Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
How much does a float tank cost?
Short answer — roughly $18 – 43K.
The slightly longer answer — listen to today’s episode.
Show Resources
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: Alright, welcome, everybody. Our question today from one of our listeners is: “How much is a sensory deprivation tank?”
Ashkahn: Okay. How much does a float tank coast, huh? It’s a big range, right? I think the full scope of the range, I would say, is probably $10 000 at the lowest to $80 000 at the highest, for a commercial tank. There’s a tank, there’s the Zen Tent, which is $1,900 something. But that’s not really made for commercial use.
Graham: Right. So I guess just to clarify; I assume, since this is a show for commercial float center owners, that this is more on the commercial side. On the commercial side, about $10,000 to $80,000, from the very lowest to the very highest.
And so then the more median range in there, the average range of tanks that people are investing in, what do you think those are?
Ashkahn: There’s only a handful around the $10,000 range, and there’s I think an even smaller handful in that higher $70-$80,000 range. So, really, the bulk of them are somewhere between 20 and 40. Maybe slightly under 20k and 40k, and slightly over 40k, like 17-43k or something is gonna be the large majority of commercial float tanks out there.
Graham: Yeah, I think $17,000 to $43,000 was actually weirdly the numbers that I had in my head. And that’s also for getting commercial set up for the filtration side of things, too.
There are some of these tanks that you can get that have the lower priced models and the higher priced ones, or ones that are meant for home use and ones that are more for commercial settings. So that price range also includes that backside, too; the filtration system and everything that you’d need to be able to put in.
Ashkahn: Yeah, there’s one or two manufacturers out there that will even just sell a tub and you can kind of build the rest of it, so we’re not exactly counting those into this list.
Graham: I’d even say that the shipping and installation is kind of worked into that, too, or if you work that in, maybe it goes just a tiny bit higher.
Ashkahn: Those are good things to consider. I mean, if you’re buying a float tank, those are the things that you might not be quite expecting right off the bat and can vary a lot from tank to tank. Like, if you’re buying a tank that’s being manufactured down the street from you versus being manufactured on a different continent. The shipping cost is probably gonna be different across those two models.
Some manufacturers require for you to pay for installers to come out, so two people will come out and be there and install the thing and teach you how to do it. Other ones will send you the equipment and you can install it yourself.
Graham: I should say that literally before doing this episode, we went and looked at our own tank comparison chart to get a sense for exactly where those numbers were. I totally recommend you go to Float Tank Solutions and download the tank comparison chart and actually get a good look at exactly what these tanks are, and kind of the full range there. You can actually view all the individual units in addition to just having this broad view of price.
Ashkahn: Outside of that, it’s really hard to break it down much further. You might think that cabins are more expensive than pod-style tanks, and I feel like that can be true. You definitely see more cabins in the higher end than you do in the lower end, but there are some cabins out there that are in that $17-18k range.
And there are some tank or pod models out there that are in the $30K-something range, so that’s not necessarily a completely true statement, either.
Graham: And I think that’s all there is to say about that.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Alright. Ship it.
Graham: Lick it and stick it.
Recent Podcast Episodes
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What are average floater return rates? – DSP 84
Getting repeat customers is integral to the health of any business. For float centers, this is especially true. It can be worrying when we see our floaters leave the center, never knowing if they’ll return. There’s a very natural inclination to start tracking this trend to see if there’s anything you need to change about your business to attract repeat customers. Memberships are a natural way to attract repeat customers and can quickly become the lifeblood of your center, too.
But how do you measure it? What time frame is acceptable to consider a repeat customer? If they don’t float within six months, does that mean you’ve lost them? If they float once and don’t return for three years, is that a success on your part or a failure?
Graham and Ashkahn tackle all of this and more this time around. Check it out!
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Addressing customer misinformation – DSP 82
Every float center owner has to deal with customers who get, maybe, a little overenthusiastic about the float experience. What is the best way to deal with customers who say things that are just patently false about the benefits of floating? Do you just let it slide? Do you correct them and potentially offend your customer? It’s not their fault, they’re just excited. It doesn’t seem right to punish them.
This is definitely a tightrope walk type of conversation and it can have an impact on your customers and your reputation as a business, as well as the whole industry. As stewards of the tank, Graham and Ashkahn offer their advice on how best to have this difficult conversation and offer some resources to help with it as well.
Our Report on the Chinese Float Conference – DSP 81
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