There’s no denying it. 2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for retreats.

People are tired. Burnout is everywhere. Wellness is no longer a fluffy add on, it’s a genuine need. We’ve all seen the predictions for the growth of the wellness space and it’s easy to see why retreats are booming. They offer time, connection, depth and space in a way very little else does.

And for business owners, it’s tempting.

Adding a retreat onto an existing coaching, wellness or fitness business can look like a natural next step. It feels aligned. It feels exciting. It can be incredibly rewarding, both personally and financially.

But here’s the bit that needs saying.

Please don’t jump head first into selling travel thinking it’s just another add on.

Because it isn’t.

We’ve all seen this before, just in a different guise. A celebrity loses a bit of weight, January rolls around, and suddenly there’s a fitness DVD, an online programme and a proclamation that they’ve cracked health, movement and wellbeing. Most of us are rightly sceptical now. We’ve learnt to spot when something looks good on the surface but lacks depth, training and credibility underneath.

Travel works in exactly the same way.

Enjoying holidays does not make you a travel agent.

Running great workshops does not automatically mean you can sell retreats.

And hosting a wellness experience does not remove the legal responsibilities that come with selling travel.

Selling a retreat is not the same as running an event. The moment you package accommodation, activities and payments together, you’re operating as a seller of travel. And just like any other regulated industry, there are rules, protections and responsibilities that come with that.

You wouldn’t suddenly decide to start selling insurance because it looked lucrative. You wouldn’t offer legal advice without qualifications. And yet, when it comes to retreats, many well meaning businesses accidentally do exactly that. Not out of bad intent. Simply because no one has ever explained the difference.

We see it all the time.

Brilliant practitioners. Established businesses. Values led people doing great work. Then cutting corners with retreats without realising the risk they’re taking, both for their guests and for themselves.

And here’s the thing. Just as we’ve become more savvy about celebrity fitness gurus, the same will happen in the retreat space. Guests are becoming more informed. Trading standards are paying closer attention. Insurance companies are tightening up. The businesses that don’t take compliance seriously will stand out, and not in a good way.

If 2026 really is the year of wellness and retreats, then surely it also needs to be the year of standards, integrity and professionalism.

Growth without compliance is risky.

Impact without proper protection doesn’t last.

At the Retreat Standards Organisation, we’re not here to gatekeep or tell people they can’t host retreats. We’re here because this industry is growing up, and it needs the structures to match. Our role is to support hosts to do this properly, legally and safely, so the work they care about doesn’t unravel when something unexpected happens.

2026 can absolutely be the year of the retreat.

But it should also be the year we stop cutting corners and start taking responsibility.

Because wellness deserves better than shortcuts.

Your guests deserve better than assumptions.

And your business deserves to be protected while it grows.

If you’re thinking about adding retreats into your business for 2026, or already running them and feeling unsure about the legal side, that doesn’t make you behind. It makes you human.

But now is the moment to get informed, supported and compliant.

And there’s more coming.

Because if 2026 really is the year of the retreat, then it’s also time to celebrate the people doing it properly.
The ones who take standards seriously.
Who protect their guests.
Who build something sustainable, not just Instagrammable.

So… watch this space.
The inaugural Retreat Awards are coming in 2026.

And this time, doing it right will actually matter.