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A friend was over and we were using the hot tub. He asked how many person hot tub I had. I have the Sundance Optima and the manufacture says it is a 6-7 person hot tub. So it made me think. What do hot tub manufactures consider a seat is in the tub? Mine is what I consider to be a 6 person tub. Each person has a seat with a jet. The 7Th spot is the cool down seat. In my eyes if the seat does not have any jets above the bottom of the seat then it should not be considered a seat. It seams to me the more people a manufacture says the tub will hold the more expensive the tub is. If one of your seats is a cool down seat that should not be consider for the number of people in the tub. I understand that even sitting on a cool down seat you are still in the tub but you could then say a tub with a large cool down seat you could get a few more in the tub. Instead of saying 6-7 seating. It should say seating for 6 room for 7. I have only looked at four of the top manufactures and they all do this with the seating with some of their tubs.
Whats the difference... To me it is miss marketing. Look at the Hot Springs Aria ( don't jump all over me for this one it is just so easy to see) It say 5 person. Where does the fifth person sit? Let me help you, a cool down seat. Half their body out in the cold. This is not a seat in a five person tub. If it was all the tubs would have a cool down seat and they don'tThe reason the Hot tub companies do this is simple. More people more money. Why do you think people that have no idea about hot tubs buy so many cheap tubs that say "look at us we have 120 jets" It is the same principle. And Dr Spa great answer. I must have done something right with my marketing in my business because I retired when I was 46.
The last photo is a cruise ship hot tub, an area I have some expertise On 2/9 Carnival's Freedom was a clothing optional cruise. There would have been some interesting hot tub pics there.