Learn best practices for starting and running a float center:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Show Highlights

Most float centers divide on floats offered between 60 or 90 minute floats, but some split the difference right down the middle and offer 75 minutes. Graham and Ashkahn share their thoughts on this tactic, what they see as the pros, cons, and things to consider when implementing it.

Show Resources

FTS Product – State of the Industry Report

(In this last year, 7 float centers reported offering 75 minute floats)

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Graham: All right.

Ashkahn: Welcome everybody.

Graham: Hello.

Ashkahn: This is Ashkahn.

Graham: And I’m Graham over here.

Ashkahn: And boy, we’ve got a big one. We’ve got a big one today.

Graham: It’s not …

Ashkahn: It’s a normal sized one. I was just trying to make them feel excited, you know? Try and pump people up.

Graham: That’s great. It’s gonna be a great episode.

Ashkahn: It’s gonna be a really good one.

Graham: And you did a great job pumping people up too, I think.

Ashkahn: Thanks. Yeah. And you did a really complimenting me just now.

Graham: Oh, thanks. Anyway, our question for today is, “What do you think about 75 minute floats?”

Ashkahn: 75 minute floats.

Graham: The old 75-er.

Ashkahn: Yeah. The old siete cinco.

Graham: Yeah, I think they’re good.

Ashkahn: I kind of like them. So here’s the deal.

Graham: Your deal. Not the deal.

Ashkahn: Here’s my deal.

Graham: Yeah.

Ashkahn: I think it has to do with how many float tanks you have and how many tanks you’re trying to turn over in a transition. ‘Cause there’s definitely situations like what we’re in, where we’re doing 90 minute floats and we put 30 minutes of time in addition to that to turn all the rooms over and get the next people in. And we have six float tanks. And that’s kind of intense. It’s intense to turn over six rooms in 30 minutes.

Graham: Well, and we also do all of our floats at the exact same time.

Ashkahn: Yes.

Graham: So they don’t stagger at all. It’s not, like, three on one hour and three on another hour or so. Every two hours there’s six people getting out and six people getting in.

Ashkahn: Yeah. And we’ve thought about changing our transition times to something like 35 or 40 minutes, but then everything just gets on this, like, really weird time of day, you know? Your appointments start at like 6:25, and then the next one’s, like, 7:40, and …

Graham: Yup.

Ashkahn: So there’s just something that’s been slightly unappealing about that.

Graham: But-

Ashkahn: But if you were to want that kind of cushy transition time, a 75 minute float is a nice-

Graham: With a 45 minute transition because it keeps things on the hour.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: So it would be every other hour there would be a float. And you’d have a little nicer transition then. I actually know some centers that have been transitioning, huh. I didn’t actually mean to say that. But they themselves have been transitioning their transition time length to be longer.

Ashkahn: To be longer. Right.

Graham: I know one that went up to 60 minutes in between floats.

Ashkahn: Wow.

Graham: But they’re a single person running their center and they just wanted to actually have time to sit down with clients afterwards and get back to that homey kind of feel, you know?

Ashkahn: Right. Sure.

Graham: But yeah, I know more than one that’s also switched to 45 minute transitions.

Ashkahn: Yeah. And I know somebody else who does 60 minutes too. So yeah, it’s definitely, like-

Graham: I wonder if it’s the same person.

Ashkahn: We can talk about it after this.

Graham: Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that. So I was gonna say, the thing that I don’t like about 75 minute floats is related to the exact same thing, which is if you’re doing 75 minute floats to try and fit more in a day, all of a sudden you can’t actually start on the same times. Like uneven times. So if you’re running a 75 minute float but want a half an hour transition, now your whole time slots are getting into 15 minutes.

Ashkahn: It’s getting all crazy.

Graham: You can’t just say it’s every other hour. You lose a little bit of simplicity in it.

Ashkahn: Yeah. I do feel like 75 is, in my mind, a decent improvement over 60.  I feel like 75 is starting at the range where I feel like I’d feel comfortable with someone going in there and getting a nice … And we’re big fans of 90 minute floats.

Graham: Yes, full disclaimer here.

Ashkahn: That’s my kind of hard-core opinion here, so I always think, you know, a 60 minute first time experience is not as ideal and that people will kind of sink into it and get that deeper experience with 90 minutes. But I feel like 75 is something that can get people a nice experience too.

Graham: Yeah, and it’s also the level where you’d stop worrying as much about 5 minutes here and there, which is really nice, you know?

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: Like, the thing about 60 minute floats is if someone gets in and you didn’t quite get them in on time, it just impinges so much, it’s such a high percentage of their overall float time. So I like 90 minutes, and even two and a half hour late night floats are better, you know? Like, you get one of our two and a half hour floaters in 10 minutes late because you’re the only one there and people were coming out slow and they’re like, “Whatever. I’ll chill and have tea.” You know? “Still got two hours and 20 minutes to hop in the float tank.”  So I like that 75 minutes is edging on there. If you do get someone in five minutes late, it’s not as big a deal as with the 60 minute float.

Ashkahn: Yeah. I almost like 80 minutes. Like, and 80 minute float with a 40 minute transition.

Graham: Like 77?

Ashkahn: 77 and a half minutes.

Graham: Just in between.

Ashkahn: Just that nice time, you know?

Graham: It feels nice.

Ashkahn: So that would be my recommendation.

Graham: Then you have to have 27 and a half minute transitions.

Ashkahn: Uh-huh. And that extra half minute, I think is really what adds comfort to the entire thing.

Graham: Yeah, so in general I like them. I mean, I’ve floated for as short as only being in the tank for half an hour and as long as being in there for 12 hours. So as far as length of float and being able to have a good experience, I think it’s possible at any length that you’re doing it, long or short. So kind of what you were saying about first time experience too is interesting. Like, if someone is only offering 75 minute floats versus offering 75 minute and 90, or 75 minute and 60 is also kind of an interesting question.

Ashkahn: Yeah. It feels too close together. I feel like it’d be-

Graham: Weird to do.

Ashkahn: Not worth it to offer 75 and 90 or 60. Like, just 75 and

Graham: Three hours.

Ashkahn: Yeah. Something much more significant.

Graham: Yeah.

Ashkahn: And there’s some centers out there doing, we put out this industry report every year. Float Tank Solutions. And there’s a stat in there about what length of service people offer, so you can check it out. We’ll put it in the show notes of how many people out there offer 75 minute floats.

Graham: Yeah, and you can see the bulk of people really are just 60 and 90 minutes, and that’s …

Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s just like three weirdos out there. You know who you are.

Graham: Awesome. Anything else about 75 minute floats?

Ashkahn: You three weirdos. Get in touch with … I’m kind of interested to hear what peoples’ experiences are. I guess I want to see if there’s a center that only offers 75 minutes.

Graham: We answer questions, Ashkahn. We don’t ask them.

Ashkahn: Oh, okay. Well, nevermind. I guess this will just remain a mystery forever. No, I’m good then.

Graham: All right. If you are one of those centers though, reach out. And you can reach out if you have a question or anything you want to send us at floattanksolutions.com/podcast.

Ashkahn: That’s right. And we’ll talk to you later.

Graham: Bye.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Best Insulation for Soundproofing – DSP 259

This is another fantastic episode that challenges the question on its face. 

Graham and Jake (still no Ashkahn, unfortunately, but he is in the intro) talk about soundproofing basics and what type of insulation is a good idea for your float rooms. As it turns out, insulation isn’t doing much of the heavy lifting though, so soundproofing probably isn’t the highest priority when selecting insulation. 

How to Make an ADA Float Room – DSP 258

Graham and Jake are in the studio again while Ashkahn plots his marvelous float industry event. 

This time the guys are talking about how to make a float room ADA compliant. Lots of it is going to vary from state to state (and sometimes even city to city) but there are some useful tips and tricks for making sure you hit all the right marks for compliance when planning your build out. 

Jake and Graham share construction ideas, ways to think about ADA requirements, and some fun stories about Float On’s own adventures in making their building  accessible. 

Best Quietrock for Float Rooms – DSP 257

While Ashkahn is off doing whatever it is Ashkahn does when not on the podcast, Graham sits down with Jake Marty the Float On construction guy (and co-owner of Float On), to talk about Quietrock.

Now before you rush to the Resources section to see which ones are best, this episode lays out the reason to use Quietrock, when (and how) to compromise for more affordable options, and where you may not want to use this when planning your build out. 

Marketing to Older Demographics – DSP 256

Some communities have a much higher retiree population than others. It can be difficult to reach customers who don’t utilize social media as much, so how do you get their attention?

Derek and Graham strategize on how to market to the retiree community for float centers. This episode is filled with bingo jokes, rambling examples, and solid advice for reaching out to any demographic that may not spend a lot of time on social media. 

Our Top 10 Marketing Book Suggestions! – DSP 255

Alright, this is a dense episode. Ashkahn is busy planning the Float Conference still, so Derek and Graham nerd out on marketing books (and blogs, and podcasts) to give the industry some of their top recommendations for marketing books that might be helpful for the float industry (or anyone, really).

Check the resource in this episode for links to all their recommendations!

Latest Blog Posts

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #20

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #20

We now follow the trail of our ancestors, Meriwether Lewis & William Clark, whose expedition started in St. Louis and would, eventually, lead them to Oregon – just like us.

Except, unlike them, we didn’t actually start in St. Louis, don’t have a tour guide from the Lemhi Shoshone tribe, and aren’t carrying flintlocks (except for Graham).

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #19

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #19

Chicago is home to one of the oldest float centers still in operation – SpaceTime Float Tanks.

We had the misfortune of timing our visit as they were moving to a larger location, the only time in 34 years that they have ever been closed. It is with great regret that we were unable to see their historic float center in operation.

They were trailblazers even before there were trails to blaze – so many float centers in the entire Midwest trace their roots back to a single float at SpaceTime.

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #18

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #18

We made it back to America, everybody. It was a harrowing experience being in an uncivilized country where they think gravy and cheese curds on french fries is a meal but, thankfully, we’ve crossed the border back to a country where we know that chili and shredded cheese on french fries is a meal. Civilization.

Quite honestly, we might be in love with Canada. We’re definitely making another trip up there. For now, it’s about to MPH not KPH.

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #17

The Float Tour Blog – Issue #17

We hosted our second Float Tour Workshop here in Toronto and stayed in town a bit longer than we normally do, allowing us to get acquainted with the city. The sprawling metropolis is an amalgamation of old world pioneering days and modern multiculturalism. It was founded in 1787, and some of the currently standing buildings pre-date even that. Ancient architecture stands next to contemporary monoliths, weaving a tapestry of antiquity and avant-garde in this fair city.