Comparison
MyRetreatDesk vs BookRetreats: direct bookings or a 15% marketplace?
BookRetreats is a marketplace: it brings you guests and takes a standard 15% commission on the whole booking, collected from the deposit. MyRetreatDesk is booking software for guests you bring yourself, with no commission. Many organizers use both: a marketplace for discovery, their own booking page for their students and mailing list.
Facts about BookRetreats checked on from its own website (sources below).
The short version
Use BookRetreats to reach travelers who don't know you yet, and accept its 15% as the price of discovery. Use your own booking page for everyone who already follows you, so you don't pay commission on your own audience. If you mostly fill retreats from your own community, MyRetreatDesk costs a fraction of a marketplace commission.
Side by side
| Feature | MyRetreatDesk | BookRetreats |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Booking and payment software for your own guests | A retreat marketplace that sends you guests |
| Listing / monthly cost | Starter free · Venue $97/mo (+ $297 setup) · Pro $199/mo | Free to list, no monthly fee |
| Commission | 1.5% on Starter and Venue (passed to the guest by default), 0% on Pro. No commission. | 15% standard on the total booking, including extras booked later; 20%, 25% or 30% optional for a ranking boost |
| Payment processing | Your own Stripe or PayPal account at their standard rates; pass to guests or absorb | 3% deducted from your payout on payments processed through BookRetreats |
| How guests pay | Deposit and installments through your account | Deposit on BookRetreats; you collect the balance before or at arrival |
| Payment plans | Deposit + up to 12 monthly installments, charged automatically | Not stated for the balance, which you collect yourself |
| Room and bed inventory | Room-by-room and bed-by-bed, with room types and shared rooms | Not stated |
| Finding new guests | Your own booking page and widget; a small public retreat directory, not a marketplace | Large guest audience; ranking uses commission, reviews, photos, pricing and response time |
Which should you choose?
BookRetreats is the better choice if…
- You don't have an audience yet and need strangers to find your retreat.
- You have empty beds close to the date and a 15% commission beats an empty bed.
- You want reviews from guests on a site that travelers already use.
MyRetreatDesk is the better choice if…
- Most of your guests already know you: students, a mailing list, Instagram followers.
- You want to keep the commission: on 12 guests at $1,500, 15% is $2,700.
- You want deposits and the balance collected automatically in installments, not chased by hand.
What a year costs
| Plan | Small2 retreats × 8 guests × $900 | Medium3 retreats × 12 guests × $1,500 | Large4 retreats × 18 guests × $2,500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BookRetreats commission (15%) | $2,160 | $8,100 | $27,000 |
| MyRetreatDesk Starter (1.5% booking fee, paid by guests by default) | $216 | $810 | $2,700 |
| MyRetreatDesk Pro ($199/month, 0% fee) | $2,388 | $2,388 | $2,388 |
Marketplace rows assume every booking comes through the marketplace at the standard 15%; BookRetreats also deducts a 3% processing fee from payments it processes. Card processing applies to MyRetreatDesk bookings and isn't included.
How the money flows
On BookRetreats the guest pays a deposit through BookRetreats. Its commission is calculated on the full booking, including extras booked later, and taken from that deposit together with a 3% processing fee; BookRetreats sends you any remainder. You collect the balance from the guest yourself, before or at arrival. In BookRetreats' own example, a $1,000 retreat with a 20% deposit leaves the host $44 of the $200 deposit.
On MyRetreatDesk every payment, deposit and installments, goes straight to your own Stripe or PayPal account, and the balance is charged automatically on the dates you set. There's no balance to chase at arrival.
Ranking and visibility
BookRetreats says the commission level you choose is one of the signals its search uses: choosing 20%, 25% or 30% gives a listing a gradual boost, alongside reviews, photos, pricing, response time and calendar accuracy. That's useful if discovery is your bottleneck, but it means visibility partly depends on paying more per booking.
MyRetreatDesk doesn't sell visibility. It gives you a booking page you send people to yourself, and storefronts that meet our quality checks can appear in search engines on their own merit.
Using both
Many organizers list on a marketplace and take direct bookings. To make that work:
- Send your mailing list, students and past guests to your own booking page, never to the listing.
- Read BookRetreats' terms on pricing elsewhere and on guests who first found you through the marketplace.
- Ask every guest how they found you; after a season, you'll know what each new marketplace guest really costs.
The commission calculator shows how much of a year's commission goes on guests who already knew you.
Moving from BookRetreats to MyRetreatDesk
- Create your retreat from the template and set up rooms, prices, deposits and your payment schedule.
- Connect your own Stripe or PayPal account so payments go straight to you.
- Add a booking link to your website, newsletter and social profiles; on Pro, embed the booking widget.
- Keep existing bookings where they are until those retreats run; take new bookings on MyRetreatDesk.
- Ask new guests how they found you, so you can see which channel brings whom.
What 15% costs on a typical retreat
On a $1,500 retreat with 12 guests, bookings total $18,000. At 15%, BookRetreats' commission is $2,700, plus the 3% processing fee on the payments it processes. On MyRetreatDesk Starter the 1.5% booking fee is $270, and by default the guest pays it; on Pro it is 0%. Card processing applies either way. A commission is worth paying for guests you would not otherwise have found. It is expensive for guests who would have booked with you directly.
Questions
How do I work out what commission costs me?
Use the free commission calculator on this site: enter your price, guests per retreat and retreats per year to see the commission per guest, per retreat and per year, and how much of it goes on guests who already knew you.
How much commission does BookRetreats take?
BookRetreats' fees article and host page give a standard 15% commission on the total booking, including extras booked later, plus a 3% payment processing fee deducted from your payout. Hosts can choose 20%, 25% or 30% for a ranking boost.
Can I use BookRetreats and MyRetreatDesk together?
Yes. Many organizers list on a marketplace for discovery and send their own audience to a booking page they control. Check the marketplace's terms on pricing and off-platform bookings first.
Sources
- BookRetreats: How do fees work
- BookRetreats: Boosting your ranking with commission
- BookRetreats: Work with us
Prices and features change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it. Product names belong to their owners; no endorsement implied.
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