The Global Retreat Company

What The Global Retreat Company does

The Global Retreat Company (also trading as Queen of Retreats) is a London-based, founder-led curated online marketplace for wellness retreats worldwide. The company differentiates through a rigorous, human-led vetting process: trusted reviewers personally visit candidate retreats and accept only 1 in 20 into the platform's collection. The core offering aggregates hand-picked retreat listings across categories including yoga, meditation, detox, fitness, nature immersion, artistic and creative experiences, emotional support, and holistic health, covering destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Northern and Southern Europe, the UK, and virtual retreats.

The product surface extends beyond the marketplace itself. The Queen of Retreats concierge provides bespoke human matching advice, while a separate Retreat Venues & Property Search service helps retreat leaders, business leaders, and groups hire venues directly. A B2B Retreat Consultancy targets retreat owners seeking support with design, establishment, and promotion. Editorial operations include an Expert Review System (named contributors such as Emma Douglas, Eden Carpenter, Selda Goodwin, Catherine Turner, Caroline Sylge, and Juliet Kinsman), a journal featuring articles and poetry, and a founder-authored book 'How To Retreat' published by Penguin Random House. Technology footprint is light: a Squarespace-hosted marketing site, a user account app at app.theglobalretreatcompany.com, Klaviyo for marketing automation, and no native mobile app or public API.

The business model combines two revenue streams: (1) annual subscription/listing fees paid by retreats accepted into the curated collection, and (2) transaction commissions on bookings introduced by GRC (calculated on retreat price less extras). Users access reviews, search, and booking connections free of charge with no booking fees. Target segments span individual wellness seekers (primary), corporate groups, couples, and families. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, 1-10 employees, and operates under THE GLOBAL RETREAT COMPANY LIMITED, an English private limited company (registration 10572930).

Name

The Global Retreat Company

Legal name

THE GLOBAL RETREAT COMPANY LIMITED

Website

https://theglobalretreatcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Global Retreat Company is a London-based curated online marketplace that personally reviews and vets wellness retreats worldwide (accepting only 1 in 20), connecting individual wellness seekers, corporate groups, couples, and families directly with vetted retreat venues and earning revenue through annual listing fees and booking commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wellness Retreat Marketplace

NAICS

Travel Agencies (56151), Tour Operators (56152), Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (56159)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Wellness, Spa & Retreat Travel Agencies (THAKAFAI)

Keywords

• Wellness retreat curation
• Retreat discovery platform
• Wellness travel marketplace
• Retreat venue matching
• Retreat consultancy services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Annual Retreat Membership Fees: Retreats pay an annual fee to be featured in The Global Retreat Company's curated collection after passing their review process
2. Commission on Introductions: When a user introduced by GRC enters into an engagement with a retreat, GRC receives commission based on the price paid (less extras) for the retreat services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Global Retreat Company operates a curated online marketplace that helps individual wellness seekers discover, evaluate, and book retreats worldwide. Its team personally visits and vets retreat venues, accepting only one in twenty applicants, then connects users to vetted retreats via its website directory and a free concierge matching service called Queen of Retreats. The platform also offers B2B consultancy and venue listing services to retreat owners, plus venue sourcing for corporate groups.

Product overview

The Global Retreat Company operates a curated online marketplace and review platform for wellness retreats. The core platform aggregates hand-picked retreat listings across categories including yoga, meditation, detox, fitness, nature immersion, artistic, emotional support, and holistic health. The offering includes the Queen of Retreats concierge for personalized matching, an Expert Review System with trusted reviewer content, a Retreat Venues & Property Search service for venue hiring, Retreat Consultancy for business-to-business support, and a Retreat Journal featuring editorial content. Users connect directly with retreats for bookings, bypassing intermediary fees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Global Retreat Company Platform A curated online marketplace and directory where individual wellness seekers can discover and book vetted wellness retreats across eight categories globally. Free for consumers; retreat owners pay annual listing fees.
• Queen of Retreats Concierge A free bespoke concierge matching service that personally connects users with retreats tailored to their requirements, removing the booking fee friction of traditional travel agents.
• Expert Reviewer Network A network of named, trusted expert reviewers and journalists who produce editorial reviews of retreats on the platform, providing third-party credibility and trust signals for users.
• Retreat Venues & Property Search A dedicated venue and property matching service for corporate groups, team offsites, and organizations seeking curated retreat venue shortlists.
• Retreat Consultancy A business-to-business consultancy service helping retreat owners design, establish, improve, and promote their retreats, with separate pricing from standard platform listing fees.
• Retreat Journal An editorial content channel on the platform publishing articles, guides, and retreat-focused journalism that supports organic discovery and thought leadership.
• Retreat Review Application A submission portal through which retreat owners apply to have their retreat vetted and featured on the platform, including paid annual listing tiers (standard at £500/year and featured from £900/year).

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 20 retreats meet their reviewing standards, ensuring high-quality curation

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Well+Good: Wellness editorial and booking platform covering retreats, fitness, and beauty. Comparable audience overlap and editorial-to-commerce model, though with broader wellness scope.
• MindBodyGreen: Wellness content and community platform that publishes retreat guides and editorial recommendations. Adjacent to GRC's editorial authority play, though it monetises through content and commerce rather than retreat introductions.

Direct peers

• Wellbeing Escapes: UK-based specialist travel agency curating wellness retreats, spa breaks, and holistic holidays — operates as a direct competitor to GRC's wellness travel agency positioning.
• Mr & Mrs Smith: Curated boutique hotel and experience collection with editorial reviews, hotel-paid listing model, and concierge booking — parallel business model to GRC, applied to boutique stays rather than wellness retreats.
• Health and Fitness Travel: Specialist wellness travel agency offering curated retreats worldwide with a focus on fitness, spa, and mind-body programmes — directly comparable as a niche wellness travel intermediary serving premium consumers.
• BookRetreats: Online booking marketplace dedicated to wellness retreats globally, with reviews and venue listings. Closest direct competitor to GRC's curation-plus-booking model, though with broader acceptance criteria.
• Healing Hotels of the World: Curated collection of wellbeing-focused hotels and retreats with editorial standards and a membership model for properties — highly comparable curation philosophy and supplier-side revenue structure.

Broad incumbents

• Tripadvisor: Mass-market travel discovery and review platform with growing wellness and retreat listings. Overlaps with GRC's discovery and review function but operates at far broader scale without niche curation.
• Booking.com: Global OTA increasingly featuring wellness retreats and spa properties; competes with GRC for high-intent booking traffic but lacks editorial curation and concierge matching.

Others

• Plum Guide: Curated luxury vacation rental platform with strict acceptance criteria and editorial vetting. Comparable curation philosophy and curated-discovery business model, applied to rentals rather than retreats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theglobalretreatcompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theglobalretreatcompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Global Retreat Company