Are you Wondering When or If You’ll Be able to Lead Retreats Again?
In 2020 the travel industry experienced one of the biggest disruptions in history. It practically came to a halt for months.
“Never before in history has international travel been restricted in such an extreme manner,” stated in the report by UNWTO mentioned in this article.
As retreat leaders, we all felt this crisis when we were forced to cancel or postpone our retreats last year.
It was something out of a dystopian tale. We had to navigate uncharted waters, figuring out how not to lose money while keeping our retreat clients happy despite postponed trips.
As I am writing this article, we are not out of the woods yet concerning the pandemic, but I think we will start to see the reemergence of travel soon, and with that, a big comeback of yoga and wellness retreats.
So what will this comeback look like?
Since I don’t have a crystal ball (I wish I did!), I can’t really know for sure. But from my perspective, being in the retreat and travel industry for many years now, I think I have some good insight into what this could potentially look like.
I’ll share my thoughts on that, but more importantly, I want to also share 4 things you can do now to be on top of the retreat game once we see this reemergence.
Health and Wellness Retreats Are Needed More Than Ever
As people slowly feel more confident traveling again, I feel like we will see a significant uptick in yoga and wellness retreats. Why? People need to focus on their mental and physical well-being more than ever before.
The truth is that the Pandemic has been detrimental to our mental and physical health. No matter who you are, you have probably felt the effects of social distancing and lockdowns. We had to postpone many things that make life joyful, such as traveling and gathering with friends and family.
Many people who’ve struggled with mental health illnesses before have a more challenging time managing it all due to the devastating effects of social isolation.
It just hasn’t been easy, and we know it is not sustainable long-term.
We need community. We need people around us. We need to build real connections to be happy and healthy humans.
I believe people will prioritize wellness-related travel to help heal and undo some of the devastating effects we experienced from the Pandemic.
Retreat leaders and wellness professionals, each within their scope of practice and expertise, have an essential role in healing our communities. In this aspect, retreats are going to be needed more than ever.
High-Quality Curated Experiences Are The Future Of Travel
The beauty of retreats is that you get some of the best things in life in one package (and of course, I’m partial!):
You have a health and wellness aspect, either weaving in yoga, meditation, fitness, or movement with nourishing meals.
You have the community aspect, getting to meet like-minded people that are often on the same wavelength as you.
You get the travel aspect, where you get to explore nature and get to know new people, cultures, and traditions.
You get the personal growth aspect, where you get the opportunity to dive deeper into building a new skill, self-awareness, self-care, and mindfulness.
Retreats, when done well, are high-quality curated experiences, and that is what makes them so irresistible.
Many people will gravitate towards these types of “boutique experiences” as they feel more intimate, personal, and safe.
We don’t know for sure what the future holds, but we know that some of the biggest joys in life are travel and adventure.
We have had time to reflect on what we miss and want more of in our lives. That is why I believe that retreats will only grow exponentially once the opportunity of travel resumes again fully.
So how do You Get ready for this comeback?
It’s up to you as a retreat leader to stay top of mind in your clients’ travel and retreat dreams.
There are a few things you can do as a retreat leader to get ready:
#1 NURTURE YOUR COMMUNITY
Don’t wait until all travel restrictions have been lifted to connect with your people and build momentum to grow your community.
I believe that those retreat leaders who are staying on course and nurturing their communities will have the upper hand as we resume our retreats.
Of course, you can pivot your business to stay financially sustainable by expanding your offerings online, but don’t stop talking about retreats if that is what you envision in your future.
For example, some of the things you can focus on are building your email list and creating regular email content to send out, such as a newsletter.
You can also improve your social media outreach or start creating long-form content such as a blog or a podcast to get in front of more of your ideal clients and nurture your existing community.
You can increase your visibility by sharing more about who you are and what you help your ideal clients with on all of your platforms.
Bottom line, improving your marketing skills will only help you build a runway to launch your upcoming retreats once you are ready. This is a great time to do that if you haven’t started yet.
#2 FINE-TUNE YOUR NICHE
Depending on where you are in the world, you may not be able to lead retreats at the moment. What you can do while you wait is to focus on refining your retreat niche. It’s essential to validate the ideas you have for your future retreats now so that you are ready to go once travel opens up.
Ask yourself:
Who are my retreats for? Who are my ideal clients?
What problems, needs, or desires do I solve with my retreat? What area of expertise do I have to hone in on to help my retreat clients better?
What do my retreat clients want to see in a retreat?
Gather your ideas, research, and get feedback for your current clients and community to help you refine your retreat niche.
I use the “Problem-Promise Exercise” with my retreat strategy clients to help them dive deeper into this topic because it’s a foundational aspect of designing successful retreats.
#3 INSPIRE WITH CREATIVE CONTENT
It can be hard to talk about travel when we live in restrictive circumstances, such as lockdowns and social distancing. But it’s important to stay active and keep your community engaged with content that keeps your future retreats on their minds.
Share inspiring posts about places you want to visit, or tell them more about your retreat content and how it can help them.
Share more about how you are adapting your retreat content or how you are incorporating new health measures to keep them safe.
Help them stay positive and see the possibilities of retreating soon again. It is all about keeping the travel dream alive!
#4 IMPROVE YOUR RETREAT SYSTEMS + PROCESSES
I have worked with dozens of retreat leaders over the years. I know that planning a retreat can be overwhelming because there are so many pieces to the puzzle.
Now is a perfect time to improve your logistics systems and processes.
Think about improving your onboarding emails, updating your legal documents, finding a good budgeting and pricing method, refining your marketing copy and messaging, or upgrading your website.
You can also refine your pre and post-retreat experiences processes - these are key phases in delivering an exceptional experience once you are ready to launch your retreat.
I wrote a blog post about this if you want to explore this topic further.
