
Guests pay in USD. You receive one statement a month showing every booking and every cost, and one transfer, in USD. You do not need to fly in.
What to check before you rent
- Power and water. The generator subscription, solar if you have it, water deliveries and the internet line. Guests forgive a lot; they do not forgive a cut.
- The building. Lift, entrance, the concierge, and the neighbours.
- The apartment. Furniture, linen, kitchen, air conditioning. A dated apartment rents for less and reviews worse.
- The paperwork. Ownership documents, the building's rules, and who holds the keys.
If the apartment needs work
Most do. We design, furnish and renovate, then onboard the apartment ready to earn. Goods are bought at cost against receipts in your name, three quotes on every job, and nothing is bought until it is funded. See
Property Set Up.
What it costs
20% of rental revenue for stays under 12 months. For a lease of a year or more: one month's rent to place the tenant, then 10% a month. The estimate visit is free.
The short answer
Your Beirut apartment can earn while you live abroad. See Airbnb management in Beirut, our
fourteen Beirut apartments, or message the Beirut desk on WhatsApp at +961 3 832839.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your property's position with your lawyer or accountant.
Designed Living. Operated by Cheez.
