Hot Tub Safety

Holiday lets which include hot tubs have become extremely popular in recent years. Consumer demand continues to rise and more and more holiday homeowners are installing hot tubs for their guests.

It's important to be aware that running a hot tub in guest accommodation can bring about some challenges. Owners need to do their research and be fully aware of the risks and their responsibilities.

Some of the things you need to think about if you are planning to install a hot tub at your holiday let include:

Operation and maintenance
Legal requirements
Testing and managing water quality
Keeping accurate records
Safety information and signage
Age limits (children under 8 should not use hot tubs)
How to treat the water safely and the correct chemicals to use
How to shut down and drain the hot tub when it is not in use

As a minimum, you will need to research what type of hot tub is most suitable for your property, conduct a risk assessment, and provide guests with health and safety guidance.

Water testing should be carried out daily, and the pH and sanitiser levels of the hot tub recorded. This can be difficult if you do not live near the property that you are letting out.

Finally, your insurance needs to include guests' use of a hot tub, including the cost of any damage or accidents that might occur.

Where can I find more information?

Devon and Somerset Trading Standards have produced a series of webinars and a toolkit to help accommodation providers to understand the steps required to ensure the hot tub environment is safe for guests and for owners, staff and contractors who maintain hot tubs.

These resources have been developed by the Heart of the South West Better Business for All Partnership with help from the Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK and funded by the Office for Products Safety & Standards.

You can watch the webinars and download the toolkit on the Devon and Somerset Trading Standards website.