Retreat Strategy, Development & Experience Design
Turn your retreat idea into an experience that works — for your guests and your business.
I help hospitality businesses, retreat venues and wellness professionals develop, launch and improve retreats — from concept, positioning and commercial strategy to guest experience and delivery.
Whether you're developing a retreat at a property, creating a new retreat concept or improving an existing offering, let's talk.
Where are you on your retreat journey?
Whether you are exploring an idea, developing a retreat offering, or looking to improve what you are already doing, I can help you find the right way forward.
I have a property
I want to add retreats to my hotel, holiday rental or venue
You have the space and the potential — but need help turning it into a retreat offering that works for your guests and your business.
I have a retreat idea
I want to turn my expertise into a retreat
Whether you have a wellness modality, business, practice or new idea, I can help you shape it into a compelling and commercially viable retreat.
I want to improve or grow my retreat offering
From positioning and pricing to guest experience, operations and future growth, I can help you identify what's working and where there is more potential.
I already run retreats
Retreat expertise from both sides of the experience
A successful retreat needs more than a beautiful location or an inspiring programme. It needs to work for the people attending it and the business creating it.
With over 18 years of experience across hospitality, guest services and operations, alongside more than a decade in yoga, wellness and retreat creation, I bring both perspectives together.
I've experienced retreats as a guest, host, facilitator and consultant — giving me a practical understanding of what happens both in front of the guest and behind the scenes.
I look at the whole picture:
The experience - What will your guests feel, need and remember?
The business - Does the concept, positioning, pricing and model make commercial sense?
The delivery - Can the team, space, systems and operations deliver the experience you've promised?The bigger picture - How can the retreat become something sustainable, meaningful and aligned with your wider business?
This is where I love to help
What my clients say:
★★★★★
Manon was a huge support to us. She helped us review our booking systems and workflows more strategically, offering practical suggestions that improved and optimized bookings. - Ashley - Cara Creek Eco Lodge
★★★★★
Manon was very supportive in increasing our online presence and customer orientation. Her extensive experience and network were invaluable in developing our marketing concept and, importantly, in helping us take the first steps towards becoming a retreat venue. With her support, we successfully ran our first pilot retreats and are now developing the retreat infrastructure and offering to welcome external retreat hosts. Her practical approach and experience made a real difference to us.— Andi, Quinta da Madrugada
Frequently asked questions
1. What types of clients do you work with?
I work with two main types of clients in the retreat space:
1. Retreat venues and hospitality spaces
This includes retreat centres, hotels, rural estates, and hospitality venues that host or want to host retreats, wellness stays, or experience-led group programmes.
2. Individual retreat leaders and facilitators
This includes coaches, yoga teachers, therapists, and wellness practitioners who want to start offering retreats or improve and grow their existing retreat offerings.
Both groups share a common goal: creating more aligned, higher-converting retreat experiences that are easier to sell and more sustainable to run.
5. What results can I expect?
Clients typically see improvements in:
- Retreat bookings and enquiry conversion
- Clarity and confidence in their retreat offer
- Higher-value bookings and better-aligned guests
- Stronger occupancy in off-peak or launch periods
- Easier and more structured retreat sales process
- Improved operational flow and guest experience
2. Do I need to already run retreats to work with you?
No — you don’t need to already be running retreats. I work with both established retreat hosts and those just starting to explore the idea.
It’s often the most powerful time to begin, as we can build a strong foundation, clear direction, and a realistic roadmap from the start.
For venues and hospitality spaces, I act as a bridge — translating ideas into a clear, fluid system that integrates retreats into your existing offering in a way that is sustainable, aligned, and designed to become a successful, profitable business.
6. What is your approach?
I take a holistic, context-led approach rather than using fixed templates or generic frameworks.
Whether I’m working with a venue or an individual, I look at the full ecosystem — positioning, offer structure, guest journey, communication, and operational flow — and refine how these elements work together to improve both experience and commercial performance.
The goal is always alignment and results, not one or the other.
3. What does working with individuals look like?
For individual retreat leaders, I typically help with:
- Designing or structuring a retreat offer from scratch
- Improving an existing retreat package to increase bookings
- Clarifying positioning and ideal guest profile
- Making the offer easier to sell and communicate
- Increasing confidence in pricing and presentation
The focus is on creating retreats that feel aligned, clear, and commercially viable.
7. How do you typically work with clients?
I usually start with a discovery call to understand your venue or retreat offering, current challenges, and goals.
From there, I create a tailored consultancy plan focused on your key priorities — typically improving bookings, positioning, conversion, guest experience, and operational flow.
Each project is bespoke, but always structured around clear actions designed to improve performance without adding unnecessary complexity.
4.What is your mystery guest review?
A mystery guest review is a structured, real-time evaluation of your guest or retreat experience from the perspective of a potential client or retreat host.
This includes reviewing the full journey, such as:
- initial enquiry and response flow
- clarity of information and booking process
- emotional decision-making points
- arrival and on-site guest experience
- overall flow and perceived value of the stay or retreat
The purpose is to identify subtle friction points that may be affecting conversions, guest satisfaction, or repeat bookings — often without being visible from the inside.
This can be especially valuable for established venues that want to refine and elevate their guest experience to a consistently high level.
7. Where are you based and do you work internationally?
I am based in Portugal and work with clients internationally.
I support retreat venues and individual retreat leaders across different countries through remote consultancy.
For my “mystery guest” experience reviews, I mostly work across Europe.
8. What is the first step to working with you?
The first step is a short discovery call where we explore your current situation, goals, and where you feel support is needed.
After that, I will suggest a tailored approach based on what would create the most impact for your venue or retreat offering.
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Let's chat about your retreat goals today. Book your free discovery call here
info@retreatconsultancy.com
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