Retreat & Workshop Profit Calculator

Will your retreat make money, and how many guests do you need?

You book a venue and instructors months ahead, sell early-bird and regular seats, and keep what turnout, card fees and a guaranteed minimum leave. Type your costs, prices and expected guests. The tool shows profit, the break-even number of paying guests, what empty guaranteed beds cost, what your early-bird tier gives up, the regular price that hits a profit target, and profit from 40% to 100% full.

Arithmetic on the numbers you type. Not tax, legal or financial advice. The values shown are placeholder data, not any real event, and your own costs will differ.

Capacity and turnout

Capacity (beds or seats)

Nights

1 for a day workshop.

Free staff or teacher spots

They use a bed but pay nothing.

Paying guests you expect

Be honest: the table below shows fuller and emptier.

Prices

Early-bird price ($)

Early-bird seats

Sold first at the early price.

Regular price ($)

Card and platform fees (%)

Fixed costs

Venue or space ($)

Instructors and speakers ($)

Marketing ($)

Insurance ($)

Your travel and site visit ($)

Everything else, fixed ($)

Gifts, printing, photographer.

Per person and the venue contract

Lodging and meals per person per night ($)

Venue guaranteed minimum people

0 if none. Count free spots too.

Profit you want ($)

Questions people ask

How many people do I need to break even on a retreat?

Add every fixed cost (venue, instructors, marketing, insurance, your travel), then find the smallest turnout where ticket revenue minus card fees and the per-person lodging and meals covers it. Free staff spots and any venue guaranteed minimum raise the bill, so the tool includes both. The result panel shows the exact number and the profit at each fill level.

What is a venue guaranteed minimum and why does it matter?

Many venues bill for a minimum number of people (or room nights) whether or not they show up. If you guarantee 16 and 8 paying guests and 2 staff come, you still pay for 6 empty places. The result shows that cost separately so you can negotiate the guarantee down or a later cutoff before signing.

How much should an early-bird price cost me?

Every early-bird seat gives up the difference between the regular and early price. The tool prints that exact amount for your turnout, so you can compare it with what the early sales do for your cash flow and your confidence in the date. Set early-bird seats to 0 to see the plain regular-price picture.

What price do I need to charge to make a profit target?

The tool solves for the regular price that gives the profit you typed at the turnout you expect, after card fees, lodging and meals, and fixed costs. It also re-runs profit at prices 20% under to 20% over, so you can see how much of a price change a few extra guests would have to cover.

Not decided

Sales tax or VAT on tickets, income tax, whether your insurance or venue contract covers cancellations and injuries, refund and cancellation terms, how many guests will actually book, whether a price is right for your market, and foreign-exchange or deposit timing. Check your contracts and local rules, and ask an accountant or lawyer before you commit to a venue.