Dream Maker Spas is changing the way the industry sees rotomold with its Syncrylic material that provides a luster, giving the finish a movement previously only found in acrylic.
“It puts us on par with the granite acrylic look and finish,” says Dave Wright, vice president and general manager at Dream Maker Spas. “It’s a special formulation that crosses the line between polyethylene and acrylic. We’re pretty excited about it.”
Available in black, white and brown, Syncrylic has “a higher-impact strength,” Wright says, than typical rotomold.
Dream Maker has also created a new type of all-in-one hot tub. The tubs in its Suite Spa Collection come standard with an umbrella, cover with lifter, fold-up table, cooler, pillows and steps with a handrail. The same Weather-Shield material is used for the umbrella and cover instead of vinyl.
“It’s about the backyard entertainment, that staycation thing that we’ve all been trying to promote for years and years,” Wright says. “They take it out of the box, fill it with water, plug it in — and everything they need to maintain it, to enjoy it, to use it, is already there.”
There are 11 molds to build this singular hot tub, Wright says, and Dream Maker makes all of those pieces. A U.S.-based company makes the steel components. Dream Maker did its best to make the myriad included accessories as multifunctional as possible. The umbrella will rotate 360 degrees, so you can use it to cover a table near the hot tub. The step doubles as a storage container and has planters on either side to add foliage.
“Most of us, we build a hot tub and then we throw an afterthought step onto it,” Wright says. “This step was designed specifically for this hot tub.”
A Suite spa will retail in the $4,999 to $5,999 range. Wright says the company is trying to not only change the look and feel of rotomold, but also the business proposition.
“Historically, the perception with rotomolded hot tubs is they’re the last resort, low-margin dollars,” he says. “We’re offering a product that’s not only beautiful and functional, but we’ll also provide the dealer with the same margin dollars they can realize on any acrylic hot tub. They can make very good dollars on it.”
He says the dealer reaction to the Suite Spa Collection at the Pool | Spa | Patio Expo in Orlando last November was overwhelmingly positive.
“[Dealers are] saying it’s the first in a long time they’ve seen features incorporated in a hot tub that are not some gimmick [but] actually functional,” Wright says.
Despite the year-and-a-half the Dream Maker took to develop its Suite Spa line, the company never lost focus, he adds. “The vision was clear, and the team understood the vision,” Wright says. “There was never a doubt that this was the direction of the future of not only Dream Maker, but also the future of hot tubs.”
