Furnishing a condo for rent in Thailand: what guests need and what to buy

Furnishing a condo for rent in Thailand starts with what a guest needs on the first night: a good bed, air-conditioning, a kitchen that works, linen, towels and somewhere to put a suitcase. Decoration comes last. First find out what the developer’s standard already covers, then buy only what is missing.

This guide is for owners who plan to let an apartment. It works through what to include in a furnished rental condo, using The Astra Samui as the worked example. We have not found an official Thai checklist of what a rental apartment must contain, so for what guests expect we rely on Airbnb’s own host guidance, which we read on 24 October 2026. That guidance is one platform’s advice, not Thai law, and other platforms may ask for different things. We quote no costs and no rental income, because we have no sourced figures for either.

At a glance

• Essentials first. Airbnb asks hosts for toilet paper, soap, one towel and one pillow per guest, and linen for each guest bed.
• Then the features guests search for most, according to Airbnb: air-conditioning or heating, a kitchen, a washer or dryer, a TV, Wi-Fi and a pool.
• At The Astra Samui the standard fit-out covers furniture and fixed items. Linen, towels and kitchenware are not in it. They come with package A.
• At The Astra Samui, according to the developer:
  • In every residence: air-conditioning, mattress with pillows and a water heater at the shower.
• Two optional packages, Rental Ready (A) and Signature Resort (B), are priced on request. We do not say which one earns more.

What the standard fit-out includes

Do not assume what furnished means. The only list that counts is the one in your contract, so ask for it before you plan anything else and compare it line by line with the guest checklist further down.

At The Astra Samui, the furniture and equipment list for the show apartment (as of 19 October 2026) names these items:

• kitchen units with cabinets, a stone worktop, an induction hob and a sink;
• a sofa and a TV unit in the living area;
• a bed frame with drawers, and a mattress;
• a built-in wardrobe;
• a balcony set of two lounge chairs and a small table;
• air-conditioning;
• a water heater and a fully fitted bathroom with a vanity unit, a mirror and a shower.

That is the list for the show apartment. The final list is confirmed in the sale and purchase agreement.

What the standard list leaves out

The list gives you furniture and fixed items. It does not name:

• bed linen, towels or a bath mat;
• kitchenware or small appliances such as a kettle or a rice cooker;
• a television. The list names a TV unit, and package B names a smart TV;
• a refrigerator, a washing machine or a microwave.

Linen, towels, kitchenware and small appliances come with package A. Which large appliances come with your apartment is confirmed in your written offer, so ask before you plan around them. Internet is a contract with a provider, so ask the building which providers serve it.

What guests expect in a rental

Airbnb’s Help Centre lists the essentials it asks hosts to provide in every listing: toilet paper, soap for hands and body, one towel per guest, one pillow per guest and linen for each guest bed. It suggests more for larger groups and longer stays. It also warns that listings marked as having the essentials without providing them may face penalties, including removal from the platform.

Beyond the essentials, Airbnb’s Resource Centre names the amenities guests search for most. The list rests on Airbnb’s own worldwide data for 2025 and includes the pool, free parking, Wi-Fi, air-conditioning or heating, a kitchen, a washer or dryer and a TV. For guests who work remotely, the same page suggests fast, reliable Wi-Fi and a dedicated workspace. On safety, the same page urges smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in spaces with fuel-burning appliances, and says you may also want to offer a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit. Airbnb’s guide to preparing a space adds seating and table settings for the largest group you accept, a kettle, pots and pans, a hair dryer, a bath mat, window coverings, hangers or drawers and room for luggage.

The table works as a rental condo furniture checklist. It sets those expectations against what The Astra Samui provides, going by the list for the show apartment and the package contents.

The pool is not something you furnish, but guests search for it. The project has a 70 m tropical lagoon pool, and it also has a limited number of ground-floor residences with direct pool access from a private balcony. Package B adds outdoor pieces for some of those apartments, as listed below.

A note on short stays

Furnishing for guests and letting to guests are different questions. The Hotel Act B.E. 2547 defines a hotel as accommodation established as a business to provide temporary accommodation for payment, and section 15 says nobody may operate a hotel business without a licence. Section 4 leaves out accommodation charged by the month or for longer periods, and lets a ministerial regulation exclude other kinds. We read the unofficial English translation prepared for the Office of the Council of State on 24 October 2026. It is marked as an initial version, it has no legal authority, and the Thai text prevails.

Whether a given letting needs a licence, and whether the building allows it, are questions for a Thai lawyer and for the building. We do not answer them here. This is not legal advice.

Package A and package B

The same list describes two optional furniture packages. Both are priced on request by the furnishing partner and installed before handover.

Package A is Rental Ready. The list describes it as everything a guest needs from day one: bed linen and towels, kitchen equipment, small appliances, curtains and basic decor, all durable and easy to maintain. The contents grow with the apartment type. A 1-bedroom plus has a bedroom and an extra room.

In package A, the extra room of a 1-bedroom plus gets a daybed or sofa with bedding, or a desk and chair. Every package also includes curtains or blinds if the standard fit-out does not already have them, clothes hangers and an iron.

Package B is Signature Resort. It is package A plus resort-style dressing: rugs, artwork, lighting, decorative furniture, premium bedding, a styled balcony, a smart TV and a safe. In the 1-bedroom plus and 2-bedroom types, apartments with pool access also get outdoor loungers.

To choose between them, start with what each one adds. Package A brings the linen, towels, pillows and kitchenware from the lists above. You still stock toilet paper and soap yourself. Package B changes how the apartment looks and adds a smart TV and a safe. Whether styling brings more bookings or a higher nightly rate, we cannot say, and we promise no rental income. Ask for a quote for both and compare them line by line with the checklist above. The full lists for each apartment type are on our furnishing page.

Custom-made furniture

Some owners would rather design the interior than pick a package: a different kitchen, more wardrobe space, a desk built into the extra room. For that there is Livo / Thailand Kitchens (thailandkitchens.com). Its range is made-to-measure kitchens, wardrobes and built-in joinery, plus interior styling, whether you plan to let the apartment or live in it. It has an office and installation team on Koh Samui. Disclosure: Livo / Thailand Kitchens is Varsovia Estate’s furniture partner, so read this as a declared link, not an independent recommendation.

If you plan to let, three things matter more than style:

• Surfaces that wipe clean and stand up to wear, because the apartment is cleaned and used often.
• Storage. Airbnb lists hangers or drawers and room for luggage, and its guide to preparing a home for guests says to lock valuables away. A built-in wardrobe can have a lockable section for your own belongings.
• Repairs. Built-in joinery is repaired by whoever built it, while a loose chair can be swapped in an afternoon. Ask who repairs what, and how quickly.

Ask for the price and the installation timing in a written quote for your apartment. Check the building’s rules before you order anything that changes the windows, the balcony or the outside of the building.

Maintenance and replacement

The Thai Meteorological Department’s 1991–2020 climate normals for its weather station on Koh Samui (station 48550) give a mean relative humidity of 81% over the year, with monthly means between 78% and 86%. Damp air can leave mattresses and fabrics musty in a shut-up apartment, so plan for it when you choose and when the apartment stands empty. Pick covers you can wash and dry quickly, use a mattress protector, and ask whoever looks after the apartment to open it up and run the air-conditioning between stays.

Things wear at different speeds, so plan replacement in groups.

Keep a dated inventory with photos of every item and its condition on the day you take over the apartment, and update it when you replace something. Airbnb’s guide to preparing a space recommends a cleaning checklist before every check-in, and the same list works for checking furniture. Ask in writing whether furniture and appliances carry a warranty, who gives it and for how long. Electricity and water tariffs are in our guide to the cost of living on Koh Samui.

Furnishing at The Astra Samui

Apartments at The Astra Samui come with the standard fit-out listed above, and the packages are optional. The project is sold off-plan, with handover planned for December 2028, according to the developer. That is a target date, not a guarantee. Ask these questions in writing before you order anything:

• the final furniture list in the sale and purchase agreement, and which large appliances come with your apartment;
• what each package contains for your apartment type, and its price;
• when the packages are installed, and whether you can inspect them at handover;
• who gives any warranty on furniture and appliances, and for how long;
• what the building’s rules say about anything visible from outside, such as balcony items and curtains.

We at Varsovia Estate, the sales agent for The Astra Samui, have an office on Koh Samui, in Maenam, and can put these answers in writing for a specific apartment. See the furnishing page for the lists by apartment type, read the how to buy guide for the steps from reservation to handover, or book a call with our team. For the area your guests will stay in, read our guide to living in Bophut. Prices start from THB 3,687,000 (about €98,000, NBP average rate of 23 October 2026).