Brighton may have more than 400 restaurants, but you hardly have to walk 50 yards before bumping into a familiar face from the pool and spa industries during the annual SPATEX exhibition weekend.
Truly, a not-to-be-missed water leisure networking event, the 2013 seaside gathering takes place from Sunday February 3 to Tuesday February 5 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole Exhibition Centre.
Now in its fourth year, the annual UK Pool & Spa Awards are run by Pool & Spa Scene magazine, this year, in association with the UK Pool & Spa Expo.
Hydropool Spas welcomed a profile-raising opportunity to sponsor the pro-am Alternative Ryder Cup golf tournament in aid of charity. Held near Almeria in Spain, the event was timed to coincide with the real Ryder Cup. Matches mirrored the main event as participants playing during the day and then watched the television coverage during the evening and into the early hours.
Every pool and spa professional is being urged to take a few minutes to share their views in the second annual State of the Wet Leisure Industry survey.
In the world of swimming and sports centres the growth of excellence in community facilities has been driven by a few key players. At the forefront of the design and delivery of some stunning buildings – including the Olympic Aquatics Centre – is the number one company, S&P Architects. With dozens of prestigious projects under their belt throughout the UK and Ireland it is difficult to comprehend the size of their operation, with regional offices in London, Nottingham, Glasgow and Dublin. They are soon to open an office in Birmingham. At the helm of today’s company, founded by two architects in 1982 – Peter Sergeant and Mark Potiriadis – is a man who admits he is hardly ever in the same office two days running.
They say success breeds success but for spa retailing couple Peter and Rachel Grinnall, of Midlands-based Complete Spas, it seems the harder they work, the luckier they get! The entrepreneurial pair first thought of opening their own spa retail business five years ago. “Rachel and I went out on a sunny afternoon with £5k in our back pocket with the hope of buying a ‘proper’ hot tub as we had a spa in a box for three years and loved it,” recalls Peter.
One-piece pools are becoming increasingly popular across India, in both commercial and residential projects. With hotels, townships, and private homes sprouting up across the subcontinent, coupled with the rise of India’s middle class; the market potential for ready-made pools is set to soar. Ready-made pools are not only cheaper than traditional pools but require significantly less time to install.
Delaying the need to invest in expensive shops and showrooms, the hot tub hire market has been providing a useful first stepping stone for would-be spa retailers for many years. Now, more established water leisure businesses, looking to diversify in order to bring in much sought-after cash flow, are dipping their toe into the hot tub hire market. “More spa dealers are looking at the potential of the hire market to increase not just their cash-flow but their prospect lists,” confirms Chris Alcock of Interhiva UK.
Artesian Spas have donated a limited-edition pink spa to one of their dealers in aid of cancer support at their local hospital. The Artesian Spas dealer, World of Hot Tubs, is an avid supporter of the cause and is leading the campaign to raise money for cancer patients. Artesian has convinced many of their local retailers to sell pink-themed ducks in aid of scheme. Every duck purchaser is automatically entered into a free prize draw and the lucky winner will receive a limited edition pink Dominica spa, one of a kind, worth about £7,000.
There’s almost nothing more relaxing than enjoying a luxurious dip in a hot tub, except perhaps taking a slow cruise down a beautiful river. Now you can combine them both with a cruise in an ingeniously designed hybrid hot tub boat. The Hot Tug is powered by steam, generated from a woodburning stove to heat the water and a propeller engine to keep you sailing downstream. The boat contains up to 2,000 litres of water and comes with either an integrated electric motor or an outboard model. The wood stove in the bow of the boat heats the water in about 2.5 hours up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees F.) just by making a little fire with normal logs. Available to rent or buy, the Hot Tug is made from wood and fitted with glass-fibre reinforced polyester, measuring 240cm by 380cm by 110 cm.
