Free live workshop for retreat founders
How to fill your next retreat: seven steps from stranger to paid deposit.
A flyer in a Facebook group, or a listing beside thousands of others on a retreat directory, won't sell a place that costs thousands.
People need to see a real business behind your retreat: who you are, what past guests say, and a way to talk to you before they pay. In one hour I'll take you through every step, from the first person who hears about you to the deposit, and show you which step to build first.
International Retreat Conference 2026
Built on my talk as co-host of the International Retreat Association's conference, plus the best ideas from the other speakers.
Live
Tuesday
3 November 2026
- 6pm UK
- 7pm Central Europe
- 1pm New York
- 10am Los Angeles
Block out the hour. Questions are answered live, so come with yours.
Save your free seat
Tuesday 3 November, live on Zoom. The joining link comes by email.
Is this you?
You've got a great retreat. What's missing is the business that fills it.
You post the dates in a few Facebook groups and wait to see who bites.
You list it on a retreat directory beside thousands of others, and people pick on price.
You've dropped your price to get bookings, and now the retreat barely breaks even. It's become a labour of love.
Your retreat page is a flyer: dates, a price and a pay button. Nothing about you, and no reviews.
Past guests hear about the next one at the same time as complete strangers.
Someone asks for the price, you reply when you get to it, and they disappear.
Every launch starts cold, and you can't say what actually filled the last one.
What 36 retreat founders told me
The problem usually isn't the retreat. It's that there's no system behind it.
get fewer than 10 enquiries a month. Not enough people hear about the retreat in the first place.
reply to a new enquiry personally, "when I get to it". Nothing goes out the moment someone asks.
have no follow-up in place. They follow up when they remember, once or twice, or not at all.
It's rarely one thing. It's a missing system: nothing that brings the right people in, nothing that shows them a real business worth paying properly for, and nothing that keeps them when they ask.
Source: Retreat Sales Quiz answers from 36 retreat founders, September to October 2026.
In the hour
What we'll cover, step by step.
The ladder under your retreat
Why a retreat with nothing underneath it is so hard to fill, and the rungs that mean every launch starts warm instead of cold.
Pricing and positioning
Why a directory listing turns your retreat into a price, how to price for profit and not just love, and how to stand apart so people choose you instead of the cheapest option.
The business behind the retreat
What someone checks before paying thousands: who you are, what past guests say, and a proper retreat page. How to show all three without a big budget.
Where the bookings come from
Past guests first, then your waitlist, your classes and partners' audiences, and one free thing that turns followers into a list. Why a flyer in a group or a directory listing isn't enough on its own.
The first reply and the follow-up
Why someone is most interested the moment they ask, the reply that keeps them warm, and the follow-up that stops "let me think about it" turning into silence.
The 30-minute call
The conversation every retreat place in my last business went through, the questions to steal, and how to get to the deposit before you hang up.
Filling the venue backwards
Working back from break-even and the venue's balance date, and the weekly numbers that tell you six weeks out whether you're on track.
At the end I'll explain how my team sets this up for retreat hosts who'd rather not build it themselves, and there's time for your questions. Everything in the hour works whether you ever speak to me again or not.
Save my free seatFrom the conference
Built on the International Retreat Conference 2026, and the best of what 13 speakers taught.
On 22 October I co-hosted the International Retreat Conference 2026, "Come Grow With Us", with Holly Porter, founder of the International Retreat Association. Thirteen speakers taught the business side of retreats. This workshop takes my talk on selling retreats, builds out every step around it, and brings in the ideas from other speakers that fit each step.
"The retreat is not the business. It is part of the business."
Sara ChevereBusiness strategist, She Builds Empires
Step 01, the ladder
Price from what the retreat really costs, including paying yourself, not just the venue.
Caterina RandoBusiness growth strategist and speaker
Step 02, pricing
Say clearly who the retreat isn't for, and check fit before anyone pays.
Lainie Sevante WulkanFounder, Nourish Your Soul Retreats
Step 03, the business behind it
What past guests say they still need tells you what to sell them next.
Sharon HessPrivate advisor
Step 04, past guests first
"Short-form earns attention. Long-form earns trust." Guest on podcasts whose audience already shares your values.
Ali ChristosPodcasting
Step 04, borrowed audiences
Choose the venue for fit, not the view. "Sleeps 14" is not a rooming plan.
Emily JohnsonElevate Hospitality Collective
Step 07, the venue
Each idea is credited to the speaker who taught it at the International Retreat Conference on 22 October 2026.
Who it's for
This hour is built for one kind of founder.
It's for you if
You run retreats or host them at your venue, or you're planning your first.
Your places sell for hundreds or thousands, so each booking matters.
You're filling places with posts, word of mouth and DMs, and it isn't enough.
You want a proper business behind your retreat, not another launch from scratch.
It isn't for you if
You want someone to run paid ads for you.
You want a listing site to sell your places for you.
You haven't decided what your retreat is yet.
You want a shortcut that skips earning people's trust.
Who's running it
I've run more than 40 retreats, and never sold one with a flyer.
I'm Danny Savage. In my last business I ran more than 40 retreats. We built a free community of 10,000 people underneath them, and we never sold a place without a conversation first.
On 22 October I co-hosted the International Retreat Conference 2026 for the International Retreat Association, and gave a 20-minute talk on the conversation part. This workshop covers every step around it, with time for your questions.
Danny SavageFounder, The Product Ladder · Co-host, International Retreat Conference 2026 · Three-time Key Person of Influence graduate
Questions
Before you register
Is it really free?
Yes. The workshop is free and there's nothing to buy to take part.
Can I watch it later?
Come live if you can. The questions, and the help with your own retreat, happen in the live session.
Will you be selling something?
At the end I'll explain how my team sets this up for retreat hosts, for anyone who wants it done for them. It takes a few minutes, and everything before it is yours to use on your own.
I saw your talk at the conference. Is this the same?
No. It covers the conversation from my talk, plus everything around it: pricing, where bookings come from, and what people need to see before they trust you with thousands. It also brings in the ideas from other speakers that fit each step. The conference slot was 20 minutes with no questions. This one has time for yours.
I haven't run a retreat yet. Should I come?
Yes. You'll leave knowing what to build before the first enquiry arrives, instead of fixing it halfway through a launch.
Do I need to prepare anything?
No. If you have three minutes before Tuesday, take the Retreat Sales Quiz from the confirmation page. You'll know your weakest stage before we start.
Tuesday 3 November, 6pm UK.
One hour, seven steps: from the first person who hears about you to the deposit in your account.
Save my free seat