How to Host a Retreat: A Beginner's Guide
Thinking about hosting a retreat? Learn how to plan your first retreat, choose the right villa, price your experience, and simplify the logistics.
If you've ever thought, I'd love to host a retreat someday, this is for you.
Whether you lead a business, a creative community, or simply love bringing good people together, hosting a retreat is probably more attainable than you think.
You don't need a massive following. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need a reason to gather people and a place worthy of the experience.
That's where we come in.
We've spent months curating extraordinary villas and building tools to make hosting easier, from payment plans and room assignments to coordinating experiences with the villa team.
If you've been waiting for permission, here it is. Let's start with the basics.
1. Start with your "why."
Before you look at villas or destinations, ask yourself one question:
Why are you bringing these people together?
A retreat isn't simply a trip. It's an experience with intention.
Maybe you want founders to leave with new business ideas and meaningful connections. Maybe you're creating space for photographers to sharpen their craft, writers to finish the first chapter, or women to finally slow down and rest.
When you're clear on the purpose, everything else starts to fall into place. It becomes easier to choose the location, plan the schedule, and attract the right guests.
2. Choose a place that inspires people.
The villa isn't just where everyone sleeps. It becomes part of the experience.
Take L'Étoile des Baux in Provence.
Surrounded by the limestone hills, olive groves, and celebrated villages of Les Alpilles, it's the kind of place that naturally slows people down. Mornings begin over coffee on the terrace. Afternoons might include exploring nearby vineyards or local markets. Evenings end around one long table, sharing stories over dinner.
Beautiful places don't create connection on their own, but they do create the space for it.
3. Build your retreat around the experience.
One of the biggest questions we hear is, "How much should I charge?"
The answer depends on the experience you're creating.
We recommend starting with the essentials:
- An extraordinary villa
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- A private chef
- Daily housekeeping (because no one wants to spend their retreat doing dishes)
- The experiences that make your retreat unique
From there, many retreat hosts add a host fee for the experience they're creating.
A common range is $500–$2,000+ per guest, depending on what's included. That fee reflects your time, planning, workshops, facilitation, and the value you bring to the retreat. More established hosts or those offering coaching, education, or premium programming often charge even more.
Then think about what will make your retreat unforgettable.
Maybe it's a day exploring the villages of Provence. A wine tasting at a nearby vineyard. A pottery workshop with a local artist. A paint-and-sip evening at the villa. Or simply a beautifully prepared dinner where everyone stays at the table long after dessert.
At Autre & Part, we'll help you think through all of it. We work with you to build the foundation of your retreat, including the villa, meals, chef, and daily housekeeping. Then we make the logistics easier with payment plans, room assignments, automatic reminders, and coordination with the villa team for experiences and local activities.
You focus on creating an experience your guests will never forget. We'll help make getting there a whole lot easier.
4. Make it easy for your guests to say yes.
Hosting a retreat should be exciting, not a second full-time job.
That's why we built Autre & Part.
We'll create a personalized retreat page where guests can learn about the trip, choose a payment plan, select their room, and receive updates along the way.
Behind the scenes, we'll help coordinate with the villa team so you can spend less time managing logistics and more time focusing on your guests.
Ready to start planning?
Hosting a retreat is more attainable than you think.
Whether you're gathering eight guests or twenty, we'll help you find an extraordinary villa, simplify the planning, and create an experience your guests will never forget.
Because the best retreats aren't about filling rooms. They're about bringing the right people together.
Thinking about hosting? We'd love to help.
Email us at bgooden@autreandpart.world and tell us about your idea.