When you work so hard to get your retreat ready to go, you want it to be a success. You can do everything from setting up your listings, building out your pricing packages, and promoting it across social media, but what do you do when people don’t book fast enough?
The goal is to build more intrigue and excitement around what it would be like to have an experience with you. This can convince more people to book in advance and help you stay motivated and more confident about your retreat as well.
In this blog post, we take a look at some different strategies you can try to entice more people to book retreats faster than before. We understand that some retreat operators feel a little uncomfortable when it comes to selling retreats so try the ones that feel right to you.
How far in advance do people book retreats?
We collected some data on this which you can see in our recent retreat industry data presentation. Typically, most people are booking retreats within the last month and even more so 1 week before a retreat begins.
While this may sound a little daunting, the strategies we are about to share below can help you break the trend and get more of the bookings faster.
A Few Essentials Before Getting Started
There are a lot of things you need to do when promoting your retreat and building that excitement but we won’t go over them all. Here are a few of the essentials you should have prepared before getting started:
- Gorgeous photos of your retreat center and the surrounding area.
- A concrete list of the activities or ceremonies you have planned and what they mean.
- A clear idea of what makes your retreat unique from others out there.
- An understanding of the type of people who will get the most out of what you offer.
All of these should be weaved into the strategies we are about to share.
Strategy #1 - Add Some Introductory Videos to Your Website
Something that can hold people back from booking a retreat is uncertainty. They may think the experience sounds incredible and is something they want to do, but just haven’t been able to pull the trigger.
Sometimes it’s because deep down they want to know a little more about you. Creating a video that introduces your retreat center, your team, and why you all do what you do can go a long way towards building more trust and getting them to book.
The length of the videos depends on you, your center, and the retreats you offer. Ideally, they should be about 1-2 minutes long but it’s fine making them longer from time to time. For example, sharing some insights or guidance on retreats and things to consider can warrant some longer videos.
You don’t necessarily need something professionally made to get started, though it wouldn’t hurt if you can afford it. Starting with a simple video on your smartphone or table might be all you need, just make sure the quality is nice.
Adding in some of these videos along with high quality photos we mentioned above can be exactly what people need to see to convince them to book.
Strategy #2 - Create an Exclusive Pricing Package Along With Your Early Bird Offers
As someone in the retreat industry, you’ve likely heard of early bird pricing before. In case you haven’t, it’s when you have different time-based pricing offers for your retreats where guests save more money based on how far in advance they book.
There isn’t a perfect formula for how many early bird offers to have but we recommend having at least 3. The ideal time frames for them would be:
- Early bird offer #1 → 3 months before your retreat starts, lasting for 1 month
- Early bird offer #2 → 2 months before your retreat starts, lasting for 2 weeks
- Early bird offer #3 → 6 weeks before your retreat starts, lasting for 2 weeks
You should always make sure that your retreat is priced in a way that the offer with the biggest discount still leaves room for a good profit.
If you wanted to take this a step further, you could try having one more secret offer that is even more exclusive. It wouldn’t be advertised directly on your website or social media and would only be shared with certain people.
For example, you could share this with some of your past retreat participants, private groups on Facebook, or directly with other retreat leaders you know. Let them know why they are getting this offer when no one else is to make it feel a little more personal.
You don’t necessarily need to offer a bigger discount. You could include something else with your early bird offers like VIP shuttle service, an additional treatment at your center, or private tours of the surrounding area. The goal is to make recipients feel like they are getting the best deal possible.
If you make the buying window even more limited, such as 7 days, you can create a stronger sense of urgency since the deal won’t be around much longer.
Strategy #3 - Create a Marketing Campaign for Your Abandoned Registrations
Sometimes, there will be people who get pretty deep in your registration process but don’t complete it for some reason. Maybe they changed their mind or maybe something came up that distracted them. Whatever it is, there might still be a chance to get them to finish their booking.
Create a simple marketing campaign that sends out a few emails highlighting what guests will get out of an experience with you. Tell a story to compel them by painting a picture of just how energized, cleansed, and alive other guests have felt after one of your retreats. Share some great testimonials from past participants and some photos of their experience if you have them.
You want potential participants to see why your retreat is special and stands out from the crowd. Make them feel like your retreat is exactly what they need to deepen their emotional, spiritual, and personal bonds to become a better version of themself.
You can also try this strategy along with our last one about making an exclusive pricing package. This could give your abandoned leads that added push to get them to book.
Strategy #4 - Partner with Some Other Local Attractions Your Guests Might Enjoy
This strategy can be especially helpful if your retreat center is located somewhere where a lot of people like to visit. If there are other attractions around you that tourists usually do, see if you can partner with them to promote each other’s offerings.
When people book your retreat, they will need to make travel plans so adding a few extra days before or after your retreat will be simple enough. There is a good chance many people will already be looking to do this and checking out what else there is to do around you. Make this process easier for them by bundling some of these others with your retreat.
Whoever you decide to partner with is entirely up to you, just make sure it’s a partnership that benefits everyone involved: you, your new partner, and your mutual guests. Create a separate pricing package on your website that offers this new bundle to make potential guests feel like they are getting a special discount on both.
Strategy #5 - Let Your Guests Pay in Installments
Sometimes the main thing holding people back from booking a retreat is the overall cost. They might have a hard time committing a large sum of money all at once but could be open to paying for it over the next few months.
Offer your guests the option to start a payment plan with you over the next 3 to 6 months, something that Retreat Guru’s retreat management software lets you easily do. This isn’t something you need to advertise openly, you can just offer it to certain people such as anyone who abandoned a previous registration.
How and when you decide to use this is entirely up to you. You can even try to offer payment plans well in advance of your retreat along with your earliest early bird offers. That way, you can get that sense of security ahead of the last month before your retreat begins when a lot of activity usually happens.
Strategy #6 - Test Out Different Social Media Strategies
It’s one thing to post nice photos across your social media accounts, it’s another to use your accounts to engage potential guests before they even consider booking.
The right strategy depends on the platforms you use most. Here are some example strategies you can try depending on your team and the retreats you offer:
- Host an Instagram or Facebook Live with one of the facilitators or healers who will be featured on your retreat. Ask them questions, share some great home practices, or discuss topics your potential guests are interested in.
- Create a post that serves as a Q&A, inviting people to ask any questions they might have about your retreat. You can create some follow-up posts or even a blog post that answers these questions that you can promote on your channels afterwards. You should also make sure to share your answers directly with the people who asked them.
- Create some Instagram Reels or videos for TikTok that give people an inside look at your retreat centers, your retreats, your knowledgeable team and staff, or anything else that shows off your unique qualities.
There are a lot of ways for you to be a little more creative with your social media. Show off your personality a little more so your audience is even more intrigued about who you are and what you offer.
Final Thoughts: How to Get More People to Book a Retreat in Advance
It can be a tough decision for some people to book a retreat. It’s a big commitment that requires a lot of planning, travel, and often a large amount of money.
With the right approach, you can encourage more people to book a retreat with you in advance. That way, you can spend less time worrying about getting enough bookings and more time preparing to offer guests the best possible experience.
