When customers walk into Hansen’s Pool & Spa in Kenosha, Wis., owner Maggie Wood generally knows why they are there.
They have made the trip to look at a pool, a hot tub or something else the dealership sells. As Wood puts it, the store is not simply a place customers happen upon. “We’re not a location. We’re a destination,” she says.
Inside a Costco warehouse, the dynamic changes completely.
A shopper might be simply working through a weekend errand list when three hot tubs suddenly enter the picture. There may have been no plans to shop for a spa that day or even serious consideration of owning one.
For Wood, that is part of what makes the opportunity so interesting.
Through a program between Hot Spring and Costco, participating Hot Spring dealers can set up temporary displays inside Costco warehouses. The typical program runs 10 days, giving dealers an extended opportunity to put spas — and their own people — in front of Costco’s steady stream of shoppers.
Hansen first tried the program in fall 2024 and again in February 2026.
THREE SPAS, THREE DIFFERENT LOOKS
Hot Spring handles scheduling with the local Costco, while Hansen’s works with the management team on details such as setup.
For its display, Hansen’s brought three spas.
Rather than choosing three similar products, the dealership selected one model from each of Hot Spring’s three primary product lines, giving shoppers a broader sense of the brand and the different features and styling available across its offerings. The team also chose a different color combination for each spa.
With only three physical models on display, Wood wanted each one to do as much work as possible.
“If you’ve got something similar in size or a little bit bigger, they can see what the different looks are,” she says. That can make a shopper more comfortable ordering another model even if the exact spa is not sitting on the Costco floor.
Costco provided enough room for the three spas, each generally around 7 by 7 feet, along with some additional space for a small side table and supplies.
The bigger challenge was getting everything there.
Hansen’s could transport only one spa at a time, requiring multiple trips to move the entire display into place. Once the products were inside, however, Wood says Costco’s team made the setup relatively straightforward.
Electrical power was dropped from the ceiling to the display, allowing the spas to be dry-wired. They were not filled with water, but the team could still demonstrate lighting and other electrical features to shoppers.
STAFFING TWO STORES
Another major consideration was people.
The dealership staffed the Costco display entirely with its own employees while continuing to operate its Kenosha showroom.
“We staffed two places at one time, which can be a little tricky,” Wood says.
Costco’s hours also extend beyond Hansen’s typical off-season schedule. Employees accustomed to working until around 6 p.m. could instead find themselves at Costco until 8 or 8:30 p.m. The warehouse is also open on Sundays, when Hansen’s is normally closed.
That required some careful scheduling.
“It’s a little bit of a game of who’s going to be where, when,” Wood says. “But I’ve got a great crew, and they really pull through. We made it work.”
The longer commitment is something Wood believes other dealers should seriously consider before agreeing to a similar event.
Many pool and spa professionals are familiar with a three- or four-day home show. Those events can already be physically and mentally demanding.
Now extend that experience across 10 days, including two weekends and the full workweek in between.
“While it’s very exciting, it is tiring,” says Wood. “You’re doing something different than you usually are.”
Before the event, Hansen’s met as a team to talk through expectations — including seemingly simple reminders to eat, take care of themselves and prepare for a schedule outside their normal routine.
A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION
Wood says customers were receptive to the display. Some existing Hansen’s customers were even surprised to encounter the company while making a Costco run.
But the more interesting interactions came from people without an existing relationship with the dealership, and that changes the sales conversation.
“A shopper who never expected to discuss hot tubs that afternoon may suddenly stop, ask a question and begin thinking about ownership for the first time,” says Wood. “It has its challenges for sure, but it can also be really exciting.”
The dealership largely allowed Costco’s foot traffic to do the promotional heavy lifting. Wood posted on the Hansen’s Facebook page that the team was at Costco, but the company did not build a separate promotional campaign around the event.
Once shoppers expressed interest, lead capture was decidedly low-tech. “You’re really just using pen and paper,” Wood says.
Employees kept a notebook nearby and wrote down customer information during conversations. The information could then be entered into the dealership’s systems and followed with a text or email.
Wood prefers that approach even inside her own store.
“Technology is great, but it can be cumbersome in the moment,” she says. “It feels so much more personal when I can just grab my notebook and write their information down and move on instead of having to open an app, open a specific page and type it in.”
MORE THAN THE IMMEDIATE SALE
Wood does not disclose the number of spas Hansen’s sold through the event, but she says the pop-up produced sales and continued interest afterward.
Customers have called asking whether Hansen’s is still at Costco and when the dealership will return. Others stopped to talk even if they were nowhere near ready to purchase. That, Wood says, has value of its own.
The event also put the Hansen’s name in a setting consumers already know, alongside two recognizable brands in Hot Spring and Costco. Wood believes that association strengthened the dealership’s credibility with people who may not previously have known much about the company.
“It kind of builds on our resume a little bit as a business,” she says.
For dealers considering similar opportunities, Wood’s advice is mostly about preparation — and accepting that the first attempt will not be perfect. Hansen’s learned that lesson during its first Costco event, when small things the team had not anticipated inevitably came up.
Her recommendation is to meet beforehand, think through everything the staff might need and bring more than seems necessary. Even minor items can become important once the event is underway.
“Being patient, being prepared as best you can is probably my best advice,” Wood says.
For Hansen’s, the effort has been worthwhile.
The team sold spas during a typically slower stretch. They met potential customers. They introduced shoppers to the Hot Spring lineup. And for 10 days, they took a business that customers normally have to deliberately seek out and placed it directly in their path.
Sometimes, finding new customers starts with going where they already are.
