6. How Do I Organise The Retreat? 

6. How Do I Organise The Retreat? 

You now know the answers to points 1-5 and are ready to start going through the next stage of making the retreat a reality. The below is a simple checklist to assist you with organising the retreat. Casa Gaia has capacity for 8 guests (plus 1 organiser) so that should be your target number of people but the course can still be profitable for you with 5 guests. 

  • Gauge Interest
    Start writing down the names of people who have shown interest, follow up with them to see how keen they are and which dates suit them.Many people will not be available when your course is on so this list should probably have 10-30 people, unless you get a very keen interest.         
  • Reserve a Venue 
    Contact the owners of the venue to find out costs, availability and the booking process. Quite often you can reserve a date with a deposit and agree a date for the full amount to be paid which gives you time to collect the money from attendees.   
        
  • Work Out The Financial Side 
    This can be an intimidating step for many people, we have created a template that highlights what needs to be considered. Feel free to ask us if you have questions and we can take you through each step Financial Planning Template
     

You must also consider insurance and contracts you will need. We can assist you with those later. 

  • Start Promoting 
    It is now time to update your list on who might attend, start to network further with your potential attendees giving them more details on the event and why it would be a great experience for themYou should have reserved some budget for marketing, they type of activities you do will depend on your retreat but what we see works well are posters and flyers that are seen/given to local groups with similar interests.Make a list of all the local groups/centres where you could promote (Google can help with this)  and call each venue.
     
    Ask them
    1. Can you place a poster
    2. Can you send some flyers to be given out.
    3. Could you give a 2 minute intro to your retreat after a class that’s being run
    4. Can you be included in a newsletter / email they give to their attendees?Some of these elements might have costs so make a list of replies and calculate which would be the best value based on the size of the venue and the cross over with your target audience.  
    You may also want to provide discounts to people if they sign up early/late, suggest a friend, respond to a flyer or because they are a friend. 
  • Organise Logistics for Attending 
    Start to plan the dates/times of the route to get to the venue, decide how you will all get to the venue via planes then car or mini bus. Put dates, times and costs down on paper so you have an idea of options and costs.  
     
  • Schedule of Activities 
    This is the fun bit, you can plan out your perfect retreat. We suggest 2-7 classes per day plus food breaks. The classes should reflect the type of students you are looking to attract e.g. basic level, specialists etc. Here are some examples from others who run retreats.
    Yoga: 4 week, 1 week, 
    Pilates: 1 week, 1 week
    Detox: Basic
    Silent: 10 day, 3+ days
    Meditation: 1 week  
    Let us know if you would like examples of other retreats? 
     
  • Payment from Attendees
    By this point you should already have some people who are very keen, you know the costs and the dates so ask them to secure their place with a deposit (the deposits from all attendees should cover your upfront costs like venue and your travel but not any profit you might make). give them a day to start paying.
     
  • Get Excited 
    If you’re reading this far you must be keen to organise a retreat. Go back to the start and start writing out your ideas for each point. We look forward to meeting you at Casa Gaia. 
     

 

 

 

 

Are you a budding retreat organiser?

Retreat organisers stay at Casa Gaia for free with one friend. Visit us to see the venue for yourselves and plan your retreat. Details

 

Contents

This Page forms part of a guide to starting a retreat. 

Intro Page 

  1. Why Organise a Retreat?
  2. What Retreat Are You Organising?
  3. Where Should I host My Retreat? 
  4. Who Will Attend The Retreat?
  5. When Will The Retreat Be Held? 
  6. How Do I Organise The Retreat?