REO Retreat Planner

What We Offer

Pristine location

REO is an adventure-style resort that overlooks the Nahatlatch River, situated in a beautiful wilderness valley just 2.5 hours from Vancouver, B.C. The setting is special because of the incredible jade green river and panoramic mountain, forest and canyon backdrop. Our semi-arid climate is perfect for summer retreats. At REO, you will feel far removed from the fast-paced urban environment.

Fun adventures

REO provides a full range of outdoor activities for all ages including whitewater rafting, canoeing, inflatable kayaking, rock rappelling, guided hikes, fishing and aromatherapy massage. Our resort features amenities including a 15-person hot tub, cedar sauna, private beach, volleyball and games, hot showers, campfire entertainment area and a large covered dining deck to enjoy our delicious chef-prepared meals.

Customized retreats

REO resort staff is committed to ensuring that your group’s individual needs and expectations are met. Our goal is to create a special environment for your retreat.

Unique meeting areas.

Casual indoor and outdoor venues include:

Trading Post: Indoor meeting space (seats 40 theatre-style; 15-20 with tables)
Dining Deck: Covered outdoor meeting space (seats up to 100)
Break-Out Areas: Smaller meeting areas are located throughout the resort

Facility rental includes podium or presentation table with microphones. Specialized equipment can be arranged (TV, DVD, slide projector/screen, flip chart) or you can bring your own.

Flexible options for all group sizes.

Can accommodate 80 in cabin tents and 200 camping. Minimum group size may apply.
Exclusive use of the resort is available subject to group size and dates
Average stay is 2 - 5 nights. Minimum stay is one night.

Types of Retreats

Almost any special interest or recreational activity can be the focal point of a retreat at REO. Start dates, number of nights and schedules for all retreats are flexible depending on the goals and objectives of the retreat. Retreats can be broad grouped into two main types:

Instructor-led Retreats. REO has hosted many specialty instructor-led retreats such as the Songwriters Retreat, Irish Dance Camp, Samurai Sword Arts Retreat, Yoga retreats, Fitness retreats, etc. REO is actively involved in promoting and marketing.
Corporate Retreats. REO has hosted many weekend and multi-day management and team-building retreats. As these are typically in-house events, REO does not assist with marketing and promotion. Some company retreats are basic facility rentals (meals, lodging, meeting space) and others are more integrated and include one or more soft adventure activities.

Instructor-led Retreats

Instructor-led retreats are usually a one-week summer camp though several have been offered as weekend events. A week-long camp usually starts on a Sunday and ends either Friday or Saturday. Thus, a one-week retreat is usually a 6-day/5-night or 7-day/6-night package. Meal times are set up to allow a morning and an afternoon time slot to conduct an instructor-led session, to participate in a REO activity or free time. Each time slot is about 3.5 hours. The number of instructor-led sessions is dependent on the goals and objectives of the retreat, as is the number of REO activities.

Table A: Sample – 6-day/5-night Retreat:

Times:	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8 am - 9 am		Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
9:30am - 1 pm		AM Session	AM Session	AM Session	AM Session	Check-out
1 pm - 2 pm	Check-in	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
2:30 pm - 6 pm	PM Session	PM Session	PM Session	PM Session	PM Session
6 pm - 7 pm	Free Time	Free Time	Free Time	Free Time	Free Time
7 pm	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner

Marketing & Promotion of Instructor-led Retreats

Retreats are a success when personally and extensively promoted by the instructor, sponsor or organization hosting the event. REO works diligently to promote and market the event to regional and international markets. However, without the support of the instructor in marketing their retreat to their existing and potential client base, it is unlikely that REO alone will generate sufficient bookings to fill the retreat.

REO marketing strategies may include:

Production of full-colour promotional materials
Posting of a web page on our site and full search engine indexing
Design and distribution of e-mail HTML newsletters to REO database and target markets identified by the instructor and REO
Sponsorship activities of related events (i.e. prizing)
Linking of websites between REO and instructor
Reservation services (online/telephone inquiries/payment processing)
Media & public relations leading up to the event

Retreat marketing, planning and on-site responsibilities for instructor:

Creating a buzz for the event through diligent and personal promotion of the retreat to their personal network or database (i.e. your “following”)
Preparing an appealing itinerary that meets market interest
Identifying sponsorship, media and promotional opportunities
Creation of a web page for the retreat and linking it to REO’s website
Assisting in preparing/editing promotional retreat materials
Deliver the instructional sessions in a professional manner
Assist in supervising youth participants (under 18), if applicable, during meals and free time

Retreat Pricing

Retreats are priced and marketed after a consultation process with the instructor, sponsor or organization hosting the event. The final price that is agreed to is an all-inclusive price with tuition, lodging, meals, beverages, snacks, adventure activities, and resort usage bundled into one price based on the type of lodging that is chosen by the guest. Sometimes adventure activities are not included in this bundled price

The variables that are considered and can affect price include:

Dates/number of days/month of the event
Instructor fees per attendee and number of instructors needed to conduct the retreat
Any applicable discounts for youth/adult participants,early-bird registration and other promotional offers
The number of adventure activities offered
Upgrades or downgrades on lodging. The standard price model includes shared cabin tent occupancy (4 per cabin tent).

Dates and Length

Retreat prices do vary during our value season and prime season and for weekend and midweek retreats. Midweek retreats in our value season (May, June & September) would receive the lowest prices and weekend retreats in our prime season (July & August) would have the highest prices.

Instructor Fees

Instructor fees vary significantly based on the target audience for their retreat and their ability and willingness to pay.

Youth retreats are more price sensitive and instructor rates are usually 10-15% of the retail price of the retreat. Retail prices for youth camps range from $600-900 CDN per week and instructor fees range from $75-$150 per attendee.

Instructors with a large following or celebrity status can command rates of 15-30% of the retail price of the retreat. Many have preferred not to charge high rates in order to widen the appeal and increase the number of participants. The total instructor fee paid for our high-end retreats has averaged around 20% of the retreat’s retail price (plus considerable benefits for the instructor; see below). Retail prices (all-inclusive) have ranged between $900 and $1500 CDN for a week camp and thus total instructor fees have typically ranged from $200-$300 CDN per attendee. Based on these averages, one instructor with 20 attendees could earn $3,500 to well over $5,000/week. Instructors with significant high-end appeal could command higher rates per attendee. We will work with each instructor to design a price and package that is the best in terms of attracting the right clientele and number of participants.

Discounts & Incentives

We will negotiate discounts and incentives with each instructor to create buzz and encourage advance booking.

Number of Adventure Activities

Packages can be designed with no activities (see facility rental) to as many as one per day depending on the goals and objectives of the retreat. The more activities included, the higher the price to participants. However, REO offers significant discounts for activities when included in a retreat package.

Lodging Upgrades or Downgrades

The basic retreat price template is based on shared occupancy in our cabin tents (4 per cabin tent). A double or single occupancy cabin tent would be upgrades. A downgrade to camping in own tent is also available and is popular with many of our student and youth groups.

Instructor Benefits

Instructors receive a number of benefits from the retreat:

Financial compensation based on the number of participants
Club REO package - cabin tent lodging, three daily meals, beverages & snacks, full use of resort amenities (minimum 5 paid participants)
Adventure activities based on the group
Extensive marketing exposure from REO
Opportunity to teach in a unique learning environment
Goodwill and heightened rapport with existing and new clients

Additional Instructors/Partners or Spouses

Adding instructor(s) is open to negotiation and will subject to the number of attendees or the retail value and revenues generated. Typically, we provide one complimentary instructor retreat package for every ten students. However, the number of instructors, partners or spouses that attend is a variable that is negotiated when the contract agreement is prepared.

REO reserves the right to have one REO representative attend the retreat at no charge (no instructor fee). This gives us the opportunity to assess the merits of the event and also to help us in marketing and promoting it to a world-wide audience.

Please contact us with any questions about bringing your retreat to REO. We’d be glad be of assistance.

Bryan Fogelman, President
Mark Bond, General Manager

1.800.736.7238 (toll-free US & Canada) or 604.461.7238
E-mail: info@reorafting.com

Mailing address:
REO Rafting Resort
845 Spence Way
Anmore, British Columbia
Canada V3H 5H4