TL;DR:
- Price first. Your break-even price per guest is your fixed costs divided by the guests you expect, plus your cost per guest. Charge comfortably above it.
- A deposit of about 15% plus five monthly installments is typical: that is the median deposit on SquadTrip payment plans, and the median plan took six payments in total.
- Before you sign the venue, check how many bookings it takes for guest deposits alone to cover the venue's signing deposit. If it is more than half your seats, raise the deposit or negotiate the venue's.
- Make the final installment due a few weeks before the venue's balance.
- On SquadTrip the guest pays the 6% processing fee on top of each payment, so you receive your full price.
A retreat payment plan splits your price into a deposit at booking and monthly installments before the retreat. Work it out backwards from your venue contract: deposits have to add up to the venue's signing deposit quickly, and the last installment has to arrive before the venue's balance is due. For a $2,200 retreat with a 15% deposit and five monthly installments, each guest pays $330 at booking and $374 a month for five months; with SquadTrip's 6% fee on top, that is $350 and $396. If the venue wants $3,000 at signing, it takes 10 bookings before deposits alone cover it. The calculator below runs your own numbers, and the sections after it explain how to choose the deposit and schedule.
How to Use the Calculator
Fill in the first section with real quotes for the venue and teachers, and estimate per-guest costs at the high end. Then set your payment terms in the second section. Results update as you type.
Retreat pricing and payment plan calculator
Enter your costs, price and payment terms. See your break-even point, what each guest pays at booking and every month after, and how many bookings it takes before deposits cover what you owe the venue.
1. Costs and price
2. Payment plan
Break-even
8 guests
At 14 guests you break even at $1,343 per guest. Profit at 14 guests: $12,000
Each guest pays
$350 today
Then 5 payments of $396, 6% fee included. You receive $2,200.
Covering the venue deposit
10 bookings
Deposits of $330 cover the $3,000 venue deposit after 10 bookings. Open registration before you sign, or pay the venue once that many guests have booked.
| Payment | Guest pays (incl. 6% fee) | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| At booking (deposit) | $350 | $330 |
| Month 1 | $396 | $374 |
| Month 2 | $396 | $374 |
| Month 3 | $396 | $374 |
| Month 4 | $396 | $374 |
| Month 5 (final payment) | $396 | $374 |
Time the final payment a few weeks before the venue's balance is due, so a late payer never leaves you covering the gap. Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
The defaults are a 14-guest retreat with a $9,000 venue, the same example as the retreat break-even calculator. Use that tool if you only need the break-even point and margin; use this one when you are also deciding the deposit and schedule.
What Each Input Means
Venue cost. The whole stay, including any minimum spend. If the venue charges per person, put that part in cost per guest instead.
Other fixed costs. Everything you pay whether you have 8 guests or 16: guest teachers, a cook, transport you have to book in advance, insurance, marketing, and the fee you pay yourself. Leaving your own fee out is how a retreat that "broke even" ends up paying you nothing.
Cost per guest. Meals, excursions, materials, welcome gifts, and anything else that rises with each booking.
Guests you expect. A realistic fill, not the maximum. The break-even price uses this number, so an optimistic guess hides a loss.
Your price per guest. What you want to receive per booking. On SquadTrip the 6% processing fee is added on top at checkout, so this is the amount that reaches you.
Deposit. The share of the price guests pay to hold a spot. The median on SquadTrip payment plans is about 15%, according to our group trip cost and payment data.
Monthly installments. How many payments follow the deposit. Enter 0 if guests pay in full at booking.
Venue deposit you owe up front. What the venue wants when you sign, often 30% to 50% of the venue cost. The calculator shows how many bookings it takes for guest deposits alone, before any installments, to cover it.
How to Choose the Deposit and Installments
The deposit has two jobs: it commits the guest, and it funds what you owe before the installments start arriving. Too low and you are fronting the venue money yourself. Too high and guests who would happily pay $400 today hesitate at $800.
The data from trips booked on SquadTrip gives a starting point. On the median trip the deposit was about 15% of the price, and the middle half of trips asked for 10% to 23%. The median plan took six payments, which is a deposit plus five monthly installments. Travelers on payment plans also booked earlier: a median 181 days before departure, against 84 days for those who paid in full. Retreats had the lowest plan use of any trip type at 44%, so offering a plan is one of the simpler ways for a retreat host to bring bookings forward.
Here is how three common plans compare on a $2,200 retreat with a $3,000 venue deposit:
| Plan | Deposit (guest pays with 6% fee) | Each installment (guest pays) | Bookings to cover the venue deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% deposit + 6 monthly | $220 ($233) | $330 ($350) | 14 |
| 15% deposit + 5 monthly | $330 ($350) | $374 ($396) | 10 |
| 25% deposit + 4 monthly | $550 ($583) | $412.50 ($437) | 6 |
The 10% plan is the easiest to say yes to, but you would need every one of 14 seats sold before deposits cover the venue. The 25% plan covers it after six bookings. For most hosts the answer is in between: about 15% to 20%, with the venue deposit negotiated down or split.
Whatever you choose, decide the refund terms at the same time. A deposit that is refundable up to 90 days out commits nobody. Our retreat deposit policy guide covers what to make non-refundable and when.
Line the Plan Up With Your Venue Contract
Venue contracts usually have two dates that matter: the signing deposit, and the balance due date, often 60 to 90 days before arrival. Build the guest schedule around both.
- Before you sign: ask the venue to hold your dates for two to three weeks and open registration to your list during the hold. Your warmest guests book first.
- At signing: sign once guest deposits cover the signing deposit, or once you are comfortable fronting the difference.
- Monthly installments: set the dates so the final one falls three to four weeks before the venue's balance is due. That leaves time to chase a failed card without paying the venue from your own account.
- Balance day: by the time the venue invoice arrives, every guest on a plan has paid in full.
Guests who book late cannot fit five payments into three months. Give them a shorter plan with the same final due date, so they pay in fewer, larger installments and still finish before the venue balance. The retreat cash-flow guide walks through the same sequence with a full timeline.
Turn this schedule into automatic payments
Set the price, deposit and installment dates once. SquadTrip charges each guest on schedule, sends reminders and receipts, and pays you in your own Stripe or Square account. Free to use.
Create your retreat booking page freeWhen the Numbers Do Not Work
The break-even price is more than your guests will pay. Cut fixed costs or raise the expected fill with a smaller venue, rather than discounting. The break-even calculator guide covers five levers, including a private-room tier.
Deposits take too many bookings to cover the venue. Raise the deposit to 20% to 25%, offer an early-bird price that comes with a larger deposit, or ask the venue to split its deposit, for example half at signing and half three months later.
Guests ask for longer plans. Add months only if the final payment still lands before the venue balance. Otherwise, offer buy now, pay later at checkout: guests spread the cost with Klarna, Afterpay or Affirm and you are paid the full price up front. On SquadTrip the guest pays a 4% convenience fee for that option. See buy now, pay later for group trips.
Final Thoughts
Set the price from your costs, the deposit from your venue contract, and the number of installments from the months you have before the venue balance is due. Run those three numbers before you announce the retreat, not after the first guest asks whether they can pay monthly. When you are ready to take bookings, SquadTrip for retreats turns the schedule into a booking page with automatic installments, free to use.
