You might plan an amazing yoga retreat in the most beautiful location, but how is it going to stand out from the thousands of other retreats in this booming wellness travel marketplace?

Before you get to the enjoy the actual retreat experience there’s a lot of planning and marketing to be done. Acting as an instructor during your retreat may turn out to be the easiest part of the whole process! We know how much you want to run a successful retreat, and we’re here to help you make that happen, by crafting a retreat that will stand out from the crowd.

What Are The Key Elements of Planning Successful Retreats?

Timeline planning • Selecting your venue • Itinerary & program design • Sustainability considerations • Marketing • Financials & profitability • Legal forms & liabilities • Insurance

Know your customers

Having a stand out retreat is all about knowing your customers, and defining them should be number one on your list of things to do. We’re not talking about the people that you know personally who might want to come to your retreat, but that “ideal client” that's the key to making your retreat a success.

Think about who you would want to attend your retreat and imagine them at every aspect of your planning, from choosing the location, through to pricing your retreat and planning optional activities. They should influence all of your decisions because having a retreat that fits perfectly to their needs is what will help to draw them in, and make your retreat stand out from the crowd!

Be creative with your retreat ideas

Getting creative about your retreat will really help in setting it a step apart and making it a success. There are thousands of retreats, but yours doesn’t have to fit the same mold.

• What are people going to remember hearing about your retreat, or what makes it different?
• Are you interested in offering a different style of classes, or optional activities that differ from the usual?
• Is there a special message you want to convey that will resonate with those looking to book a retreat?
• Have you thought about a different target market, like running a couples or family yoga retreat?

These are all questions that you should ask yourself during the planning process, to help make your retreat unique!

Choose a standout location

Finding the location your yoga retreat is one of the most important aspects of your retreat planning, and after envisioning your target market, it’s one of the first things you should do. Choose a retreat center that entices people, but doesn’t put them off when they look further into the details of how to get there.

Deciding on a location for your retreat is all about the balance between a spot that will have people moving for the “book” button after one look at the photographs, without putting them off when they realize that the location can be expensive to reach.

Tourist seasons can have an impact on the cost of travel, so don’t forget this when you’re choosing the location and the time of year to hold your retreat.

Share more about yourself

Every retreat leader has something different to offer. You have your own unique selling point, so make sure people know it. Yoga instructors can be a source of inspiration, so put yourself out there for people to see. What is it that you're passionate about and how does that make your retreat different to the rest?

People want to know about YOU and how you'll be guiding them through. The retreat may look like an otherwise perfect experience, but if customers don't know enough about who will be leading them through it then it might cause them to choose a different path.

List the benefits, not just the facts

Your potential retreat attendees want to know what they’re getting themselves in for, so tell them. List the benefits of your retreat in a way that’s not just about the facts and figures. Tell them what they should be feeling and what experience they’ll walk away with.

Listing the benefits of your yoga retreat should make potential customers feel like they’ll be missing out on a real experience if they don’t sign up! You need to inspire people to attend your retreat, not just list the facts about the dates, location, and activities.

Start sharing your retreat early

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until your retreat is fully planned to start sharing the news with your followers. Get people excited about your retreat as you go through the planning process. Ideally, you want to already have people interested when you finally announce the retreat is ready for bookings.

Start by letting people know about the possibility of a retreat, and confirm more as it happens. Have a way to collect the contact details of interested people, so that you can follow up with solid plans and hopefully secure some immediate bookings, and maybe even have a waitlist!

Market your retreat right

Often the people who book a retreat are those that are already known to the teacher. People will follow instructors they know and love, and that’s why it’s so important to start sharing early and to include yourself in the marketing of your retreat. Advertise in your local studios, make use of your email lists, and then turn to the internet to broaden your marketing reach. WeTravel has all the tools you need, so check out how we can work for you.

Create your trip as soon as possible and get it out there for your target audience to see. This is when you need to make sure you’re selling yourself, listing the benefits of your retreat and making it visible to the people who it’ll appeal to the most.

Organizing a yoga retreat can be overwhelming, but with a clear planning process you can make your retreat stand out, and make it a success. Need some more help? Check out our Resources for Retreat Leaders!