In a world where more and more people are seeking deep, offline connection, retreats have become a hugely popular way for travelers to meet with like-minded folks and escape the monotony of everyday life.
As one of the fastest-growing tourist segments globally, retreats are also a significant business opportunity. Whether you're a yoga instructor, author, artist, meditation teacher, or coach, hosting a retreat allows you to forge a more intimate, long-term relationship with your followers, audience, or customers. It's a relationship that can last for a long time, and result in a level of loyalty and trust that outlasts a week-long retreat.
Whether you're looking to host a yoga retreat, writing retreat, meditation retreat, group retreat, or something else, it's important to have a comprehensive plan, from location and marketing/sales strategy, to building the perfect itinerary and making sure you can keep all your customers happy before and during your retreat.
A successful retreat is one that both delights your customers and also helps your business grow over the long term. Let's find out more about the ins and outs of retreat planning and hosting retreats.
The first step of retreat planning is picking the ideal location for your retreat. This should suit both the theme of your retreat, the brand identity of your company or business, and the needs of your customers.
Things to keep in mind when choosing a retreat facility and location are:
If you book your offering at an established retreat center, they should be able to answer any questions you have about what they can provide for customers.
Some retreats are all about experiencing nature, and can therefore get away with a more bare bones accommodation style, such as cabins. However other groups or demographics, such as professionals going on corporate retreats, may expect top quality facilities and the highest level of comfort. So it's important to make sure you pick a facility that matches your demographic's expectations.
Once you have picked a location, you need to determine the cost of your retreat. Finding the right price point is essential in the retreat business, because you want to price your retreat for the maximum profit, without alienating or pricing out your core demographic.
Offering payment plans can ensure that your retreat is accessible to more people, as can offering multiple rooming options, such as dorms or the option to be paired with another attendee. Keep in mind that setting a premium price point means your retreat attendees will expect a luxury experience, from rooms to food and amenities — so make sure your facility can deliver that.
No matter what kind of retreat you're hosting, you need to build a strong online presence so that your target audience can find you. The first step is to create a webpage that showcases your upcoming retreat.
Once you have a bookable page on your site, you need to actively go out and reach potential retreat participants. Promote your retreat on your own existing social media pages and in your email marketing newsletter. Partner with social media influencers and bloggers who can share your retreat with their following.
You need to continually promote your retreat until it has filled, as people often need several reminders about an upcoming date before they make a decision to book. Make it clear where customers can ask questions or gain more information about an upcoming retreat, and offer early bird pricing to people on your newsletter or mailing list. You can also host a webinar or live call on social media to drum up interest in the retreat.
Lastly, consider a waitlist feature to encourage early bookings and generate excitement about your retreat before it officially goes on sale.
One of the most underrated parts of planning a successful retreat is your retreat booking system. It serves as your guest's first impression of the kind of quality and customer service they can expect on the retreat. If registering, paying for, and booking the retreat is confusing and chaotic, they may have misgivings about going on the trip itself.
A robust booking system such as WeTravel's advanced booking software can streamline the registration and payment process and give customers a range of options for secure online payments. In addition, if you’re planning to host a retreat for international travelers, WeTravel’s payment processing tool can help you sell to markets all over the world. Providing a convenient and user-friendly experience is a great way to indicate to your customer that they will enjoy the retreat they've booked with you, from beginning to end.
As a retreat leader, a big part of your job is clearly communicating the retreat schedule and expectations ahead of time. The best retreats have a good mix of scheduled programming as well as unstructured or optional downtime. Be clear about programming, start and end times, free time, and where attendees need to be and when.
When it comes to transportation and logistics, it's wise to streamline as much as possible. In addition, make it clear when there are points in the itinerary when retreat attendees will have to organize their own transportation or activities. If there are on-site or local transportation options that attendees can make use of, send details ahead of time.
Once your retreat is planned, marketed, and fully booked, the work of course doesn't end there. You need to make sure your guests' needs are catered for throughout the entire experience, from dietary restrictions, special needs, and accessibility concerns.
Keep in mind that your guests may have different expectations and needs. Invite your guests to share any dietary needs or accommodations in full before they leave for the trip, so you’re not left scrambling to cater to them once they arrive.
After the retreat concludes, don't miss the opportunity to gain valuable feedback from your participants about their experience. Invite your guests to provide their honest feedback and insights about their experience, and identify any areas of improvement for future retreats.
WeTravel can send travelers an automated email requesting a review a few days after the retreat ends, and then a reminder several days later. This is when the experience is still fresh in their minds and the time that they’re most likely to provide feedback.
Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of how to plan a retreat, here’s some common mistakes to avoid.
Don’t over-promise. Be very clear with guests about what they can, and can’t, expect on their retreat. You don’t want them finding out when they arrive that something that was crucial to their experience is now unavailable.
Don’t over-schedule the retreat. People need time to recuperate and rest, and unstructured downtime offers an opportunity to digest and integrate the programming of the retreat. Over-scheduling can lead to grumpy guests.
At the same time, don’t keep a “loose” itinerary. Provide very clear expectations of what is happening, and when — and then stick to that. Remember that you send the tone when it comes to respect, punctuality, and ground rules.