Batumi’s Seasonality Paradox: Platforms, Micro-Apartments, and Informal Employment

Batumi is the sharpest South Caucasus example of how a city economy can become almost entirely dependent on both seasonality and digital platforms. According to the Adjara Tourism Administration, the region welcomed about 2.5 million visitors in 2024, but the overwhelming majority arrived between July and September. For the rest of the year the city is half-empty, and the local economy slows to a crawl.

Airbnb data show around 3,300–3,600 active listings in Batumi. During the summer, occupancy rates reach 55–56 percent, with average daily rates of 37 USD. Each apartment can generate about 7,000 USD per year, but more than 80 percent of this income is concentrated in just two months. In the first quarter of 2024, the number of booked Airbnb nights fell by 30 percent year-on-year, highlighting how weak demand is outside the peak season.

The market is dominated by small units. Most new apartments built in Batumi measure 26–50 square meters, precisely because this size is optimal for short-term rentals. Developers openly market new buildings to investors seeking Airbnb returns, and the cityscape is filling with homogenous micro-apartments designed as tourist products rather than residential homes. This distorts the housing balance: locals face shortages in affordable long-term rentals, while entire districts cater almost exclusively to temporary visitors.

The Airbnb economy also creates thousands of seasonal jobs. In the summer, cleaning companies double or triple their staff, key-delivery services employ hundreds of young workers, and demand for minor repair and maintenance services spikes. Yet these jobs are overwhelmingly informal, without contracts or social insurance. When September ends, most of these workers face unemployment again, and the city reverts to a low-activity cycle.

Meanwhile, the hotel sector is expanding rapidly, with several new branded hotels scheduled to open by 2025. Unlike short-term rentals, hotels attract off-season business through conferences and corporate events. This deepens the divide: hotels move toward year-round viability, while the Airbnb market remains trapped in extreme seasonality.

If current trends continue, Batumi risks becoming a city of empty towers: new high-rises filled with micro-apartments that are bustling only for a few weeks each year. This outcome would undermine not only urban livability but also long-term investor confidence, as oversupply and under-utilization drive down real returns.

A potential solution lies in introducing minimal licensing standards. Requiring every short-term rental to have a fire safety certificate and basic insurance, and obliging platforms to list only compliant units, could professionalize the market. Such measures would raise average prices, reduce informality, and help flatten the seasonality curve, since higher-quality visitors are more willing to travel outside the peak months.

The Adjara Tourism Administration estimates that even a modest 10 percent improvement in seasonality could generate an additional 50–60 million USD in annual revenues for the region. This would be enough to convert some seasonal jobs into permanent employment and reduce the volatility of Batumi’s economy.

At stake is whether Batumi continues as a city of seasonal surges and winter emptiness, or whether it can use platformization more strategically to build a sustainable, year-round tourism hub. The answer will determine not just the future of its real estate sector, but also the livelihoods of thousands of residents whose work and income currently vanish with the summer sun.