ith all their 21st century technology, today’s portable spas are sexy, sleek and sophisticated. But without their forerunner — the wooden hot tub — they might not exist at all.
Although those early hot tubs are off most people’s radar, the vessels do still claim a small niche market.
These traditional tubs now are geared for a specific type of customer, one who revels in the rustic and craves a simpler way of life.
“The wooden hot tub is a classic thing,” says Tom Hellmann, general manager of Snorkel Stove Co., a wooden hot tub manufacturer in Seattle. “Our slogan is ‘Classic, not Plastic.’”
Jack Hillman, general manager of Hall-Woolford Tank Co. in Philadelphia agrees: Wooden hot tubs are for very specific demographic. “We cater to the old-time customer who wants something very unique, and we custom-make them for them,” he says. “Most of our business is from repeat customers who are looking to replace their old model.”
Whittling down the market
It wasn’t always that way.
“Back in 1976, there were hundreds of wooden hot tub manufacturers,” says Andrew Harris, vice president of the Richmond, Calif.-based Robert’s Hot Tubs. “But with the advent of the plastic spas, major corporations got involved with millions of dollars. Most wooden hot companies were mom-and-pop operations with not a lot of advertising dollars and they fell by the wayside. Heck, we still don’t have that kind of money.”
In addition, wooden hot tub makers admit that while their products are appealing to those with an eye toward nostalgia and a penchant for a more hard-hewn lifestyle, a majority of consumers want to receive their hot water therapy in the most modern, efficient way possible.
“It’s true that portable spas are more convenient and easier to install,” Harris says. “Wooden tubs are kind of like pools — there’s a little more involved in installing them. Most spa dealers don’t want to bother with them even though there is a lot of money to be made in the installation.”
Wooden hot tubs usually come to the consumer in kit form and must be assembled on location. A majority of consumers would just as soon not be bothered with the hassle, but there is a small percentage of do-it-yourselfers who live for such projects. It’s that group that keeps the wooden hot tub business afloat.
Wooden hot tubs aren’t necessarily less expensive than acrylic models either.
“No, they’re not cheap,” says Dave Lapiana, general manager of Spa Specialists Inc., a dealer in Westminster, Colo. “And they don’t save you a lot of money. They can range anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000 with all the accessories. Wood isn’t a great insulator either. Most acrylic spas will take a 55,000 Btu heating system, but a big 1,000-gallon wooden spa will need 100,000 Btus.”
Hellmann says his hot tubs aren’t quite that expensive, topping out at approximately $3,000. But where his company saves money for the consumer is by using a wood-burning stove to heat the water rather than a conventional gas or electric heater.
“We started in 1979 basically as a stove company,” Hellmann explains. “In the early ’80s, we started manufacturing wooden hot tubs on our own.”
It’s the use of that stove to heat the water that completes the rustic experience for wooden hot tub fans.
“It’s a small but dedicated market, and the ones who come into our showroom wouldn’t be caught dead in an acrylic spa,” Hellmann says. “The ritual of going out and building the fire is part of the appeal. It keeps [hot tub ownership] fresh. You don’t take it for granted. If you want to get into it on Friday, you might want to go out on Thursday and set the stove on slow burn. You have to think ahead.”
The strong survive
Since it began, the wooden hot tub market has been reduced to two or three major manufacturers, with a handful of smaller mom-and-pop businesses still operating across the country.
“We have grown every year since we’ve started in ’76, in terms of the number of tubs we’ve sold,” Harris says. “We do about 1,500 tubs a year. For some reason, the economy seems to have less of an effect on the wooden hot tub industry.”
Harris says that Robert’s Hot Tubs has about 10 dealers nationwide that also sell their modern, acrylic progeny. “They might sell 20 acrylic models for every one wooden tub,” he says. “But that’s OK. The two are just so different, and we don’t even try to compete.”
To get the word out, Robert’s Hot Tubs maintains an active Web site and publishes in industry trade magazines. “People say they didn’t know wooden hot tubs still existed until they saw us on the Internet,” Harris says.
The strategy has been working. Harris notes that his international business has picked up significantly over the past few years.
Hellmann says that Snorkel seems to have found a comfortable place in the market as well. “We’ve been pretty consistent year after year with some growth,” he says. “We are not going backwards, that’s for sure.”
While Snorkel services most of its customers directly, it does have some dealerships around the country. “We try to make sure the dealers are in the pool and spa business,” Hellman says. He then explains, “We get phone calls every other week from barbecue companies and catering services, and that’s really not what we want to go after.”
Snorkel advertises its hot tubs in several specialized consumer magazines such as Organic Gardening, Mother Earth News and Fine Home Building.
“We are after those who want to live a more natural lifestyle and aren’t into the plastic stuff,” says Hellmann.
