Thereโs a moment before a retreat launches that most people skipโฆand itโs usually why things donโt fill the way they hoped.โฃ
Most people ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. Dates, pricing, location, roomsโฆ and then they wait. But thatโs not how people decide to book. They need time to ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต- to start imagining themselves there before theyโre ever asked to commit.โฃ
I call this ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ.โฃ
๐ฟ Before my Bali retreat, I didnโt lead with details. I shared glimpses- photos, videos, a sense of place- without fully explaining it. Just enough for people to picture themselves there.โฃ
Then I opened a VIP list. Over the course of a week, it filled with people who were already paying attention. Not fully sold, not pressured, ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ.โฃ
When I opened the retreat to that list (on a Friday), I offered early access, first choice of โlimited roomsโ and a big early bird discount. I kept it simple-Friday through Sunday- and sent a quick daily reminder that time was running out.โฃ
๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ.โฃ
Not because I pushed harder, but because ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ.โฃ
Hereโs where it gets even better- by the time you launch publicly, some rooms are already gone. Youโre not saying โhereโs my retreatโ, youโre saying โthere are only a few rooms left.โ Thereโs already a sense of urgency.โฃ
From there, Iโll usually release just a few more early bird rates (โnext 3 sign ups get $xxx offโ), then taper pricing over time. It keeps momentum without needing to push.โฃ
โจ Iโve also been thinking a lot about what actually makes a retreat valuable.โฃ
These days Iโm less interested in leading retreats now that are just yoga twice a day every day. Iโm shifting more into travel retreats- experiences rooted in place, where ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐๐น.โฃ
And I think this matters: the value of a retreat isnโt tied to how many times you teach.โฃ
The retreats that consistently fill create space. They offer experiences. They give people something they wouldnโt have access to on their own.โฃ
โฃ๐ป๐ณ ๐โ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต.โฃ
This time, I shared the location because I know itโs on a lot of peopleโs list. But Iโm still holding back the full experience.โฃ
As Iโve been building the VIP list, Iโve been teasing it out, sharing glimpses of the inclusion list (๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐). Because Iโm a travel agent, Iโm able to source experiences and work with local partners that go far beyond what a venue typically offers- things that feel ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ.โฃ
And because the yoga shala (which overlooks the river in Hoi An) is on the smaller side, Iโm only opening six rooms total, assuming most or all will be doubles. That alone creates a very different kind of momentum and sense of urgency.โฃ
Soโฆare you ready to be a tease?โฃโฃ
