TL;DR:
- Marketplaces (BookRetreats, Retreat Guru) find you new guests for a commission. Booking platforms (SquadTrip, Bookinglayer) take bookings from people you bring, and Eventbrite sells tickets to single events.
- As of 30 Sep 2026, BookRetreats charges a standard 15% commission and Retreat Guru 14%. Both are free to list.
- On both marketplaces the guest pays a deposit online, and any balance is yours to collect.
- SquadTrip is your own booking page with deposits and automatic payment plans. SquadTrip's Starter plan is free. Travelers pay a single 6% processing fee on top of the trip price.
- Many hosts use both: a marketplace for strangers, their own page for everyone else.
The best retreat booking site depends on where your guests come from. If nobody knows you yet, list on a retreat marketplace such as BookRetreats or Retreat Guru and pay commission on the guests it finds. If you already have clients, students or an email list, take their bookings on a page you own, such as SquadTrip, and receive the full price. Bookinglayer suits venues, and Eventbrite suits one-day events.
Marketplace or Your Own Booking Page? Decide This First
1. A marketplace brings you guests
- You create a listing, and travelers search by style, place and date.
- The guest pays a deposit through the marketplace, and the marketplace charges you commission on that booking.
- The listing format and checkout are the marketplace's, not yours.
2. Your own booking page converts the guests you bring
- You send your email list, clients and past guests to one link.
- You set the price, the deposit, the payment plan and the registration questions.
- The platform charges a processing fee or a subscription instead of a commission.
3. Choose by where your guests come from today
- A host with a mailing list who lists only on a marketplace pays commission on guests who would have booked anyway.
- A new host with only a booking page has a checkout that nobody visits.
- Many hosts need both, and the balance shifts as the audience grows.
Keep the full price on the guests you bring yourself. SquadTrip gives you a retreat booking page with deposits and automatic payment plans. Free to use.
Retreat Booking Sites and Platforms at a Glance
All figures are as of 30 Sep 2026, from each vendor's own website.
| Platform | Type | Cost to host | How guests pay | Finds you new guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SquadTrip | Your own booking page | Starter plan free; travelers pay a single 6% processing fee on top of the trip price | Deposit and automatic payment plan; BNPL for US travelers, with a 4% convenience fee added to their total | No, you bring the audience |
| BookRetreats | Retreat marketplace | Free to list; 15% standard commission; 3% processing on money paid through it | Deposit of 15–100% on BookRetreats; balance paid to you | Yes |
| Retreat Guru | Curated retreat marketplace, plus center software | Free to list; 14% commission | 14% deposit on Retreat Guru; balance paid to you | Yes |
| Bookinglayer | Booking software for venues | One fixed monthly fee; no commission | Deposits and installments | Through an OTA channel manager add-on |
| Eventbrite | Event ticketing | US: 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket, plus 2.9% per order | In full at checkout, or over time through a processor such as PayPal | Yes, through event discovery |
The 5 Retreat Booking Sites and Platforms Compared
1. SquadTrip: Your Own Retreat Booking Page
SquadTrip is a booking page for the retreats you host: one link where guests book and pay.
- Booking page with room and package options
- Deposits and automatic payment plans
- US travelers can also pay with Buy Now Pay Later (Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm); a 4% convenience fee is added to their total when they do
- Registration forms and e-signature waivers
- Messaging with your guests
- Affiliate tracking for partners who promote the retreat
Pricing: SquadTrip's Starter plan is free. Travelers pay a single 6% processing fee on top of the trip price, which includes Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ card fees, so the organizer receives the full price: on a $1,000 trip the traveler pays $1,060 and the organizer receives $1,000. The Premium plan is $29/month.
Limitation: It is not a marketplace, so you bring the audience.
Best for: Hosts with clients, students, past guests or an email list.
2. BookRetreats: Retreat Marketplace for Discovery
BookRetreats lists yoga, meditation and wellness retreats and teacher trainings for travelers searching specifically for a retreat.
Cost, as of 30 Sep 2026:
- Free to list, with no monthly fees.
- A standard 15% commission, or 20%, 25% or 30% if you want a ranking boost in its search results.
- A 3% payment processing fee on money paid through BookRetreats, deducted from your payout.
- Commission applies to the whole booking of a guest who found you there, including extras added later.
How guests pay:
- The guest pays a deposit on BookRetreats. You set it anywhere from 15% to 100% of the price.
- You collect the remaining balance yourself, on your own schedule or payment plan.
Best for: New hosts who need to be found and can build the commission into the price.
3. Retreat Guru: Curated Marketplace Plus Center Software
Retreat Guru runs a curated marketplace for transformational retreats and sells separate software to retreat centers.
Marketplace, as of 30 Sep 2026:
- Free to list unlimited retreats.
- A 14% commission on the total retreat price, which is the deposit the guest pays on Retreat Guru.
- You collect the rest of the price outside the platform, for example through Stripe, PayPal or Wise.
- Listing is by application, typically reviewed within one to three weeks.
Software, as of 30 Sep 2026: priced as a share of bookings (1% on the Standard plan, less on larger plans) with a monthly minimum, at rates that include a discount for using Retreat Guru's payment processing. It covers registration forms, room availability, deposits and installment payments.
Best for: Transformational retreats that fit its curation, and centers that want software and a marketplace listing from one company.
4. Bookinglayer: Booking Software for Retreat Venues
Bookinglayer sells accommodation and activities together in one booking flow, for venues such as surf and yoga retreats.
- One fixed monthly fee and no commission on bookings, as of 30 Sep 2026. The fee is worked out on a demo call; the pricing page gives two examples, not tiers: €260 a month for one location with 15 beds and €410 a month for two locations with 53 beds.
- Payment processing is billed separately.
- Deposits and installments, plus a customer portal where guests pay, sign waivers and add extras.
- The booking flow embeds in your website or runs on a branded subdomain.
Best for: Venues with rooms, beds and sessions to fill every week.
5. Eventbrite: Ticketing for Single Events
Eventbrite sells event tickets and helps people find events.
- Free events carry no fees. Paid tickets in the US carry a 3.7% + $1.79 service fee per ticket plus a 2.9% payment processing fee per order, as of 30 Sep 2026. Buyers pay the fees by default.
- Eventbrite says it has no native tool for installment ticket purchases. Buyers can pay over time through a connected processor such as PayPal, which manages the schedule while you are paid upfront.
Best for: Day retreats and workshops paid in one go. For multi-day retreats, see Eventbrite alternatives for retreats and group trips.
For head-to-head comparisons, see SquadTrip vs Retreat Guru, SquadTrip vs BookRetreats and SquadTrip vs Bookinglayer.
BookRetreats vs Retreat Guru
Both are free to list and charge commission only on guests they find for you. As of 30 Sep 2026, they differ in three ways.
1. Commission
- BookRetreats: 15% standard, or 20%, 25% or 30% for a ranking boost, plus 3% processing on money paid through it.
- Retreat Guru: 14% of the total retreat price.
2. How the money moves
- BookRetreats takes the deposit you set, holds it in escrow and pays out what is left after commission and fees once the guest arrives. You collect the balance.
- Retreat Guru keeps the guest's 14% deposit as its fee. You collect everything else.
3. Who gets listed
- Retreat Guru reviews each application and focuses on transformational retreats.
- BookRetreats lists yoga, meditation and wellness retreats and teacher trainings.
Looking for sites like BookRetreats? Of the five here, Retreat Guru is the only other retreat marketplace. Bookinglayer, Eventbrite and SquadTrip take bookings but do not list you in a retreat marketplace.
How to Avoid Paying Commission on Guests You Bring Yourself
Commission pays for guests you could not have reached alone. On guests who already knew you, it is avoidable.
1. Make your own booking page the default link
- Point every email, post and bio link to it.
- Clients, students and past guests book there, and you receive the full price.
2. List on one marketplace for new guests
- Choose BookRetreats or Retreat Guru, whichever fits your retreat.
- Write the listing for a stranger: who it is for, what is included and what the days look like.
3. Keep your own audience off the listing
- If your email list books through your marketplace listing, you pay commission on guests who were already yours.
- Send them your own booking link instead.
4. Pay commission on the guests the marketplace found
- Both marketplaces charge on a guest who found you through them, even when the rest of the money reaches you directly. Retreat Guru asks hosts to report any guest who found them on Retreat Guru but booked offsite, and invoices its fee.
- Treat it as a marketing cost. If the marketplace brings most of your bookings, keep it; if your own audience does, the listing is a bonus.
How to Choose
1. No audience yet
List on BookRetreats or Retreat Guru and build the commission into your price.
2. An audience of your own
Use your own booking page, such as SquadTrip, and receive the full price.
3. A venue with rooms and sessions every week
Look at Bookinglayer or Retreat Guru's software.
4. A one-day event paid in full
Eventbrite covers it.
5. Software to run the retreat itself
If you want the best software to manage a wellness retreat or to schedule a retreat facility, see retreat booking and management software compared.
Final Thoughts
Marketplaces sell reach and charge commission on the guests they find. Booking pages sell control and charge a processing fee or a subscription. Decide which problem you have, being found or turning people who already know you into bookings, and expect to end up with one of each.
Stop paying commission on guests who already know you. SquadTrip puts your retreat on a booking page with deposits, automatic payment plans and registration forms. Free to use.
