Independent hot tub and spa techs: price the monthly flat rate per tub, with the drive, the chemicals, and the drain-and-refill actually in it. Free, no signup. All defaults are editable starting points, not market rates.
Weekly means 4.33 visits in an average month, not 4. That fifth week shows up three months a year, and a flat fee priced on 4 visits gives it away.
A rescue visit for cloudy or green water runs about one normal visit of time plus a drive. The reserve spreads that cost across every month instead of eating it in one bad week.
A flat monthly spa rate dies when the drive, the chemicals, and the quarterly drain stay invisible. Start with Your numbers: your target hourly rate, margin percent, minimum monthly fee, and monthly take-home goal. In The service plan, pick a visit preset or type visits per month yourself. Weekly is 4.33 visits in an average month, and that fifth week matters. Set minutes on site, any extra turnover visits for rental tubs, and your chemical cost per visit. In The spa-route leaks, set the round-trip drive and miles per visit, your vehicle cost per mile, and the percent of months a tub needs a free green-water rescue. Leave the drain box ticked to spread the drain and refill across the months between drains. The breakdown shows visit labor, drive labor, drain share, rescue reserve, chemicals, vehicle, and true monthly cost. The big number is the recommended rate: true cost plus margin, rounded to five dollars, never below your minimum. Verdicts are PRICED RIGHT, CLOSE BUT LEAKING, WORKING TOO CHEAP, or LOSING MONEY. The gut check prices the rate you charge now, and the route planner counts tubs to your goal. Free, no signup, runs on your phone.
Example only, not typical pricing. A weekly residential tub at a $65 target rate: 4.33 visits at 30 minutes on site, a 20-minute round-trip drive, 12 miles at $0.67, $6 of chemicals a visit, a 90-minute drain and refill every 4 months, and a 5 percent rescue rate. That is just over 4 hours a month, $261.63 of labor, $25.98 of chemicals, and $35.22 of vehicle, a true cost of $322.82 and a recommended rate of $390. A $175 flat rate pays $28.27 an hour, sits $147.82 below true cost, and leaves $215 on the table every month. The route planner says 75 tubs and 301.9 route hours to a $5,000 goal at that margin, which trips the over-160-hour flag: one tech cannot run that route alone.
There are 52 weeks in a year, so weekly service is 52 visits, or 4.33 a month. Pricing the flat rate on 4 visits gives away roughly one free visit per quarter, plus its drive and chemicals.
Either way works if it is priced. Inside the rate, spread it: a 90-minute drain every 4 months is 22.5 minutes a month. Outside the rate, quote it as its own line so the customer is not surprised four times a year.
Cloudy and green water happen on a route: a heavy weekend, a filter past its life, a cover left off. If rescues are free under your plan, the reserve prices them in advance instead of turning one bad week into unpaid labor.
Usually yes. Guest turnover adds extra visits, heavier use burns chemicals faster, and the water gets checked between stays. Add the turnover visits and raise the chemical line for rental accounts.
No. It is planning arithmetic on your own numbers. Chemical handling and service rules vary by state and by product label. Defaults are editable starting points, not market rates.