Booking your venue to host your retreat is one of the most expensive line items in your budget, and choosing the right venue can make or break your experience. Don’t make an emotional decision until you make the most important decision by answering this question.
What transformation is this experience meant to deliver for my attendees?
The temptation to start with the space
It’s natural to want to start looking for the perfect location. We can easily get swept up in the curated photos and almost “hear” those ocean waves.
Before you know it, you are being sold on a venue that someone is trying to sell you- often without realistic representation or full disclosure of cost.
Making a (premature) decision on the venue seems to give legitimacy to your planning. “I’m hosting a retreat”, seems to lack momentum until you say, “I’m hosting my retreat HERE!” It’s almost like you need permission to take the idea seriously.
The danger is that logistics quickly tend to start to revolve around the venue instead of the transformation. Choosing the venue is a major decision, and you should put a significant amount of thought into this piece. Just be sure you are making this decision in the right order.
I worked with a client who kept seeing a well-designed sales page for a venue that seemed like a perfect fit for her retreat, and ended up putting down a non-refundable deposit because it “sells out so quickly”. Unfortunately, she bought into the paid ads promotion and realized too late that her business retreat was booked at a location where the reviews indicated the wi-fi was very weak.
Why venues create false clarity
Just as booking a venue can feel like momentum, it can also feel like clarity. Like you are really making this happen. Unfortunately, it may hold you back and force you into making premature decisions.
It locks in restraints before your intention is clear. What are the check-in and check-out times? Are they booked 2 days before and the 2 days after your retreat time? This may limit you from coming in a day early for time to prepare with your staff, or your choices for providing meals if you need to shop/ store food on site, and other decisions. Two days before and after? Usually, a day between guests is reserved for a thorough house cleaning, and that’s a good thing!
The space you choose needs to support the experience, not define it. The venue can enhance the retreat experience, but it shouldn’t define it. The transformation should.
The question that changes everything
Beautiful views, inviting gathering spaces, and the number of rooms or beds available starts your brain working like a calculator to decide how many guests you can accommodate, what the cost will be and how much you will need to charge to get this place.
Here’s what needs to be decided before your imagination runs wild.
- What is this retreat designed to change for my people who attend?
- What do I want my attendees to walk away believing, feeling, or doing differently?
- Why do I want this experience to exist, in person?
There isn’t one right answer. The problem is that by not answering it, it’s going to create conflict in all of your other decisions.
How this question serves you and the experience
Getting clear on your answers to the questions above simplifies all of your decisions and reduces second-guessing. Everything fits together more easily and gives you confidence in how everything else will fit together.
For example, picture a venue that is several hours from a major airport, or a short city drive? Neither is right or wrong. A long drive for your community may be exactly the time needed to unwind and be ready to fully engage in the plan you have designed. Another retreat host whose community is busy executives may not want to have to build in the travel time.
Whichever is the case, this will influence your schedule, meal planning, and even the length of your retreat. You need to have your grounding transformation statement settled to make every decision against. Including your venue choice.
Your venue is the container, not the main character.
Answering the key question first makes everything easier
When the purpose of your retreat is clear, everything else falls into place. And when it isn’t, even the most beautiful venue can start to feel heavy. It’s as if you need to maximize the venue instead of maximizing the intentional design of why you are doing this.
Clarity doesn’t come from booking faster, it comes from designing intentionally.
Last week, we talked about Why Most Retreat Hosts Feel Overwhelmed Before They Even Start
Next week, we are tackling what actually creates transformation at an in-person retreat.
Leave you questions or comments- I personally read and respond to every one!
Do you have my FREE Guide: How to Plan Your Profitable Retreat: The 10 Essential Decisions Workbook…a simple, fillable guide to help you design your dream retreat without overwhelm, second-guessing, or costly mistakes.
Meeting in person with your loyal people is important. Let’s do it right! I’m here to help.
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