Join us this week as we welcome Amanda Hietter from Across the Horizon Travel to discuss the transformative power of incorporating retreats into your business plan. Amanda, an expert in planning international retreats, will share insights on how hosting retreats can help your business grow exponentially. Discover the most popular destinations, the detailed planning process, and how to tailor retreats to meet your unique needs. We’ll also cover essential tips for ensuring participant safety and provide advice for those planning their first retreat. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a unique way to scale your business!

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Incorporating RetreatsAaron: Welcome to the show Amanda. We skip the canned bios here. Just tell us a little about yourself.

Amanda: Hello everyone! Thank you so much Aaron and Terry for having me here. I am excited to share my knowledge and expertise with all of you today. My name is Amanda Hietter and I’m the CEO and owner of Across the Horizon Travel. I have two wonderful children who are 21 and 16 and love to travel right along with me. I fell in love with travel at the age of 5 as my parents always took us on one big trip a year as a family. It was so much fun! My specialties in the travel industry consist of international romance and group travel. In the group travel niche, I assist retreat leaders with planning international retreats so they can get closer to their clientele and have deeper connections while enjoying the perks of staying in luxurious accommodations in an environment that is relaxing.

Terry: Who do you plan retreats for? Management groups? Their top customers? Entire companies?

Amanda: I typically work with retreat leaders in the industries of wellness, business coaches, and inspirational speakers, but have been diving into working with CEO’s and owners of small businesses to assist them with increasing production within their sales force. How do we do that? By offering incentive trips to their sales force to entice the sales team to reach their sales goals. When an employee reaches their goal, they receive a complimentary trip to go on a retreat with the company and enjoy a getaway with their spouse while also growing their mindset on how they can continue to reach their goals the following year. I will work with the retreat leader to curate an itinerary/curriculum for the retreat itself.

Aaron: What are some of the most popular destinations for international retreats currently, and why?

Amanda: Most retreat leaders are looking to get away to the Caribbean. It tends to be more cost effective, flight time is much less lengthy and you get the wonderful views of the beach. Popular destinations include: Mexico, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and others as well.

Terry: How much time is required for a retreat? When should we start the planning process?

Amanda: I recommend starting planning 1 to 1.5 years out as there is a lot of behind the scenes logistics that come into play that need to be addressed before we can even begin marketing the retreat. I always say that if you already have a training curriculum or a program that you are already currently using in your industry, you can utilize that same information/curriculum and micro-scale it down into a 3-5 day retreat with 1-2 sessions a day. What’s also really cool is that when a retreat leader works with me, he/she will receive complimentary accommodations as long as we meet a minimum threshold of attendees (usually 10 rooms booked).

Aaron: Walk us through the process of planning a retreat.

Amanda: Step 1 – Discovery call with me where I go over all the logistics (where do you want to go, when do you want to have the retreat, what are you looking to accomplish, how many potential attendees are you wanting to have, how long do you want to have your retreat for, etc.)

Step 2 – I begin the process of looking for the perfect location in the destination you are wanting

Step 3 – We work with the resort to put together a contract to lock in the group block for the dates requested (I also discuss with the resort your specific needs – do you need a conference room, a private area for a dinner, welcome cocktail hour, yoga on the beach, etc.) – these additional costs are added to the total cost of the retreat

Step 4 – Putting together the itinerary (I work with the retreat leader on this as well)

Step 5 – Marketing (sharing the retreat with others, getting people interested, creating a landing page on your website to collect information to forward to me) – usually this is started about 8-10 months before the travel date

Step 6 – Start signing up clients – I handle ALL logistics (flights, accommodations, airport transfers, insurance, goodie bags, etc.)

Step 7 – Prepare for travel – I send each attendee a package in the mail with all the details (flights, accommodations info, itinerary, etc. about 1-1.5 months before travel)

Step 8 – Enjoy your retreat! I will also connect the retreat leader with the coordinator that is on-site to ensure that the retreat leader’s desires are handled during the duration of the retreat.

Terry: How do you tailor retreats to meet the unique needs of different groups?

Amanda: This is where the discovery call with each retreat leader comes into play. During my 30 minute phone call or in person meeting, I have a long list of questions I ask (we previously discussed some of those questions earlier in the podcast). Additionally, I always make sure to ask each client if they have any disabilities or food allergies/special diets I need to be aware of so I can alert the resort and the restaurant staff.

Aaron: I’m sure safety is a concern. How do you ensure the safety and well-being of retreat participants, especially in remote or unfamiliar locations?

Amanda: I honestly cannot ever completely ensure the safety of any traveler, but one thing I do for them is prepare them by having a conversation about travel safety smarts. For example, you wouldn’t go walking around St. Louis in the middle of the night being half inebriated and not expecting something bad to happen, so just be smart about your surroundings when you are out and about and stay alert. I also always have my client’s take out traveler’s insurance to cover them if you receive any injuries as most people don’t know that you no longer have health insurance coverage once you leave the US. This covers you if you get sick, fall down and break a bone, etc.

Terry: How closely do you work with retreat leaders throughout the planning process?

Amanda: I work very closely with my retreat leaders. I call myself their “right hand woman” as I am there from the very beginning where we are brainstorming together on what they expect to get out of their retreat all the way to when they get back from hosting the retreat. I pride myself on being an advocate for my retreat leaders from the beginning to the end.

Aaron: What advice would you give to someone planning their first international retreat?

Amanda: I always ask retreat leaders, “Are you ready to put together a retreat right now?” Their answer is ALWAYS “Nope.” Then I ask, “Well, will you be ready in 1 to 1.5 years from now?” Their answer is always “Yes.” My recommendation: Start the planning process early. All the logistics will take a good amount of time to put together, so always start early. I also recommend working with a travel agent, as we know the ins and outs when it comes to the best locations, we can coordinate flights for all of your attendees, and we make sure that the process is seamless for the retreat leader.

Terry: Amanda, how can our listeners find you?

Amanda: You can find me on Instagram or Facebook at: Across the Horizon Travel, check out my website at: www.acrossthehorizontravel.com, email me at: acrossthehorizontravel@gmail.com or shoot me a text or phone call at: 309-202-3519.

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