The truth about ” The Best  Hot Tub / Spas”

This is the time of year when the spa / hot tub manufacturers sales teams make their year happen.  Spa sales hit a peak in September when many regions have fairs, festivals, and carnivals taking place.  Historically the mass exposure of the consuming public to the spa / hot tub displays at such events manifests in big sales numbers for the 100 or so spa / hot tub manufacturers  in the US.  These events are often staffed by the “hired guns” of the spa / hot tub industry.  They are a special breed of fearless extraverts who have the ability to travel endlessly, survive on fried foods, and convince the potential spa buyer they are making the best decision of their lives (buying a spa from them).

So before I say anything else, hear this: A spa /  hot tub is great.  The benefits of a spa or hot tub are many.  Bottom line is,  get one, use it, and your body will thank you (not to mention the people you let use it). Now that said this over riding fact I feel free to speak the less flowery facts about spa / hot tub  purchasing process .

One of the growing trends is the spa brands present their brand as best based on some secondary source, an award, a certification, a “seal of approval” from a supposedly non biased firm.  The truth is there is no such thing as a non biased source for spas / hot tubs.  I say this with absolute knowledge of this being the truth because it was my former job for a better part of a decade to convince the public that my brands were the best using whatever means possible, short of breaking any laws (which is a wide road).   We had the Consumer’s Digest Award,  Five Stars,  Best Spa Rating,….. You name it, we had it.   Not because we had the “best,” it was because we had the budget and relationships to insure we had every thing in our marketing kit to convince the potential spa buyer, ” we are the best”.      Now, I did believe we had the best but it was my job to believe it and I did my job well.  I’m guilty of drinking koolaid even though I was the chef.   In case my point is getting distorted much like the awards I speak of, here it is,  you cant trust what they are saying because there is not any non biased research.  Every award is paid for by those who have the money to buy it.    Until now…….…

Hottubworks.com has 100s of thousands of spa owners as clients.  They buy spa covers / hot tub covers, spa chemicals, spa filters, and numerous spa accessories from us online.  Hottubworks.com does not sell spas nor is affiliated with any manufacturer.   We field hundreds of calls a day helping clients with spa covers, spa parts, if happens in or around a spa we have heard it (some good stories for another blogging).  We started asking, “How do like your spa?” “how often do you use your spa?” “would you buy this spa brand again?” .  We were amazed by the clarity of information we got back.  The result is we could clearly see certain brands were better to own and yielded happier owners.

I wont say who was the best because I dont want my phone to ring off the hook from nervous manufacturers.  What I will say to you the potential spa / hot tub buyer is it often comes down to the dealer.  If they dont have a store in your area, most owners are not happy with purchase experience and service.  One exception to this Costco.com where they have taken care of the buyer even when the manufacturer fails to do so (most local dealers could never do so).

So ignore all so called awards and ratings, and use your common sense for it will serve you better.  If you get confused, drop us an email and we’ll try to help with some fact based direction, for free.