Where I Think the Retreat Industry Is Heading
I’ve been in this industry for a long time — first as a retreat leader, now as the owner of Topia, where we’ve hosted over 150 retreats. I’ve watched the industry evolve, and I’m seeing some real shifts happening that I think every retreat leader needs to pay attention to.
Here’s what I’m seeing.
The race to the bottom on pricing is over.
For years, retreat leaders were told two things that directly contradicted each other: make your retreats a financial success, and make your work accessible to everyone. So we did what made sense at the time. We packed retreats with as many people as possible and priced them as low as we could.
That model is running out of road.
Let’s be honest about who actually goes on retreat. Taking time off work, paying for travel, and investing in an experience away from home — that costs money, regardless of how you price your program. The people who show up aren’t choosing you because you’re the cheapest option. They’re choosing you because they believe in what you’re offering.
Retreat pricing hasn’t kept pace with inflation over the last ten years. It just hasn’t. Leaders need to update that story.
And the accessibility conversation isn’t going away — nor should it. But the leaders handling it best aren’t doing it by underpricing everything for everyone. They’re getting creative. Scholarship spots. Sliding scale pricing where guests who can pay more contribute toward someone else’s seat. That’s a smarter, more sustainable solution than pricing yourself into the ground and hoping it pencils out.
Smaller groups. Higher value. Better experience.
The era of thirty, forty, fifty person retreats is winding down. What I’m seeing — and what leaders are telling me they actually prefer — is smaller, more focused groups. Ten, fifteen, twenty people who are fully committed to being there.
Think about it like a classroom. A student gets more out of a class of twelve than a class of forty. More attention. More connection. More of what they actually came for. The same is true on retreat.
Smaller groups also mean leaders can actually show up for their people. And that presence is what guests are paying for now.
Guests want the value delivered in the experience, not the price tag.
Guests today know what a boutique experience costs. They will pay for something great. What they won’t do is pay even a low price for something that doesn’t deliver.
That doesn’t mean cramming your schedule with back-to-back activities until people are exhausted. It means being clear about what you’re promising and then actually delivering it. Being around. Being accessible. Making sure people leave feeling like they got what they came for.
The leaders I see succeeding right now are the ones who are specific about what they’re offering and present for the whole thing — not just their sessions.
What this means for you as a leader.
Charge what your retreat is actually worth. Build a smaller, more focused group. Show up for the people who took time out of their lives to be there.
The retreat industry is maturing. The leaders who own that — who stop underpricing themselves and start delivering on what they charge — are the ones who are going to thrive.
