Some Kelowna residents are spending their vacation budgets on pools

COVID-19 restrictions around the world are helping fuel a boom in swimming pool construction in Kelowna.

The City of Kelowna issued 32 permits for swimming pools in May. That’s more than for any month in at least the last five years and offsets a slow start for pool builders in 2020.

“As soon as the pandemic hit in March, a lot of the clients got scared and our sales kind of fell apart,” Travis Klettke, co-owner of Aqua Trends Pool and Spa told iNFOnews.ca. “People weren’t sure if they should be putting a pool in. Just a lot of uncertainty started coming across the market. A few weeks went by and a lot of clients came back. They realized things aren’t going to be that bad, the construction is going to move forward, so we better get a pool because we’re not going to be travelling anymore.”

Klettke and Evan Eccles started Aqua Trends five years ago and it’s become the largest installer of pools in the city, Klettke said. It accounted for eight of the 32 permits issued in May.

Most pool permits are for $40,000 just for the pool. Decking, electrical and gas work is done by other contractors. The standard sizes are 14 by 28 feet or 16 by 32 feet.

One permit was issued in May to a company out of Penticton called Fun Water Pools for $110,000 for an address on Hobson Road.

A few of Aqua Trends’ permits in May were the result of earlier sales that fell through when COVID-19 hit. But, many customers came back.

“A good three to four were people who came to me and said ‘we were going to go to Europe this year but, that’s not happening, so maybe it’s a good year to put a pool in,” Klettke said. “We’ve noticed an increase in people wanting to swim. Definitely, the COVID has increased people’s demand on services.”

While many have been thrown out of work because of COVID-19, those who are working or semi-retired still have money to spend, he said.

So far this year, the city has issued 69 permits for swimming pools. On an annual basis, 2017 was the best out of the last five years with a total of 215 permits issued.

For more on Aqua Trends go to their website here.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submitphotos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.