Article · Pricing & profit
Should you pass card fees to your retreat guests?
By MyRetreatDesk team · Updated · 4 min read
Short answer
On a $1,500 retreat, card and platform fees come to about $66 per guest. Passing them on means you receive the full $1,500; absorbing them means a cleaner price for the guest. Either works, as long as your break-even uses the option you chose. Where card surcharges are restricted, such as for consumer cards in the EU and UK, build fees into the price instead.
Key takeaways
- Card and platform fees on a $1,500 retreat come to about $66 per guest if you absorb them.
- Passing fees on protects your margin; absorbing them keeps one clean price.
- Card surcharges are restricted for most consumer cards in the EU and UK: build costs into the price there.
- If you pass fees on, show them as a separate line before the guest pays.
- Processors usually keep their fee on refunds, so say whether fees are refundable.
Which fees are we talking about?
- Card processing, charged by Stripe, PayPal or your bank on every payment: commonly around 3% plus a small fixed amount per charge.
- Platform or booking fees, charged by booking software or marketplaces. MyRetreatDesk charges 1.5% on Starter and Venue and 0% on Pro.
The four options on a $1,500 retreat
Per guest, at 2.9% + 30¢ for cards and a 1.5% platform fee:
| Who pays | Guest pays | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Guest pays both fees | $1,569.35 | $1,500.00 |
| Guest pays card fee only | $1,545.11 | $1,476.82 |
| Guest pays platform fee only | $1,522.84 | $1,455.54 |
| You absorb both | $1,500.00 | $1,433.70 |
Across 16 guests, absorbing both fees costs about $1,060 compared with passing them on. With the pricing calculator's example costs, break-even stays at 11 guests either way, but profit after tax at 16 guests drops from $4,920 to $4,124.
Pass on or absorb?
Pass fees on if your margins are thin, your price is high (fees grow with it) or many guests pay in installments, where the fixed part of the card fee is paid on every charge.
Absorb them if you want one round number from the listing to the card statement, or if your competitors advertise all-in prices and an added fee would look like a hidden charge.
A common middle path is to absorb the platform fee and pass on card processing, or simply raise the price by 3–4% and absorb both. Then guests see one price, and you've still covered your costs.
Surcharge rules to check
Adding a fee for paying by card is regulated in many places. In the EU and the UK, surcharges on most consumer card payments are banned. In the US, card network rules and some state laws limit when and how a credit card surcharge may be added, and surcharges on debit cards are not allowed. Rules change and depend on where you and your guests are, so check before you add one.
Wherever surcharges are restricted, the safe approach is to include the cost in your price. Wherever you do pass fees on, show them as a separate line before the guest pays, never as a surprise at the end. This isn't legal advice; ask an accountant or lawyer if you're unsure.
What about refunds?
Card processors usually keep their fee when you refund a payment. Say in your cancellation policy whether fees are refundable, so a guest who cancels knows what to expect.
A quick map of surcharge rules
| Where your guests pay | Card surcharges | Safe approach |
|---|---|---|
| EU and EEA | Banned on most consumer cards | Include fees in your price |
| United Kingdom | Banned on consumer cards | Include fees in your price |
| United States | Limited by card network rules and some state laws; not allowed on debit cards | Include in price, or follow network rules carefully |
| Elsewhere | Varies | Check local rules, or include in price |
“Include fees in your price” simply means raising the price by roughly what the fees cost you, so the guest sees one number and you still receive what you planned. On a $1,500 retreat, about 4–5% covers card and platform fees.
If you pass fees on, show them honestly
- Show the fee as its own line at checkout, before the guest enters card details.
- Name it plainly: “Card processing fee” and “Booking fee”, not “service charge”.
- Mention it next to the price on the retreat page, so nothing is new at checkout.
- Apply it the same way to every guest and every installment.
International cards and currency conversion
Cards issued in another country, and payments that need currency conversion, often cost more to process than domestic cards. If many of your guests travel from abroad, check your provider's rates for international cards and use the higher figure in your break-even, or charge in the currency most of your guests use.
How to decide in five minutes
- Are surcharges allowed where your guests pay? If not, include fees in your price and stop here.
- Is your margin thin, with break-even above 60% of places? Pass fees on, or raise the price.
- Do most guests pay in installments? Fixed per-charge fees add up; passing on the card fee helps.
- Do competitors advertise all-in prices? Then a clean price matters more; include fees.
- Whatever you choose, run it through the pricing calculator and check break-even.
Written by 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.