This year, Templer and Moon, who both hail from cool to frigid climates, respectively, agree that anyone who has room for a steambath wants it. Neither is really sure why, though the decline in component costs might have something to do with it. “I’m not presenting it,” says Templer. “People are coming to me and telling me they want it.”

“There’s a real focus on the things you can do in your house that will make that comfort possible,” adds Moon. “Steam showers are just one of them.”

In Zounis’ tropical environment, it is hardly surprising that he has very little demand for sauna installations. What’s more surprising, however, is that clients in both Moon and Templer’s climate don’t seem to be demanding them, either. “No one is asking for dry saunas,” reports Templer.

As a possible cause, she cites the ease of retro-fitting a shower into a steambath. “In a steambath, you don’t have to commit a separate room to it. You just put a little nozzle into your shower and you can have it when you want it.”

Moon adds that since the steam generator units are smaller, a client can easily stick them under a seat and out of the way. “With a sauna,” she says, “you would have to install a different unit somewhere, and most people don’t have the room for that.”

To explain the growing demand for whirlpools in his market, Zounis cites the increased willingness of his clients to install a jetted-tub in a smaller, secondary bath. “Jetted technology is definitely becoming more mainstream,” he adds.

Templer agrees, explaining that a few years ago, “people weren’t spending the money on a jetted-tub” unless they could have it the big, luxury bath. “But now,” she says, “even your standard, shower-over-tub people are saying, ‘Let’s get one of those!’”

Whirlpool, Sauna and Steambath Trends at a Glance

• As the wellness market expands to include young and old alike, manufacturers are increasingly responding by offering a wealth of new technologies and an array of customization options.
• The combined air- and water-jetted baths are increasingly appealing to the upscale and discerning consumer.
• Consumers want more technological control, but within a streamlined and customized, user-friendly environment.
• Air baths are on the rise as the healthy, but wellness-minded seek hydrotherapies that formerly were the exclusive domain of those needing physical therapy.
• Hygiene in air- and water-jetted systems continues to improve with better check-valves and water-sensor detection systems.
• Most manufacturers agree that it’s not a battle between air and water whirlpools, but a war of components in both systems.
• The most dramatic improvements in traditional saunas are the new and contemporary designs, including fiber-optic lighting, high-end spigots, cultured stone walls, furniture-quality curved wood benches and curved glass windows and doors.
• The boom in backyard living has generated tremendous interest in outdoor saunas, which can double as pool houses.
• Manufacturers agree that the rise of shower systems hasn’t hurt the whirlpool, sauna and steambath industry.
• The low cost of converting an existing shower unit continues to drive the boom in steambath installations.