How to host a retreat: the practical checklist
The big idea is the easy part. This is the rest of it: the dates, the money, the forms, the plan for when something goes wrong, and the week itself. Work down the list and tick things off.
Six months or more before
Decide what it is
- Write one sentence on who it's for and what they'll leave with
- Pick the length. Three to five nights is easier to fill than ten
- Pick a group size, and the smallest group that still covers your costs
- Choose dates that avoid local holidays and the busiest season where you're going
Do the money first
- List every cost: venue, food, your team, transport, activities, insurance, tools, marketing
- Add a buffer for things you haven't thought of yet
- Set the price, the deposit and when the balance is due
- Write your cancellation and refund policy before anyone books
Book the venue
- Visit, or get a video walk-through: rooms, beds, the space you'll gather in, the kitchen
- Check the Wi-Fi and phone signal, and what happens when there isn't any
- Read the contract for minimum numbers, deposits and cancellation dates
- Ask about accessibility, quiet hours and house rules
Cover yourself
- Talk to an insurer about cover for the event and the activities
- Decide what guests sign before they come, such as a waiver
- Ask guests to have their own travel insurance
Three months before
- Open bookings and take deposits
- Draft the day-by-day schedule. Our free itinerary template is a good start
- Book your team: a co-host, a chef, guides, teachers, drivers
- Book transport from the airport or station, and decide the arrival window
- Plan at least one free afternoon. Guests need time to themselves
Six weeks before
Get every guest's details
- Dietary needs and allergies, written down, not remembered
- An emergency contact for every guest
- Flights or travel plans, there and home
- Anything else you need to know: mobility, medication, a room preference
Confirm the people around you
- Send the chef one list of dietary needs, allergies on top
- Send drivers the arrival times, grouped by airport and time
- Confirm every booking in writing
- Collect the balance
Two weeks before
- Finish the schedule, in the local time where the retreat is
- Write the key info in one place: the address, the Wi-Fi, house rules, the nearest hospital
- Look up the local emergency number. It isn't 911 everywhere
- Decide who guests contact in an urgent moment that isn't an emergency, and who's next if that person doesn't answer
- Set quiet hours for yourself, and tell guests what still gets through
- Send guests the schedule, the packing list and how to get there
- Write a short welcome note
During the retreat
- Arrive before the guests and walk the space
- Open with a welcome circle: names, the shape of the week, the house rules
- Tell everyone when plans change, in one place, and check they've seen it
- Keep a daily check-in with your team
- Take care of yourself too. A tired host makes a tired group
After everyone goes home
- Send a thank-you within two days
- Ask how it was: a rating, their best moment and what could be better
- Ask whether you may quote them, before you use their words
- Share the group's photos
- Note what you'd change, while you still remember
- Tell them about your next retreat
A lot of this list fits in one app.
en route is the group travel app you give your guests. The pre-trip form collects dietary needs, emergency contacts and flights. Guests get the schedule in local time, the key info, announcements with a "Got it" button, a shared album and an SOS that reaches you. After the trip, a short "How was it?" card asks for a rating and their best moment.
Free to build and try with up to 3 guests. One price per trip, from $149.