One of the first steps in planning a retreat is figuring out what it will actually cost.โฃ
Not just the venue. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐.โฃ
Because a venue that looks like a great deal can become considerably more expensive once meals, transportation, activities, taxes and all the smaller expenses are added in.โฃ
Here are some of the biggest numbers that go into a retreat budget.โฃ
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐จ๐โฃโฃ
First, how does the property actually charge?โฃ
Is it a ๐ณ๐๐น๐น-๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ผ๐๐ with one price for the week?โฃ
Is it priced ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ?โฃ
Or ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐?โฃ
And what does that rate include?โฃ
A $10,000 villa buyout might include the entire property, yoga space and equipment. Another venue might quote $250 per person per night but include accommodations, three meals a day, housekeeping and airport transfers.โฃ
The headline price doesnโt tell you which one is actually less expensive.โฃ
โฃ
๐๐ข๐ข๐โฃ
This one gets big quickly.โฃ
If meals arenโt included in the venue rate, are you paying per person, per meal or a daily chef rate?โฃ
Then there are the less obvious questions: Are snacks included? Coffee? Alcohol? Are there additional charges for dietary restrictions? Can you remove meals on excursion days?โฃ
And donโt forget ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐.โฃ Or your partner/spouseโs meals.
If youโre bringing a co-leader, assistant, photographer, partner or spouse, their meals and accommodations may need to be accounted for too.โฃ
โฃ
๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐โฃ
Airport transfers are one expense.โฃ
But depending on the retreat, you may also need transportation for excursions, dinners, activities or simply getting into town.โฃ
And there is another travel expense thatโs surprisingly easy to leave out:โฃ
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ณ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐.โฃ
If youโre flying internationally to lead the retreat, that belongs in the retreat budget too.โฃ The same applies to anyone whose travel youโre covering as part of the retreat.โฃ
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆโฃโฃ
Cooking classes. Boat trips. Wine tastings. Cultural tours. Spa experiences. Hikes.โฃโฃ
You donโt necessarily need to include everything in the retreat price.โฃ
Some experiences can be included as part of the retreat while others can be offered as optional add-ons.โฃ
The important part is deciding before you set the price which expenses the retreat is paying for and which ones the guest is paying for.โฃ
โฃ
๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐งโฃ
This is where a budget can slowly start growing without anyone noticing:
Payment processing feesโฃ (ughhh)
Local taxesโฃ
Service chargesโฃ
Housekeepingโฃ
Staff gratuitiesโฃ
Yoga equipment rentalโฃ
Welcome giftsโฃ
Travel insuranceโฃ
Liability insuranceโฃ
Marketing expensesโฃ
Your flightโฃ
Your accommodationsโฃ
Your mealsโฃ
Co-leader or assistant expensesโฃ
Partner/spouse travel and meals, if youโre covering themโฃ
โฃ
None of these individually has to destroy a retreat budget.โฃ
But add enough $200, $400 and $800 expenses together and suddenly youโve spent several thousand dollars that werenโt included in your original pricing.โฃ
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐งโฃ
Your profit shouldnโt simply be whatever is left over after everything else is paid.โฃ
โฃ
What you want to earn from leading the retreat should be part of the budget from the beginning.โฃ
โฃ
That means deciding what you want to make, adding it to the overall financial picture and making sure your pricing can realistically support it.โฃ
๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ก๐ง ๐ก๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฅโฃ
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐?โฃ
If your retreat holds 18 guests, building the budget around all 18 spots being sold gives you very little room for error.โฃ
What happens at 15?โฃ
What happens at 12?โฃ
At what number do you cover all expenses?โฃ
And at what number do you make the amount of money you actually want to earn?โฃ
Thatโs why retreat pricing shouldnโt start with:โฃ
โ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐?โโฃ
โฃ
It should start with understanding the complete cost of the retreat and working backward from there.โฃ
At Panacea Retreats, the budget is one of the first pieces we work through because it affects almost every decision that follows, from the venue and room categories to the itinerary and final guest price.โฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ด?โฃโฃ
Panacea Retreats provides full-service retreat planning, from venue sourcing and contracts through budgeting, guest logistics and retreat operations.โฃ
