Hot Tubs Are The Golden Goose

Hot tubs are a highly profitable addition to a holiday letting. Pic: Caldera Spas.

Hot tubs are a highly profitable addition to a holiday letting. Pic: Caldera Spas.

Hot Tubs Are The Golden Goose

Hot tubs are the must-have ingredient in the recipe to holiday booking success it has been revealed.

According to self-catering specialists Hoseasons, a private hot tub is the number one searched for item on the website, accounting for more than 100,000 searches each month.

“Hot tubs really are the golden goose of the holiday market,” comments Jon Moxon, business development manager at Hoseasons.

“There’s been a meteoric rise in the popularity of hot tub holidays since our first unit went on sale at Faweather Grange, Yorkshire, in 1997. These days there are more than 2,500 lodges and luxury holiday homes with hot tubs across our portfolio, with unit numbers increasing by 21% since 2013.”

A highly profitable addition to a holiday letting, there are however, potentially hazardous pitfalls to avoid before taking the hot tub plunge. Although more affordable, domestic hot tubs are designed solely for home use and are not intended for commercial use. “Avoid the temptation of buying a cheap spa on the internet,” advises Chris Brady of Lincolnshire-based 1 Stop Spas, who is heading up the UK branch of the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals.

“We come across plenty of customers whose opinion when buying was ‘I only want a cheap spa because I’m only renting it out’. Like most electrical equipment, buying cheap isn’t always cost effective over a few years.”

He adds: “Cheap spas can cost up to ten times as much to run, meaning higher overheads. They are often fitted with cheap components, therefore the reliability is not very good meaning in inconvenient downtime for you and rental customers.”

Lap Of Luxury – Holiday Hot Tubs

Lap Of Luxury

UntitledAppealing to families as well as couples, for many holidaymakers, having their own hot tub is the highlight of their break.

Perfect any time of the year, hot tubs are especially indulgent when it is cold outside to add to the lure of an autumn or winter holiday offering. For holiday park operators, adding a hot tub is an opportunity to enhance visitor appeal and to add a premium to the letting price of the accommodation.

When Jenni and Andrew Thomas opened the doors of their idyllic 300-acre working farm, Castle Pren, in rural mid-Wales to holidaymakers the first thing on their shopping list was two hot tubs. The couple called on the services of Three Counties Pools & Spas in Hereford, who recommended the stunning Caldera Vacanza Vantos. Open since May, the park had almost full occupancy through the summer and into autumn.

Jenni says: “Caldera hot tubs have proved a wonderful business asset - the customers absolutely love them. Regardless of the weather, or the time of day they are in use. They are a great investment.”

2Will Welch of Three Counties Pools & Spas adds: “The hot tubs were easy to install with no access issues. We have installed numerous Caldera spas for holiday park settings now and they have all proved highly successful. As soon as the tub is in the correct position, the water fill is started so that by the end of the install, the tub is full and heating and full instruction can be given on tub operation and water chemistry.”

Chesterfield-based Superior Spas recently supplied 26 hot tubs to a holiday park in Devon. The park was charging around £40 per night for each holiday let, but with the addition of the hot tubs the fee has increased to £100 per night.

Superior Spas sales manager Chris Cave says: “We offer discount on bulk orders, so holiday park owners are looking at an average cost of between £2,300 and £2,700 for a good quality hot tub with bulk discount applied. These will last for between five and ten years, if maintained properly, so it really is a worthwhile investment.”

To read more of this story, please subscribe online.