ave McKibben took a deep breath. He faced a treacherous task.
A local brain surgeon bought one of McKibben’s high-end portable hot tubs to install on the second-floor balcony of his luxurious Arizona home. The doctor, who sought much-needed relaxation from his stressful job, requested the spa’s above-water neck message system be positioned to take advantage of the dramatic view of the city lights below.
“Imagine a 700-pound spa dangling from a cable on a 150-foot boom crane over a million-dollar home with a couple of installers reaching out from the balcony trying to hook and drag it over the railing into place,” says McKibben, manager of the spa, aboveground pool and store network divisions at Patio Pools & Spas in Tucson, Ariz., a 2002 Pool & Spa News 100 company.
It turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. “He was so happy that he told me if I ever needed brain surgery he’d throw in a free haircut,” jokes McKibben.
The daring delivery illustrates how far people will go to incorporate portable spas into their lives and backyards. True, the hot tub hasn’t totally shed its hedonistic image, as evidenced by its use on various TV reality shows. But that hasn’t stopped its move into the mainstream. In fact, many retailers contacted for this report note that portable spas have become more of a lifestyle than a luxury.
The changing landscape
With more and more consumers placing an emphasis on their homes these days, many now devote as much attention to their backyards — and their spas — as they do to other rooms in the house.
The backyard represents a living environment where people can escape from all the outside influences in their life, says Steve Ast, vice president of sales and marketing at Shasta Pools & Spas in Phoenix, a 2002 Pool & Spa News 100 company. Maybe that’s why retailers have noticed one trend more and more: Many spa owners spend a lot of money on landscaping.
“It used to be, ‘Hey, let’s get wet,’” Ast notes. “Now, it’s ‘I want to make this my dream backyard.’ Owners are trying to turn their backyards into a work of art. It adds value to their homes.”
Terraced decks, rock formations and strategically placed plants and shrubs help achieve an integrated look. “It’s not just plain Jane anymore,” Ast says.
Portable hot tubs now blend into an overall outdoor design scheme. “The trend in the past was to put the spa in the patio or a gazebo, or build a concrete slab and stick it in the middle of the backyard,” says Stuart Rogers, spa division manager of Dolphin Pool & Spa Supply and Services Inc. in Dallas, a 2002 Pool & Spa News 100 company. “Homeowners are trying to make it look like the spa belongs there.
“They might also install low-voltage lighting in the trees and pathways,” he adds. “It’s the same type of landscaping they would use if they put in a swimming pool.”
Landscape architects also create ways to eliminate the redwood boxiness of the average portable hot tub, according to McKibben. “Not only are our masons doing vertical flagstone spa cabinet wraps, but they’re also doing dropped or recessed portables, stucco wraps, tile tops to match the pool and all sorts of custom installations,” he says. The goal is to “give high-end portables pleasing looks and functional therapy, so customers can have the best of both worlds.”
“From a financial standpoint, by creating custom masonry packages around spas, they can sometimes be included in home financing and other longer term and/or interest deductible financing options, as well as enhancing the value of the home,” McKibben says.
In addition, portable hot tubs and inground pools are no longer considered strange bedfellows. “Over the last two years, we’ve seen a real trend toward inground pools coupled with aboveground spas, and it makes sense,” McKibben says.
“Think about it: Why do pool designers put therapy spas in the far corner of the yard next to the pool?” he asks. “Shouldn’t the spa be in closer proximity to the master bedroom’s sliding glass doors?”
Bright lights, big profits
Fiberoptic lighting, which took the portable hot tub industry by storm in the last three years, remains a popular option for many consumers. The ambiance of the automatic, color-changing systems, which transition from blue to red to green, creates a valuable sales tool.
“It puts consumers in a relaxing mood,” says Gary Paetsch, owner of Action Pool & Spa in Elmwood Park, Ill. “Once they see them in operation, it’s an easy sell.”
Nuts-and-bolts presentations usually generate minimal interest in first-time portable spa buyers, says Mike James, president of Watson’s of Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. “They are purchasing on a much more emotional level,” he says. “They’re attracted by the look, feel and excitement of the spa.
“So things like fiberoptic lighting are important to them,” he adds.
James says fiberoptic lighting makes good business sense, adding up to an extra $1,500 for the price of a portable hot tub. In fact, out of the 45 spas he displays on his showroom floor, 20 feature fiberoptic lighting.
“People who are buying with their eyes and emotions absolutely gravitate to them,” James says.
Over the last two years, McKibben has observed major changes in lighting trends. “I’ve seen everything from dizzying, twinkling disco lights that have to be a service nightmare to what I would call classy and more subtle fiberoptic, color-changing, speed-controlled lighting,” he says.
“Customers either love ’em or hate ’em; there’s no middle ground,” he adds. “If you want your neighbors to think an unidentified flying object has landed in your backyard, go for it. But lighting has a functional purpose in spas in both interior and external applications.”
Low maintenance ranks high
Spa cabinets are another place where functionality comes into play. And more and more consumers want cabinets that are maintenance-free.
That’s why retailers such as McKibben think real-wood spa cabinets soon may become a thing of the past. “I believe we’ll see real wood phased out completely in the next three years,” he predicts. “No dealer has ever sold a spa because the customer didn’t have enough to do around the home and was hoping to add periodic spa cabinet staining and sanding to his list of chores.”
Other retailers say that consumers appreciate the ease of synthetic cabinets. “Most customers want the low maintenance that comes with certain spas,” Paetsch says. “They usually want synthetic cabinets, which don’t need to be stained.
“With the redwood or cedar, you have to re-stain them every two years because they’ll turn gray if you don’t,” he adds. “The synthetic cabinets look just like redwood and always look brand-new.”
Former hot tub owners also prefer low-maintenance models. “People who have previously owned a spa are more concerned with reliability, cost of operation and ease of maintenance than first-time spa purchasers,” James says. “These people are gravitating toward the middle- to upper-end spas that address these concerns.”
