A boat rental company on Lake Murray purchased a hot tub boat to try and reach more customers during the winter.

Lake Murray Boat Rentals is owned by Scott Simon, and while business is great in the summer, their sales cool down during the winter.

“We were just trying to think, well what could we do, what could we bring to the lake to the community to at least get a little more excitement and have a good opportunity to get out on the water still?” Simon said, “So we went, and we bought the hot tub boat.”

The timing couldn’t be better.

Across the state over the past two years, sales tax revenues have been at their lowest right after Christmas, meaning that people aren’t buying as much in the heart of the winter.

“They’re busier during the summer, mostly on the weekends and then, as we tail off into the winter that kind of dwindles a little bit,” said Paul Sadler, CEO of the Chapin Chamber of Commerce when asked about businesses on the lake.

Simon hopes that his new boat will change that.

“As the temperatures drop, we think the hot tub boat will heat up,” he said.

The boat will be available to rent on their website shortly.