How to use RetreatDesk

1. Set up your venue (about 20 min)

• Property & address. Your street address only appears in the retreat agreement; the public page shows the approximate area.
• Rooms & capacity. Beds set your overnight capacity. Set a separate cap for everyone on site including day guests — the limit hosts most often worry about.
• Included vs extras. Mark each amenity as included, a paid extra (with a price), or not available. Extras can be added to any quote.
• Event use. Quiet hours, amplified music, alcohol, outside vendors, vehicles, minimum age, check-in/out. These go word-for-word into every agreement.
• Pricing & policies. Nightly rate, seasons with their own minimum nights, cleaning fee, day-guest fee, refundable damage deposit, deposit %, instalments, cancellation tiers.
• New requests. You review each one (default) — or opt in to auto-accepting when dates are free.

2. Connect payments

In Payments & policies, choose how organizers pay you — e-Transfer, Zelle, bank transfer, cheque and so on. They tap “I've sent it”, and you mark it received. RetreatDesk never touches the money and takes no commission. Card payments through your own Stripe account are coming soon.

3. Connect your other channels

• Import your Airbnb/VRBO calendar (.ics link) under Calendar so those bookings block retreat dates.
• Export the RetreatDesk feed into Airbnb/VRBO so retreat holds and bookings block those channels. Airbnb and VRBO fetch it on their own schedule (can take hours), so for a brand-new booking you may want to block the dates there by hand as well.

4. Add your vendors

Add your chef, massage therapist, sound healer or driver, with their price and your margin. When a retreat is confirmed they get a private link to accept, decline or propose a time — no account. They see only their own items and the guest details their service needs.

5. Share your link

Organizers don't create accounts. Put your booking link in your Instagram bio, on your website (there's a ready-made button in Settings → Share) and in replies to group enquiries.

6. What happens with each enquiry

• The organizer sees a price instantly and gets a private link by email.
• You accept (send the quote), change the terms, or decline. Accepting holds the dates for the hours you set; the organizer is emailed next steps.
• The organizer signs the agreement, then you countersign it from Today → Agreements to sign.
• You can edit and resend the quote — each version gets a fresh agreement.
• The organizer confirms their email with a code, signs the agreement, and pays the deposit. The booking is confirmed when the deposit arrives (bank payments take a few business days to clear; the dates stay held meanwhile).
• Unpaid holds expire on their own and the dates reopen.

7. Running the retreat

• One thread per retreat with you, the organizer and vendors. Everyone gets an email with a reply link for new messages.
• The organizer shares one participant form; diets, allergies, injuries and arrival times build the roster automatically.
• The checklist ticks itself: agreement signed, insurance uploaded, deposit paid, rooms, arrivals, waivers. Approve the insurance certificate when you've checked it.
• RetreatDesk reminds organizers about upcoming payments and missing insurance.
• The dashboard shows what you owe each vendor for confirmed retreats.

Questions owners ask

• Do my guests need an account? No. Organizers, vendors and participants use private links. Signing and paying additionally need a code sent to the organizer's email.
• Is the agreement legally binding? It's a plain-language template built from your terms and recorded with an electronic signature, timestamp and fingerprint. Whether and how it binds depends on your jurisdiction — have a local lawyer review it and add their wording under “Your additional terms”.
• What if an organizer cancels? They can cancel from their page. Refunds follow your tiers; RetreatDesk shows how much to return, and you send it back the way it was paid.
• Can I still use Airbnb? Yes — RetreatDesk sits alongside your channels; it doesn't replace them.