Right around now is the time I like the least in my business. In fact, I dread it… Good guess, but no, it’s not the tax season (even though that’s a whole other chapter). No, right now, I am about 5 weeks away from my next retreat and one week away from having to confirm final room numbers with my partner resort in Bali. Hope, dread, stress, insecurity and optimism are having a huge big party in my brain, fighting for attention. Will I be able to fill all the rooms I have so optimistically reserved?
Had I written this article 3 months earlier, all would have been peachy. I had just updated my website, sent out a well-received newsletter, the inbox was enjoying steady flutter of retreat enquiries and new mailing list subscribers. I had barely started to advertise Bali 2014 and I already had two sign ups, a bunch of return guests for Thailand later in June and an exciting new opportunity to organize a retreat in Tanzania. But here I am today…excited and stressed out at the same time. Looking back, that feeling hasn’t changed in the 5 years since I started Pilates Retreat Asia. It’s like stage fright a month before the show. Everything goes down in that month: Final preparations, resort deposits, last-minute sign-ups, skype calls and emails with the co-leaders across the globe, keeping track of my spreadsheets (oh yeah!), calculating expenses, projected profits and chasing final payments, staying in touch with the participants, who are as excited and worried as I am (just on a different level: What do I pack? How much money should I take? What’s the weather like? Who are the other participants?).
I can’t remember a retreat where the month leading up to it hasn’t been crazy. You never know until last minute how many participants you will have and in some cases, that one extra guest can be your make-it or break-it moment. Many resorts, for example, only give free accommodation to the retreat leader if you bring 10 guests or more. Come with 9…pay for your own room (which can easily knock you out of an extra $800 or more, depending on the type of resort you work with. Mine tend to be upscale, i.e NOT cheap!). Vegans, vegetarians, allergies and ailments – as a perfectionist I like and need to be aware of my client’s preferences. By now there’s a spreadsheet for each of the participants. Arrival and departure times, room allocation, payment information… People tend to think leading a retreat it like a holiday (well it is in a way) but just as for any well organized holiday, you need to plan ahead, be informed, do your research and constantly be on top of things.
In 2009 I jumped into this like into a bucket of ice water with no experience whatsoever, so what I can write about today does not come from seminars, workshops or study guides. It’s the stories that I’ve lived that made my business grow and my experiences real and heartfelt. In hindsight, not a lot has changed, it just gets a little easier every time (except for that last month of course… that never seems to change). What has changed most remarkably in this whole process however is myself. As a teacher. As a listener. As a guide. As a student. The experience and learning curve of what you can come away with from a one-week retreat is something that to this day I haven’t been able to recreate with my clients in a studio setting. No wonder – when was the last time you saw your client (laugh, cry and sweat) 8 hrs a day for 7 straight days? It’s a people experience. Sometimes you are faced with serious decisions to make, like that one time when we had to ‘ban’ a participant from attending the group yoga classes – after finding out that she not only had had a knee replacement, but was also just recovering from a stress fracture operation on her hip 3 months earlier. She was still using a stick to walk and, frankly, walking barefoot in the white sand on a Mexican beach was more than enough of a workout for her. So, what do you do then? That client is there. She’s so excited, so hopeful, has paid all this money… We ended up giving her daily extra private classes and I had a keen an watchful eye on her during the Pilates sessions, but phew… it did give a stressful edge to that retreat. There are other obstacles than can land in your way, like people (including your co-leaders) getting sick, the massage therapist disappointing a demanding client, the local guide hired to explain the meanings behind the holy temple bath in Bali, unexpectedly leaving the group at the gate: “Oh, I’m sorry, I have my period. I cannot go inside.” Stuff that made you cry back then and laugh today.
Americans, I have to admit, are my favorite participants. You guys are so grateful, so excited, so willing to take it all in. Bali, Thailand, Philippines…no wonder, you’ve travelled from so far. The Europeans…seasoned travellers. They will love the experience and be smooth and resourceful, but I can guarantee you – that disarming toothpaste smile on the group picture: Made in the USA. I guess being a German, married to a French having lived in New York, Pakistan, Hong Kong and now Turkey makes me a decent candidate for leading an international group. You need to be culturally aware, non-biased, openminded and leave your own attitude (if you have one) at the airline check-in desk. For a week you will be everything: a Pilates teacher, a tourguide, an entertainer, a psychologist, a babysitter and – never leave that behind – yourself. If you think you have these qualities and on top of it can act as (or have cheap access to) an accountant, a travel agent, a webdesigner, a PR agent and a social media expert, then you are set – pick a beautiful spot and start your own Pilates, Yoga or other Retreat. I mean it. Do it! And please do get in touch and tell me all about it. It’s a wonderful job.
As you can (hopefully) see, there is hard work (absolutely true!) and a cut-throat reality (weighing more or less depending on professional background and character) behind the glossy facade of leading wonderful wellness retreats in exotic places and to-die-for luxury resorts. But as long as I continue to tally the bountiful feedback and emotional wealth I receive, into my spreadsheet, Pilates Retreat Asia will always remain a hugely rewarding business to me.
I hope to see you all on a retreat some day,
With gratitude,
Mareile Paley
Upcoming retreats in 2014:
Pilates and Yoga Retreat
Feb 15th – 22nd 2014
Pilates and Fitness Retreat
May 31st – June 6th 2014
Pilates Connect – Kilimanjaro
Pilates & Hiking Retreat
July 4th – 11th 2014
Personalized Pilates Retreat
year-round
