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Removing the Pain of Hot Tubs

By William May
Published: 06/01/10 Topics: Comments: 0

Yes they are a lot of trouble. They are costly to operate, expose you to health claims, require constant maintenance and repairs and-- in general-- are a pain in the butt. (We own six of them).

However - However - in many locations such as ski resorts, mountain getaways and even lake front homes hot tubs almost always pay off.

In some areas, guests expect them and in others it will convince them to rent your home and not a competitor's.

In one location identical side-by-side townhomes produced dramatically different results. The one with the hot tub grossed $40,000 a year. The one without, just $26,000.

Don't be fooled into buying the biggest and fanciest. Guests don't demand such things. Buy a nice big basic hot tub. Get the simplest controls because guests won't operate complicated ones correctly. In fact, they'll touch the controls even if you tell them not to, the water will get cold, and they'll want a refund.

And price doesn't equal quality. In case you haven't shopped recently most tubs come on a skid and have everything contained and all hooked up. All you need is 220 volt power (in the US) setup by a licensed electrician.

Yes you can do it yourself but that opens more legal exposure. And don't buy a 110 volt model- they take too long to heat.

Next - learn all about your state, county or city's health department rules and follow them diligently. Hot tubs can be bacteria incubators if not attended to faithfully.

Buy only the right chemicals and, by the way, you simply must invest in an Ozonator - a little device that increases cleanliness, limits the amount of chemicals you must use and decreases that chlorine/bromine smell.

And after all these details, what's the payback? In those identical townhomes a $4,000 hot tub plus maybe $1,000 a year in maintenance produces $14,000 more in rental. You don't need a calculator to figure the return on investment.

Author: William May – Volunteer, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0159 – 06/01/10

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