Do you ever get the feeling everyone saw it coming but you didn’t?
Bitcoin.
House prices.
Crocs & Socks ( I mean I'm kind of glad I missed that one!)
But you name it—there’s always that moment where you realise you should’ve acted sooner.

Well, here’s your heads-up before the next one hits: retreats.

The retreat industry is growing fast; wellness tourism is expected to hit over £1 trillion globally by 2030. From luxury yoga in Tuscany to cold water therapy in Cumbria, the world has fully embraced the retreat model and we are here for it!

But while more people are jumping on board and organising retreats as an extra income stream for their business, there’s a side of this business that too many are still ignoring:
Legal compliance.

Since the changes to the Package Travel Regulations (PTR) in 2018, a large chunk of retreat hosts are in fact operating outside of the law.
Some genuinely don’t realise. Others do... but take the “if I don’t look at it, maybe it won’t be real” approach.
(A bit like the pile of receipts from that January tax return.)

Well, it seems people are noticing and it is real. And the consequences are getting more serious. We’re definitely seeing a rise in action being taken for non compliance:

• Big fines from the likes of the CAA and ABTA for misuse of travel protection logos - it doesn't matter if you booked your travel/accommodation through a reputable agent. If you are selling the retreat i.e. taking payment, you become the seller of travel and it's your business who then needs to register with ABTA, ATOL and equivalents. You can't jump on the back of the agents compliance.

• Hosts being left to foot the bill when suppliers fail to deliver - it is a legal requirement to have appropriate supplier/financial failure insurance and bonded/trust accounts for taking payments for travel.

• Retreats going ahead with substandard experiences that don’t match what was promised - if appropriate supplier failure cover isn't in place and a guest speaker cancels - how do you refund the guest for not experiencing what they signed up for?

• It's also not just about when things go wrong - its a legal requirement to have it in place, you can be prosecuted for selling travel without the appropriate licenses/insurance in place, regardless of any issues occurring.

Unfortunately, there are more and more cases we are seeing where retreat hosts know their retreat isn’t compliant, but still run it anyway. It’s not just your brand that’s at risk here, it’s your clients.

Even if your guests take out travel insurance (as you probably tell them to) that cover is usually void if they’ve booked a non-compliant retreat... even worse if you knew it was non compliant when you sold it to them.

If something goes wrong - Delayed flights, missed transfers, cancellations… they might be left with zero protection. All because the retreat they trusted didn’t meet basic legal requirements.

And if you say you care about your customers - this is where it really matters.

So, why now?

The retreat industry is only going one way: bigger, busier, and with this, more scrutiny.

With growth comes attention from trading standards, insurance providers, regulators and yes, customers who are getting a lot savvier about what they’re signing up for. 

Getting accredited by the Retreat Standards Organisation (RSO) isn’t just about ticking a box or adding another logo to your website. It’s about:

• Showing your clients you genuinely care about their experience, their investment in you and your business. 

• Separating yourself from the “Instagram retreat” crowd 

• Building a business that’s legally sound, professionally respected, and built to last

It’s also about leadership.

Let’s be really honest, doing 95% of your business with care and integrity means very little if the last 5% is left to chance because it's awkward or you want to make a few extra pounds on your retreat profit.

The pressure’s coming. The checks are already starting.
And when it does hit, you want to be the one saying: “We’ve been compliant from the start.”

Not the one scrambling to fix it, claiming:“I didn’t realise I needed that insurance.”

This is your chance to be part of the first wave of accredited retreat hosts.
The ones who stand up and say:
“Yes, we do things properly. Yes, we’ve protected our clients. Yes, we care about our customers"

Because in a sea of weekend wellness and unregulated promises, doing it right is what will set you apart.

It's not about waiting until something goes wrong or until trading standards catch you out.
Don’t become another “should’ve done this earlier” story.

Get accredited. Protect your business. Most importantly, do right by your clients.

Start your accreditation journey with RSO today or pop us a message - no pressure, no jargon, just honest advice from people who genuinely want to raise the bar across the retreat industry.