Is there any way to set up the hot tub so I only have to work on it once a week? I know I should daily but I can't. Critique my idea.

[RDspaguy]

Ok, first the loophole. While it is a rental, it is not considered public as it's use is limited to the renter for the duration of their stay. The owner must PROVIDE a sanitary spa, but it is the renters' responsibility to MAINTAIN it as such. No liability with records proving it was balanced and sanitized before check-in, which is why many hire a third-party service for maintenance. Their records hold up better in court than if you do it yourself.
Second, the disclaimer. I travel with my test kit and, as a professional in the industry, there has only EVER been ONE spa I would let my family use on a trip. EVER! A vacation rental is the most vile water on earth in my opinion, I maintained them in Tahoe for a couple of years. People do gross stuff in a vacation rental spa that they would never do in a public spa or their own spa that they have to pay to fix. It was not uncommon to drain and refill after each rental.
All of our tubs were chlorine unless specifically required by contract to use something else, and all used trichlor floaters. They are drained far too frequently to worry about cya, and ph damage comes with the territory for a vacation rental. Consider it the cost of business.
Use of any other method (ozone, minerals, ect) was not even a consideration to us, and we treated every tub to cover OUR butt and maintained meticulous records.
Unfortunately, vacation rentals are a nightmare for maintenance and destroy spas. But it's tough to rent one without a spa (at least in Tahoe it was). You never see old spas at a rental, they just don't last that long.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hello Ahrenboulis: I would also recommend that you look at a weekly maintenance product called Hot Tub Serum. There are numerous dealers in Colorado who offer this product. It will assist you in many ways. Read up on it. Owning an Air bnb property with a stand alone hot tub can get you rentals but can also get you many other problems. Glad to see that the tub is a Nordic. Great tub and a great company.

 

[ahrenboulis]

Alright thanks. I appreciate the honesty. We think we also make way more with a hot tub than we would without. I think I'm going to put in an a frog ease floater and ask guests to put in a little dichlor tablet each time they use the tub. Then I'll just change the water frequently like you said

 

[ahrenboulis]

Hello Ahrenboulis: I would also recommend that you look at a weekly maintenance product called Hot Tub Serum. There are numerous dealers in Colorado who offer this product. It will assist you in many ways. Read up on it. Owning an Air bnb property with a stand alone hot tub can get you rentals but can also get you many other problems. Glad to see that the tub is a Nordic. Great tub and a great company.

I'm reading about it. I already bought some ahh-some and was going to do that for a purge. Can I just use ahh-some for the purge and then use this weekly?

I guess why I ask is because this also wants you to purge. But I don't want to purge twice. So is the ahhsome purge enough. It sounds like they do similar things purge wise honestly.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

If you purge with Ahh-Some there is no need to purge with the Hot Tub Serum. The Ahh-Some will remove the nasties and other bio-fouling gunk and then, after refilling, you begin the Hot Tub Serum program. It will always be on guard to try and keep the water and soaking environment healthy. You DO need to use chlorine or bromine with the program but with excess bather loads, which your tub will experience time to time, the Serum will generally keep you clear until you arrive to perform your weekly service. It is the way to go.

 

[ahrenboulis]

Okay sweet. That mixed with the frog ease floater system sounds pretty good.

 

[bradgray]

We have over 200 acrylic vacation rental spas as part of our portfolio and I've been managing vacation water for a decade. There are many respected minds here that exceed my knowledge on nuanced chemistry and engineering, but what I can offer is humble wisdom borne from being square in the fire-line of marked liability and near-unachievable expectations found in your current position. We have explored many methods toward providing a safe and reasonable service scope until we arrived at a system that works as good as reality permits.

As many have said, you're going to need to pick a poison and the lifetime of your spa going to be substantially less than if it was in a residential home. There is simply, truly, no way around this reality. You cannot micromanage their behavior, and you will not be their omnipresent spa maître d' to dose it everytime they step out.

Guests should not be given access to chemicals; one too many times in my career, guests have placed themselves in danger and managed to harm their family and equipment by misreading or basic belligerence.

There is much I could get carried away on, but I'll keep it simple, as far as what we do.
These are the products we use:

- MP industries decay feeder
- 1" trichlor tabs
- liquid chlorine
- muriatic acid
- soda ash
- biodex foam stop

I would HEAVILY advise against the @ease system. It will convolute your chemistry, and will not keep up with usage.

Bromine is simply not strong enough, and it's very quick to dull. Guests will notice the look and flag it as a concern. Additionally, bromine is awful at recovery when you have to shock it due to overuse.

Plan on draining every 4-6 weeks at a minimum.
We have had countless instances where brand new water didn't make it 3 days because of poor behavior. Two drains in one week is normal during our spring break crowds. We plan on them in our schedules and we spend the weeks following trying to erase our minds of all the things we pulled out of that opaque bathtub.

Keep immaculate records and PHOTOS of the water every visit, ideally with a timestamp. This eliminates emotion when you need to hold people accountable.

We will not commit to service an acrylic spa at anything less than twice-weekly if it's a vacation rental. There is no possible way to provide adequate sanitation levels for that length of time supporting regular guest use without manual intervention. Even a fully loaded feeder cannot keep up and the consequences or trying will damage your spa even faster.

You need to be able to test then respond with adequate dosing per its actual condition every few days. This is the minimum, it really is. More is always better. You can't possibly know the usage it may see. Or may not see.

A group of 15 may hardly use it.
A group of 2 may urinate in it 3 times every day they are there.
You can't possibly know.

Too much chlorine trying to "anticipate" will make your water nuclear, too little and it'll turn and risk the bathers health. Especially when a guest checks in after someone just left and you haven't seen or tested the water before they get in it.

There is so much to consider here, but I suppose my humble departure statement is, you can't do it once weekly without putting your guests and yourself at risk. You will be hard pressed to find yourself with sufficiently trained, educated and concerned managers as you would be yourself.

 

[bradgray]

Ok, first the loophole. While it is a rental, it is not considered public as it's use is limited to the renter for the duration of their stay. The owner must PROVIDE a sanitary spa, but it is the renters' responsibility to MAINTAIN it as such. No liability with records proving it was balanced and sanitized before check-in, which is why many hire a third-party service for maintenance. Their records hold up better in court than if you do it yourself.
Second, the disclaimer. I travel with my test kit and, as a professional in the industry, there has only EVER been ONE spa I would let my family use on a trip. EVER! A vacation rental is the most vile water on earth in my opinion, I maintained them in Tahoe for a couple of years. People do gross stuff in a vacation rental spa that they would never do in a public spa or their own spa that they have to pay to fix. It was not uncommon to drain and refill after each rental.
All of our tubs were chlorine unless specifically required by contract to use something else, and all used trichlor floaters. They are drained far too frequently to worry about cya, and ph damage comes with the territory for a vacation rental. Consider it the cost of business.
Use of any other method (ozone, minerals, ect) was not even a consideration to us, and we treated every tub to cover OUR butt and maintained meticulous records.
Unfortunately, vacation rentals are a nightmare for maintenance and destroy spas. But it's tough to rent one without a spa (at least in Tahoe it was). You never see old spas at a rental, they just don't last that long.

+1 on everything RD said. Everything.

With the one exception, that our local health dept considers any dwelling with a pool/spa that is used by more than 3 families a year (unchaperoned by the property owner) is considered commercial.

It can be a grey area. I would not go looking for the bear by giving guests a reason to complain.

I completely understand the hassle frequent visits can be, and the interest in reducing thar burden. But I'd humbly suggest again that whatever you trade in convenience is going straight toward your tower of risk in a highly litigious society.

 

[RDspaguy]

With the one exception, that our local health dept considers any dwelling with a pool/spa that is used by more than 3 families a year (unchaperoned by the property owner) is considered commercial.

If considered commercial in Tahoe (at the time I was there, many years ago) they would have to follow regulations for commercial pools, including 3x/day testing with records, emergency shutoff, safety equipment, handicapped access, etc. Nobody would have a spa at a vacation home under those circumstances. They looked at a 5 day rental no differently than a monthly rental with a year lease. You rented a house with an appliance, and it's yours to use for the duration of your rental agreement. If you burn your pizza in the oven it is not the landlords responsibility, nor is it his/her responsibility to wash your dishes or draw your bath. The spa is no different. You rented it, it's functional, it was balanced and sanitized when you got it, if it became unsanitary it was through your actions or lack thereof. Can you complain that you got sick from using a dirty dish that you got dirty? And expect the landlord to come by 3 times a day to wash your dishes? Doesn't make much sense to me, but regulations don't have to make sense.

Guests should not be given access to chemicals;

While I agree in theory, that is one stipulation to the loophole. Every rental had clear and easy to follow instructions posted beside the spa with any necessary chemicals available for use. They were never used, and the floater was never in the spa when they left, but instructions and chemicals were provided.
@ahrenboulis given that some places have different regulations on this (who knew?) I'd suggest you check with your local health department on the specific regulations in your area.

would HEAVILY advise against the @ease system. It will convolute your chemistry, and will not keep up with usage.

This. I think most of the chemical gurus here agree that the "smartchlor" used in the "@ease" system is problematic. I am personally a fan of mineral purifiers and would recommend them in your case, but have to be clear that they in no way reduce the need for chlorine or the amount you will use. They are an additional layer of protection that would be ideal for a rental, but the expense of frequent replacement from frequent water changes (you need a new one every time) would be prohibitive.

 

[bradgray]

If considered commercial in Tahoe (at the time I was there, many years ago) they would have to follow regulations for commercial pools, including 3x/day testing with records, emergency shutoff, safety equipment, handicapped access, etc.

Similar rules here, though some adaptations. We also have to submit a monthly sample of the water to the health dept for analysis. It's wonderfully convenient and so meaningful...

Spas don't apply to every rule but the pools usually do, even if they're shallow 10 x 20.

If you burn your pizza in the oven it is not the landlords responsibility, nor is it his/her responsibility to wash your dishes or draw your bath. The spa is no different. You rented it, it's functional, it was balanced and sanitized when you got it, if it became unsanitary it was through your actions or lack thereof. Can you complain that you got sick from using a dirty dish that you got dirty? And expect the landlord to come by 3 times a day to wash your dishes?

Love this logic. I'll have to adapt a version of this and see how good I can wind up our inspector.

While I agree in theory, that is one stipulation to the loophole. Every rental had clear and easy to follow instructions posted beside the spa with any necessary chemicals available for use.

We wish we could. It would make our jobs easier and reduce the recoveries needed. But I work with diverse management partners and solo owners and we learned early we simply couldn't enforce perfect stewardship over the onsite chemicals.

A couple of consequential events from dangerously overchlorinated water sealed this opinion closed for me, and I've been unwilling to play in that arena since.

 

[ahrenboulis]

Interesting. Well I never knew there was so much to know about hot tubs. Thank you all so much. I got some research to do and I'm meeting with a hot tub maintenance company tomorrow. Hopefully they have experience with maintaining Airbnbs. But knowing what you all said will help me talk to them tomorrow.

 

[bradgray]

Interesting. Well I never knew there was so much to know about hot tubs. Thank you all so much. I got some research to do and I'm meeting with a hot tub maintenance company tomorrow. Hopefully they have experience with maintaining Airbnbs. But knowing what you all said will help me talk to them tomorrow.

My last advice is to vet your maintenance team using our anecdotes. I believe our consensus advice is in regard to being highly preventative and risk-averse.

Handing the spa over to a pool company who does not have established experience with acrylic spas, *and* experience with STR/VR homes, will be false security and only further your exposure.

Don't be afraid to be tough on them. Your guests will be tough on you, and your spa.

 

[RDspaguy]

It's wonderfully convenient and so meaningful...

Sounds like! Mental note: Don't move to Utah. Got it.

simply couldn't enforce perfect stewardship over the onsite chemicals.

Of course not. You can't if there are no chemicals there either, as they sell them everywhere and if the guests decide they want to add something they will. heck, I do. You think I trust my family's health to some unknown circumstances and a maintenance guy with 25 more stops today?
I've treated a hotel pool where I was a guest, after pointing out to management that it was a health code violation at the time. Made them open the equipment room and did what I had to do to make it useable for my family that evening, then gave their guy a free lesson the next day. Yeah, I'm that guy. But I didn't call the health department on them since they were so cooperative, and the guy was new and took notes. I figured he'd do better in the future.

A couple of consequential events from dangerously overchlorinated water sealed this opinion closed for me, and I've been unwilling to play in that arena since.

I hear you.

 

[ahrenboulis]

My last advice is to vet your maintenance team using our anecdotes. I believe our consensus advice is in regard to being highly preventative and risk-averse.

Handing the spa over to a pool company who does not have established experience with acrylic spas, *and* experience with STR/VR homes, will be false security and only further your exposure.

Don't be afraid to be tough on them. Your guests will be tough on you, and your spa.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. I can find the right company now.