Product and payments
MyRetreatDesk team
We build MyRetreatDesk, booking and payment software for retreats, workshops and teacher trainings. Our guides come from how the product handles deposits, installments, failed payments and group bookings for organizers.
Written by MyRetreatDesk team
- Direct bookings vs retreat marketplaces: when each pays off
Retreat marketplaces charge around 14–15% per booking. How to work out what a marketplace really costs you per new guest, when the commission is worth it, and how to run both channels.
- Running a yoga teacher training: pricing, payments and cohorts
The business side of a residential yoga teacher training: pricing a cohort when fixed costs are high, applications, payment plans students finish, refunds and deferrals, and running the same training several times a year.
- How to price a retreat: costs, break-even and profit
A step-by-step method for pricing a yoga or wellness retreat: list your costs, find your break-even, price room types, handle VAT and fees, and set a price that pays you even if beds stay empty.
- Retreat payments and deposits: the complete guide
How much deposit to take, how to set up retreat payment plans, what to do when a guest's card fails, who should pay card fees, refunds, disputes and international guests, with worked examples.
- Running group retreats: room blocks, quotes and split payments
How to take a group of 10 to 50 guests through a retreat booking: hold rooms, price the group (including the leader's free place), let each attendee pay their own share, and set deadlines that protect you.
- Retreat budget template (free spreadsheet)
A free retreat budget spreadsheet: fixed costs, per-guest costs, VAT and income tax, with formulas for profit and break-even. Opens in Google Sheets, Excel and Numbers.
- Retreat liability waiver template (free, editable)
A plain-English participant agreement and liability waiver for yoga and wellness retreats: health declaration, assumption of risk, release, emergencies, media consent. Copy and adapt.
- Early-bird pricing for retreats: when to start and how much off
An early-bird discount brings bookings forward and pays the venue deposit. How big to make it, when to end it, and what it does to your break-even, with real numbers.
- Form C for foreign guests in India: a guide for retreat organizers
If foreign guests stay at your retreat or teacher training in India, the place they stay must report them to the FRRO with Form C. Who files it, how to register, and what's changed in 2025.
- How much deposit should you take for a retreat?
Work out a retreat deposit from what you owe the venue, not from a rule of thumb. A worked example, the trade-offs of 10%, 20% and 30%, and whether to make it refundable.
- Payment plans for retreats: how automatic installments work
How a retreat payment plan is built: a deposit, monthly charges to a saved card, and a final payment before your cutoff. Worked schedules for early and late bookings.
- Should you pass card fees to your retreat guests?
Passing on card and booking fees keeps your margin predictable; absorbing them keeps checkout simple. What each option costs on a $1,500 retreat, and where surcharges aren't allowed.
- What happens when a guest's retreat payment fails
A declined installment doesn't have to mean a lost guest. A day-by-day timeline of retries, reminders and the grace period before a bed goes to your waitlist.