The Retreat Venue Contract Checklist

Most of the money in a retreat is committed the day you sign the venue contract. Everything after that, the marketing, the bookings, the week itself, happens inside the terms you agreed to.

Which makes it strange how often those terms get skimmed. A villa sends a PDF, the dates look right, the price looks right, and the deposit goes out. The problems show up months later: a cancellation clause that only runs one way, a practice space that turns out to be shared, a rate quoted in a currency that has since moved against you.

This checklist covers what to read for, and what to ask for, before you sign.

One note before you start: this is a practical checklist, not legal advice. For a contract of any real size, and especially one governed by another country's law, it is worth having a lawyer read it.

Do not sign for a property you have not visited or had someone you trust visit. Photos show the pool at golden hour. They do not show the road noise, the stairs to the practice deck, or the fact that half the rooms face a parking area.

If you cannot visit, ask for an unedited video walkthrough of every room you will use, the practice space at the time of day you plan to use it, and the kitchen.

Whole property or a block of rooms? This is the single biggest question, because it decides whether your largest cost is fixed or per person. It changes your break-even completely, which the cost structure of a retreat walks through.

Exclusivity. If you are booking rooms rather than the whole property, will other guests be there? A couple honeymooning by the pool during your morning meditation is a very different retreat. Get exclusivity, or its absence, in writing.

Room configuration. List every room, its bed type, and its capacity. Twin beds versus doubles matters enormously if you plan to offer room shares, since most solo guests will share a twin room with a stranger but not a double bed.

The contract should name the space you will practice in, and answer these questions:

• Is it large enough for your group with mats laid out and room for you to move between them?
• Is it covered, shaded and usable in rain? What is the floor, and is it level?
• Is it shared with other guests or used for other events?
• Are there time restrictions, or restrictions on music and sound, especially early morning or evening?
• Who sets it up and clears it?

If the answer to any of these is "we will sort it out," ask for it in writing now.

"Full board" means different things at different properties. The contract should specify how many meals a day, which meals are included on arrival and departure days, whether drinks are included, and what drinking water is provided.

Confirm, in writing, that the kitchen can handle the dietary requirements you expect: vegan, celiac, serious allergies. A kitchen that can do it with notice is fine. A kitchen that has never been asked is a risk.

Know exactly how much is due, when, and what happens if a payment is late. Typical structures take a deposit at signing and one or two further payments before arrival.

Match the venue's schedule to your own guest payment schedule. If the venue wants its balance before your guests owe theirs, you are funding the gap yourself.

This is the clause most first-time leaders miss, and it is the one that protects you if the retreat does not fully sell.

An attrition or release clause lets you reduce the number of rooms by a set date without penalty. For example, you might be able to release two rooms up to ninety days before arrival. Without it, you owe for every room whether or not it sells.

If the venue will not offer one, ask what happens if you need fewer rooms, and get the answer in writing. Filling a retreat with a small audience covers the other side of this.

Most contracts spell out in detail what happens if you cancel. Far fewer say what happens if the venue does.

Check both. If you cancel, what do you forfeit at each stage? And if the venue cancels, double-books, closes for renovation, or is sold, what do they refund, how quickly, and do they owe you anything beyond your deposit? The best contracts commit the venue to either a full refund or relocation to an equivalent property at no extra cost.

Force majeure covers events outside anyone's control: natural disasters, government travel bans, severe weather. Read what the clause actually lists, and more importantly, what happens to money you have already paid.

Some clauses convert payments into a credit for future dates. Others refund. Some do neither. For destinations with a storm season, such as the Caribbean during hurricane season, this clause matters more than any other. The best time of year for each region flags where that applies.

Which currency is the contract priced in? If you collect from guests in US dollars and pay a villa in euros, a move in the exchange rate between signing and final payment comes straight out of your margin.

Ask whether the rate is fixed for the dates you are booking, and get it held in writing. If the venue will only quote in its local currency, build a buffer into your guest price or pay a larger share up front.

Go line by line: airport transfers, housekeeping frequency, towels and linens, laundry, Wi-Fi, parking, local taxes and service charges, and any tourist or city taxes charged per person per night. Service charges and taxes added at the end are a common surprise.

Ask for a single all-inclusive figure per night for your full group, and compare it with the price you were quoted.

Does the venue carry liability insurance, and will it name you as an additional insured if something happens on its property? Separately, you need your own professional liability cover for teaching abroad. If you are US-based, Yoga Alliance is a common starting point for teachers looking for coverage.

Guests should sign a waiver, and they should carry travel insurance as a condition of booking. The policy we point guests to is on our resources page.

Check-in and check-out times, and whether early arrival is possible for guests on overnight flights. A named contact who will be on site during your stay. What happens if something breaks: the hot water, the power, the pool.

These feel small at signing and very large at 11pm on day two.

A venue that will not put terms in writing. Cash-only payment with no receipt. A cancellation clause that only protects the venue. Resistance to a site visit or a video walkthrough. Pressure to sign quickly because "another group is interested."

Any one of these is a reason to slow down. Two or more is a reason to walk away.

Much of the risk above exists because you are signing directly with the venue and carrying its minimums yourself. Working with an operator on NET pricing moves that: we contract with the property, carry the supplier terms, and quote you a net cost per guest. You set your own price on top.

That is the model we run with retreat leaders. See how custom retreat planning works, browse where we go, or get in touch. For the full planning sequence, the Retreat Leader's Blueprint covers it from start to finish.