Gary in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba wants to put a hot tub on the main floor of his home, but he is rightly worried about if the floor can carry the weight.
The answer is that very likely you will need additional support. Now obviously you don't want to call the local permits department to find out what they think, so we did it for you Gary, without mentioning your name of course. They were actually quite helpful. They pointed out that if it happened to be placed over a wall in the basement you might get away with it. What they do want is that you contact a structural engineer and have him take a look at your house and give you his professional recommendation. With a letter from him, you can easily get a permit to undertake anything that needs to be done, and since he is working for you, he will recommend the least expensive way to install this hot tub safely.
Now why bother getting a permit? Because you need to inform your insurance company that you have made such a major change to your house -- all that water and all that weight will probably not be covered by your present insurance policy unless you inform them, and they will want to know that it was put in with a permit. Of course, you could skip all of this, but if the floor falls in, or you simply end up with major water damage, don't be surprised if your insurance company refuses to pay.