Arctic Spas sees hot tub hot streak during pandemic

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This article was published 25/09/2020 (2174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Folks wanting a hot tub from Arctic Spas Manitoba will likely have to wait until January before they can dip their toes into one of their own.

The dealership, which has had locations in Manitoba since 1996, has never seen sales like they have during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dustin Last, the sales manager of the shop in Oak Bluff. Arctic Spas has another store in Winkler.

“We’ve been pretty consistent for a number of years now, really, but this year is definitely unbelievable,” Last said.

He thinks his location will exceed its busiest year’s sales by 100 hot tubs. As of Sept. 22, Oak Bluff Artic Spas had sold about 225 hot tubs. Over the past five years, they’ve sold an average of 140 to 160 per year.

“As soon as April 1st hit, it was like the floodgates opened and everyone kind of realized they weren’t going to be travelling this year,” Last said.

He guessed around 70 per cent of recent customers had told staff they were purchasing a hot tub because they weren’t travelling.

“People literally have been looking for anything that’s available, and stock’s been very hard to get,” Last said. “This year, the demand was a lot higher than the supply was.”

Some potential customers have gone elsewhere because of the production backlog, but many have stuck around, Last said. There are people signing up for January production dates in September. 

“It really has not stopped,” Last said.

The online inquiries have spiked too. Before the pandemic, a couple of people per day would contact Arctic Spas online. In the spring, the business was getting up to 40 inquiries daily. Last and a co-worker would respond to each one. Sometimes they’d work 16-hour days.

The company has hired more people to keep up with deliveries and service work. Three new staff joined the crew in store.

Arctic Spas closed off its showroom for a few months in the spring but took customers by appointment.

“It actually worked out really, really well because people were actually able to come in and spend enough time with myself and my co-workers to ask questions and get (them) answered,” Last said.

Now, the showroom is open — with new additions of hand sanitizer and signs reminding visitors to distance themselves — and Last is preparing for what’s traditionally the company’s busiest season.

He said he thinks people will continue to flock to hot tubs.

“I am blown away by how much of a boom this industry has had, but it’s been a long time coming,” he said. “I think this is something that’s always been on the back of a lot of people’s minds as something they’ve always wanted.”

Last said hot tubs provide therapeutic relief, which many people are looking for now.

“When they go and try (a hot tub), they sleep better, they feel better … It’s been, really, a blessing in disguise this whole year for us, and going forward, I think it’s going to keep getting busier and busier.”

Last said a variety of people buy hot tubs, but he’s noticed a lot of families and grandparents.