Lay My Hat

Has any member got a hot tub at there holiday lets, how popular are they? Am thinking of getting one for my holiday let. Rota

Hot tubs are expensive, and need a lot of daily maintenance. Don't go there.

Try this for a bit of light reading. Note that in a holiday let the use is classed as commercial.

Note: since this post in 2016 and the incidences of infection and fatalities attributable to hot tubs, tighter guidelines have been introduced see here

Walk away from the hot tub

Essar wrote:Walk away from the hot tub

Why do you say 'Walk away from hot tub' the people who are interested in renting my holiday home are keen when I mention getting a hot tub installed, we have a friend who has a hot tub for about 6 years now and not had any trouble with it and easy to maintain, would like to hear from people who have or got hot tubs at there holiday lets Rota

What Essar means is that there is an awful lot of rules and regulations as per Greenbarn's post.

We looked at getting one for the guests a few years ago and after looking at everything that was involved (and how much that would cost) decided against it.

I'm confident we'd pull in another 20/30 days especially either side of summer. Maybe more. Capital payback would be an acceptable 2 or 3 years. The worry beads remain -

1) Pissed and noisy adults staying up really late and larging it loudly 'til dawn. A hot tub will certainly encourage later outdoor nights.
2) Kids thrashing it as a play pool and seeing what it takes to jam the pump motor
3) Ignoring the plastic glasses and "conditions of use" & breaking a real one in it or in vicinity.
4) Bleeding feet or worse and the unpleasantness of litigant chancers.
5) Effort, the agro and cost of refill/reheat every change over
6) Trashed dirty towels
7) A wet carpet between bedrooms and patio
Not very eco
9) Bah humbug

So on balance no.

All of the above are deterrents, but for me the 'bodily fluids' thing is a major 'yuck' factor. Hot tubs are notorious for amorous activity and as a guest I would not be certain about how sanitary the tub was. I would never get into one at a holiday rental personally.

Stewart wrote: 1) Pissed and noisy adults staying up really late and larging it loudly 'til dawn. A hot tub will certainly encourage later outdoor nights.
2) Kids thrashing it as a play pool and seeing what it takes to jam the pump motor
3) Ignoring the plastic glasses and "conditions of use" & breaking a real one in it or in vicinity.
4) Bleeding feet or worse and the unpleasantness of litigant chancers.
5) Effort, the agro and cost of refill/reheat every change over
6) Trashed dirty towels
7) A wet carpet between bedrooms and patio
Not very eco
9) Bah humbug

So on balance no.

It's not just refill and reheat - plus thorough cleansing of the emptied tub - at every changeover, there's also daily checks on chemicals that must be made by a competent person.

Casscat wrote:
Hot tubs are notorious for amorous activity and as a guest I would not be certain about how sanitary the tub was. I would never get into one at a holiday rental personally.

And that's without the legionella risk to those in or in the near vicinity of a poorly maintained hot tub!

Apart from the major hassle factor, my prime reason for not wanting a hot tub is that a significant proportion of the people who would choose a place because it had one are precisely the sort of guests I really don't want. (Perhaps a more judgemental version of the thoughts put forward in the previous posts!)

If hot tubs are anything like public swimming pools, they say that up to 1 in 5 people pee in the water and 70% never shower before going in, OMG no wonder the eyes turn red after a dip, and we all thought it was the chlorine that did it, they're really just chemical toilets....

Have you ever noticed those bars in swimming pools where the customers sit there all day drinking - they never get up to go to the toilet.

We have a hot tub its brilliant, the guests come here for many more days because we have one, and when its dirty, we change it for them too. Best draw you can have

Ladyaga wrote:..when its dirty, we change it for them too.

??? I don't quite understand that? You have to do all the necessary maintenance - guests can't be allowed to empty, clean and refill the tub themselves due to the chemicals that have to be handled. The H&S requirements for a hot tub in a holiday let are that it is emptied, thoroughly cleaned and sanitised and refilled at every changeover, and twice daily checks made on the water quality, all by somebody competent to do the tasks.
Is that not enough, or does it get unhygienic before a changeover due to guests not showering before use (or worse!!)?

We have one (in the Alps) and it is a huge draw, no question. I don't think I'd do it in the UK. The requirements are very stringent - rightly so - and I personally don't see the appeal in a damp temperate climate.
I think the demographic for a hot tub in a UK rental is a bit different. Depending on lots of other factors of course.

To address these points one by one...

1) Pissed and noisy adults staying up really late and larging it loudly 'til dawn. A hot tub will certainly encourage later outdoor nights.
Yes - here, they want to get up in the morning to ski, and it can still be loud and late sometimes. We don't have neighbours (just us!) so it's OK.

2) Kids thrashing it as a play pool and seeing what it takes to jam the pump motor
Yes - Kids can be a real nightmare if not carefully supervised. Climbing on the lid (and jumping on it!!), jumping into the water (very very dangerous as they get really over excited and can easily hit their heads), and running in and out which tracks dirt in. I read the riot act but some families are stressful.

3) Ignoring the plastic glasses and "conditions of use" & breaking a real one in it or in vicinity.
Happens occasionally and no fun. I bought very good quality plastics and that helped a lot.

4) Bleeding feet or worse and the unpleasantness of litigant chancers.
This happened and we paid up. I don't think they were chancers, but the kids ran in and out until it looked like soup and then they got a rash. We paid for the doctor's bill, it seemed the best option. We shouldn't have let them do it (It was passable until the last two days, after that I assumed no-one would be getting into it ). Now, I tell people if it gets bad, it will be emptied, cleaned, refilled and they will be charged, plus it will be out of action for 24 hours to reheat. No trouble since.


5) Effort, the agro and cost of refill/reheat every change over
Yes but you factor that in. It's not a massive job once you have the routine down. Maintenance is an issue if you aren't on-site.

6) Trashed dirty towels
I must say this has not happened. We do provide robes though. Make sure you have somewhere to put them - hooks etc.

7) A wet carpet between bedrooms and patio
Probably would happen. We don't have carpet.

8. Not very eco
No they aren't, and the wood fired ones arguably worse. They don't cost as much to run as you might think if you get a good one. But good ones are very expensive.

9) Bah humbug
Indeed. Since I had one, I very very rarely use them. If I think I might be using one on holiday, I take testing strips with me! I like ours, because I cleaned it.

Just adding this here.
Since the original post and information from 2016, and the incidences of infection and fatalities attributable to hot tubs, tighter guidelines have been introduced see here