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Portable Sauna - A Guide to Opening a Public Mobile Sauna Business in NZ
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If you haven't noticed a portable sauna pop up in your home town, it won't be long. In the last two years, portable saunas in New Zealand seem to be the biggest trend, I mean, who wouldn't want to sauna right next to the beach, a lake in the mountains or with a stunning view, and earn an income while you do it? Some trends are not surprising.
Mobile Sauna Business - Wanting to Get Paid to Sauna?
If the health benefits of improved sleep and mental well-being, weight loss and stress relief of the sauna wasn't enough, many are turning their heads to the those running portable sauna businesses. Parked at the beach on a Tuesday morning, sauna goers rinse off in the crisp salty waves before returning to the toasty temperature of the sauna, as the facilitator pours cold water mixed with essential oils over the hot stones, creating steam scented with lavender and lemon like a wellness wizard.
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Some career options they didn't tell you about at school..
What You Should Think About Before Investing in a Portable Sauna in NZ
The Story
Weekly, I get calls from people ready to open their own sauna business. They're finally fed up with the nine to five. Their most enjoyable moments in the week are sitting in their local public swimming pool sauna, the small electric heater struggling to maintain the tepid 67 degrees celsius, discussing in depth with their fellow sauna addicts how the town needs a better sauna. The large glass sauna door opens, the door is wide enough to let in a large bear, to ensure all the built up heat immediately exits the sauna every-time the someone comes in or out. The young man pours his entire Hydro Flask water bottle on the hot stone and the sauna is out of action for another three months, for the second time this year.
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Finally, they've had enough. With a sense of valour they exclaim to the local sauna goers 'I will open my own sauna that is better than any you've ever seen before!' And with that they trump off.
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Already feeling like a saviour, they begin their research.
What You Need to Know About Opening a Public Sauna
Where to Run Your Sauna - Public vs Private Land​​
Public Land
Each council has different rules and you will need to navigate through the elusive wormholes of the council multiverse to find out what they are.
Some general information:
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If you've seen a food truck or another mobile business running in your dream car park, you're in luck. Either with or without a permit, it is possible. If you haven't, on the other hand, don't try until you've found out. Councils have already threatened naive portable sauna owners with $20,000 plus fines.
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With a disciplined mind, you can even start grooving to the early 2000's pop music you listen to while you wait on hold for your local council. They will tell you where you can operate, just make sure you explain to them the a sauna is not the same as a spa pool, somehow a common misunderstanding in the kiwi mind.
Private Land
With or without the option to operate on public land, I recommend to all my customers to operate from a private location. The main reason is that you can leave the sauna there semi-permanently. This not only removes the set up and pack down time every session when you pull up to your favourite spot, but it lets you build consistency for your customers and lets you run many more sessions, and this is where you will earn your return on investment.
Don't Operate as a 'Pop-Up' Sauna
Going to the sauna isn't a one off occasion. People want to integrate it into their weekly routine. When I opened the Redwood Sauna, I was amazed, every week, new people would come to the sauna for the first time and afterwards say 'I loved it, I am going to start coming every week', and they would! Within a couple of months we had over 100 people per week coming to the sauna and now we have up to 200. This is only possible because we run from private land and can leave the sauna their. This is the only way we could run so many sessions consistency and become a part of so many peoples weekly routine in Raglan.
Fascilities
Even on private land, I didn't say it would be easy to find a location. Finding a location, in my experience, is the most difficult part of the process. Once you have a location, the rest of the process can flow smoothly.
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Why is it so difficult? Because you need access to the combination of:
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1. Parking for up to 15 people.
2. Bathrooms.
3. Drinking water and showers.
4. Changing room (optional).
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Somehow, this combination is like adding filters on to AirBnB for the one date you can go on holiday and the results showing up empty. But it can found!
Booking System and Website
Another common barrier that keeps many up at night is the daunting task of creating a website and booking system. We feel ashamed to admit we don't even really understand what the word 'code' means.
No-Code Website Builders
Luckily, we don't have to. Website builders like Wix, Squarespace and Wordpress allow you to easily create a website from a template, you might even enjoy it a little, while only paying $300-$500 per year for the subscription.
Booking System
We have found that the cheapest most affordable booking system is the one that comes with Wix. It will handle your customer demand up to around 100 bookings per week. After this you might have to start thinking about specialised booking platforms such as Momence and Mindbody, which cost around $300/ month.
Heating: Wood-fired
For practical reasons, all of our portable saunas are wood-fired. This means you can run the sauna from anywhere. ​
Heat Up Time
The 15 person mobile saunas takes 90 minutes to heat up to 100 degrees celsius. This is, refilling the fireplace every 20 minutes.
What Firewood to Use? Thin and Crispy, Hot and Fast.
'Thin and crispy' is what I tell my firewood supplier every time I order. At the Redwood Sauna in Raglan, we use Kiln Dried Douglas Fir. It may sounds over the top but I promise you it is not. Firstly, to get the sauna temperature pumping, you're going to want to use soft woods, like Pine or Douglas Fir. We want it to burn hot and fast. We are looking for different properties than the 'Hot Mix' that is usually offered from firewood suppliers, which contains a lot of slow burning, hard woods like Gum, Oak and Manuka. You can get away with diluting in some harder woods when the sauna is at temperature, but not before.
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We want thin so that it burns fast. Large logs will take a long time to catch and will release their heat slowly. Remember, hot and fast is what we want. Find a supplier who can give you the right sized pieces, you don't want to get out your axe every time a load is dilvered. The novelty wears off.
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And finally, we want dry wood. It shouldn't need mentioning but too many times have I been delivered a load of damp firewood. Have a large storage area where you can keep 2-3 cubic meters of firewood dry.​​
How Much Wood Does It Burn and How Much Does It Cost?
Of course there are many factors that determine this. On average, one cubic meter lasts about 10-15 one hour sauna sessions, so based on your price per cubic meter, you do the math.
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It means that for a commercial sauna, if you're running 3-4 days per week and a few sessions each day, you can assume you'll be burning through one cubic meter per week. That's a lot of dry, well-sized wood for your local firewood supplier to keep up with. I recommend you find a commercial supplier who can give you a GST tax invoice so you can claim your firewood as an expense.
Our portable saunas are built for the New Zealand outdoors. They are constructed by licensed builders and built in the same way a home is built. This leads to exceptional quality and durability in the harsh NZ environment, creating a robust outdoor sauna.
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If all you're after is to sauna regularly and get a better sleep, maybe a home sauna is for you. You can have an electric heater that automatically turns on before you get home from work, no firewood orders, no splitting logs, no continued work refilling the fireplace throughout your session.