Hot Tub Revolution
We have all been there. It is the height of the season. The clock is ticking on your holiday lets. Just a six-hour changeover window to dump the old hot tub water and heat the fresh water in time for the new arrivals who are chomping at the bit to take the plunge. This typical scenario is generally a twice-weekly race against the clock; the quickest of rollovers that needs to be completed seamlessly if we are to side-step the inevitable complaints and money-back claims. As an industry standard, using conventional methods, a holiday hot tub, with a normal 3kw heater, will heat water on changeover at one degree an hour, that is up to 24 hours to get up to optimum temperatures.
So take note of a ground-breaking new state-of-the-art product, called the Climacube that will heat a hot tub at seven to eight degrees per hour. The Climacube will heat hot tubs in around 4-5 hours from cold with a consumption of only 1KW per/hour with a COP of over 3.5 in minus temperatures. If I then told you the Climacube can cut heating costs by up to 70 per cent and this technology can be used to provide hot water and heating to your holiday lodges themselves....yes, keep calm and form an orderly queue. Available as a stand-alone unit, the ClimaCube can be retro-fittedto all makes of hot tubs. It is also available as a pre-installed feature in a bespoke range of hot tubs by ClimaCube’s creator, Park Leisure Solutions. Launched at the start of the 2018 season; good news travels fast. Forward thinking companies like Parkdean Resorts were amongst the first to snap up the new technology that already features on over 70 hot tubs at holiday parks in Poole, Norwich and Skegness. Based on a thermo-dynamic patented technology, working off a 13 amp supply, the all-singing, all-dancing Climacube is a refrigerant-based product.
In essence, it is the next step for heat pumps – heaven-sent for parks who can cut their reliability on piped or bottle gas supply lines and switch to reliable off-grid sources.
PROBLEM SOLVER
What Trevor Baylis was to the wind-up radio, so is Climacube creator, Stuart Mulcahy, for the holiday hot tub sector. Having over 20 years’ experience in the hot tub industry, Stuart dipped a toe into the holiday park market some five years ago and began searching for a product that would both solve problems and cut running costs. “I had worked in the industry long enough to understand the problems facing holiday lets with hot tubs,” says Stuart. “The solution, to supply quality built, energy efficient, commercial hot tubs that customers can rely on,” says Stuart.
WORLDWIDE PATENT
“So many holiday park operators have been sold domestic tubs or modified tubs that are not easy to maintain, have domestic spa covers and present a serious amount of problems when it comes to customer care,” he adds. The lightbulb moment came with a variation on proven heat The Climacube Heat System offers the very latest energy saving heat technology, dramatically reducing running costs, increasing customer usage, reducing the carbon footprint and enabling customers to use hot tubs all year round, at the desired temperature without the concern of cost. Customers are already benefiting, with installations producing significant reductions in their energy heating costs.
Unlike conventional heat systems, Climacube will heat hot tubs in around 4-5 hours from cold with a consumption of only 1KW per/hour with a COP of over 3.5 in minus temperatures – meaning a dramatic reduction in your annual hot tub energy costs. pump technology that is now backed by a worldwide patent. Much more than a heat pump, significant techniques include the way air is brought into the unit and distributed via a compressor. Supplied with the appropriate European wide accreditations, the UK designed Climacube is in full production and is supplied and serviced nationwide. “This is very new and different way of heating that has been developed over three years with tests and proto-types in the factory and on site,” explains Stuart. “It would be very easy to say, I will buy that heat pump and see if I can adapt it,” he says. “Rather than do that, we have started from scratch to ensure the system draws minimum current but produces maximum results.”
Developments are already in the pipeline to offer remote control and apps to refine monitoring and diagnostics by the 2019 season. “Much more than heat pumps, this bespoke-designed system has been developed to specifically to speed the heating of hot water in the tub while drawing only 1kw of energy to put 7kw into the water. “ Offering their own nationwide team of hot tub installers and offering training to both the hot tub and holiday park industries, Park Leisure Solutions already has its system working on nearly 70 sites even though it is its launch year. They are working with leading suppliers on the strategic changeover of redundant hot tub stock, replacing them with the super energy-efficient and time-strategic alternatives. “Time after time, we are meeting with exasperated holiday park operators who find themselves with hot tub issues not of their making. “All too often running with out-dated product, or domestic units, trying to get as much rental income as possible out of them before making changes. “Often those tubs have been supplied with no back-up or service,” says Stuart, who warns that some operators are falling out of love with holiday hot tubs and a bucket-load of problems and potential client complaints.
“Having recognised the issues and developed commercial built, reliable solutions we are now working with leading industry names, including Parkdean Resorts, to re-invest in hot tubs. “For all the positives with encouraging bookings, we all know the pitfalls with hot tubs with customers tampering with controls, tearing covers that look terrible and do not insulate properly. “We are offering the right product that ticks all boxes,” emphasises Stuart. Made in Canada the Park Leisure Solutions hot tub range is made up of a five hand-picked models, specifically adapted for holiday park market. Stuart points out. “Our hot tub range is supplied with a strong white acrylic finish with luxurious silver and grey marbling, polysteel cabinetry with galvanized SureSteel Frame plus layered ROXUL® Insulation and industry leading warranties as standard.”
RESEARCH AND DESIGN
The Park Leisure Solutions team has worked with specialist health and safety consultants to ensure their models not just meet but exceed HSE hot tub guidelines. The company has invested ignificantly in research and design, questioning some industry advice, such as erosion feeders, which they believe are not right for the holiday park marketplace. “There is so much misinformation out there,” Stuart despairs. “We have carried out extensive research, development and testing over three years before launch.”
“We can either adapt existing stock or simply supply alternative stock.” Stuart adds: “We can sell on the technology but the biggest bonus is avoiding the complaints that accompany changeovers,” As well as the positives it brings to holiday hot tubs, the Climacube offers huge promise for the improvement in energy efficiency of swim spas with impressive reduced running costs The technology is also available for swimming pools with scope to link to hot water and heating systems for holiday lodges and caravans – all offered off the national gas grid. Quick. That queue is getting longer!
Park Leisure Solutions
Tel. 01202 69 11 66
www.parkleisuresolutions.co.uk
“We’re currently the trusted security system provider for over 200 parks that have over 100,000 holiday or residential park homes on their sites, including Bourne Leisure, Park Resorts, Parkdean and Park Holidays UK.”
This combination of increased regulation and more regular breaches means that it’s more important than ever that your business takes steps to protect itself in the digital world, even if you don’t operate online it’s likely that your systems are connected to the internet and therefore could be vulnerable. Most businesses in this sector will have an electronic booking system and/or hold customer data electronically; access control may also be digitalised. All of this could leave your business exposed to signifi cant costs and expenses and importantly loss of income, in the event of a system failure, fraudulent or not! Businesses should look at their IT infrastructure to ensure they have robust security in place to minimize the risk of a breach however it is not possible to guarantee any system is completely secure – user error or a determined hacker can often still cause a breach. Therefore, parks are recommended to look at Cyber Protection.
One of the most picturesque caravan holiday home and luxury lodge parks in the UK can be found on the Welsh border with Shropshire. Overlooking the River Severn, Seven Oaks Holiday Park at Crew Green, between Shrewsbury and Welshpool, has been awarded the Visit Wales five star “exceptional” rating.
The park’s facilities include a dedicated reception, laundry, a state-of-the-art fitness suite, crown green bowling green complete with pavilion and pitch and putt golf.
Operations Manager At Bridge Leisure Management - a company that provides professional management and consultancy for the caravan holiday park industry.
Fordingbridge, who are key suppliers when it comes to maximising outdoor space. “This can create great word of mouth and repeat business from visitors having just had a great experience at your park,” Christine continues. “Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing and the best aspect is, it’s free! “If your equipment is covered by a canopy, it also increases the life span and therefore reduces maintenance and replacement costs,” adds Christine.
Specialist design and built contractors, Fordingbridge is a one-stop shop when it comes to outdoor weather-proofi ng solutions. A typical installation recently took place at the Cotswold Country Park and Beach provides water sport activities on a wide expanse of lake. The owners wanted to create a weather-protected, outdoor dining/spectating space where friends and family of those participating in the water sports could dine and watch in comfort, sheltered from the elements. After conducting a free site survey, Fordingbridge proposed a twin-span, barrel-vaulted timber canopy to provide 128m2 of covered space overlooking the lake. The Opal 60 fabric roof covering was designed exclusively for Fordingbridge and is known for its longevity, high tear strength and UV resistance. The install team delivered the project in four days, keeping disruption to a minimum.
Great for park operators and the planet, increasingly the holiday sector is choosing recycled plastic furniture over traditional wooden furniture. The reasons are clear. Not only will it never rot, splinter or rust but it is guaranteed against rot for 25 years. There are no long-term maintenance commitment such as painting or sanding down. It’s waterproof and not affected by exposure to chemicals, severe weather or intense sunlight, meaning it can be left outside all year round without any effect on its look and feel – and no unsightly green algae. New for this season from NBB is its London Dining Set – a contemporary table and bench set manufactured in grey plastic, seating up to six guests and saving nearly 4,000 plastic milk bottles from going to landfi ll.
Rolec Leisure is seeing a growing number of parks installing charging stations for electric vehicles. Something that park operators are probably encountering more and more are visitors with electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs and PHEVs). “Demand for EVs and PHEVs is at an all-time high in the UK, with year-on-year sales having increased by more than 27% explains,” explains Martin Georgeson, Sales Director of Rolec Services, the award-winning company is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading designers, manufacturers and suppliers of EV charging points and accessories. “We are aware of a number of disgruntled visitors to other leisure parks around the country who have aired their disappointment at the lack of EV charging points on EV internet forums, highlighting the fact that demand is out there,” warns Martin. Rolec’s EV charging points are specially designed to be easy and economical to install, safe, and adaptable to a holiday park requirements.
