Package Travel Regulations, explained without the headache
Do you need ATOL for your retreat? Could you be personally liable if something goes wrong? The legal bit nobody warns you about – broken down properly, so you know exactly where you stand.
This page is here to help you understand the landscape. It isn't legal advice – every retreat is different, so for anything specific to your situation, I'd always recommend getting your own legal opinion too.
What are the Package Travel Regulations?
The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTR) are the UK law that governs how "package" trips are sold – covering things like financial protection for client money, cancellation rights, and who's responsible if something goes wrong. They were originally built with big travel agents in mind. But here's the important bit: they apply based on what you're selling, not who you are – which means a solo yoga teacher organising a retreat can fall under exactly the same rules as a major tour operator.
Do I need to worry about this if I’m just organising a retreat for my own students?
Yes, potentially – and this is the single most common misunderstanding I come across. It doesn't matter how small your group is, how informal it feels, or how well you know your guests. If you're combining two or more travel elements (accommodation, activities such as yoga sessions, transport etc) into one trip, you could fall under the PTRs – regardless of the size of your business or how long you've been doing it.
Do I still need to worry if I’m not booking flights?
This is the second most common misunderstanding, and it catches out even experienced hosts: yes, the PTRs can still apply even if you're not arranging flights. If you're bundling accommodation with activities within your retreat, that combination alone can be enough to count as a "package" under the regulations –— flights or no flights. Assuming you're safe simply because guests book their own flights is one of the riskiest assumptions in this space.
Do I need ATOL for my yoga retreat?
Not necessarily. ATOL specifically covers air travel and flight-inclusive packages, so if you're not selling flights as part of your retreat, ATOL itself may not apply to you directly. But this is exactly where hosts get caught out: not needing ATOL does not mean you're outside the PTRs altogether. The two schemes cover different things, and it's entirely possible to be exempt from one while still falling under the other. If you're unsure which applies to your specific retreat, that's precisely the kind of thing worth checking properly with a legal professional rather than guessing.
Do I need insurance to run a yoga or wellness retreat?
Insurance and PTR compliance are related but separate things. The PTRs are about the legal structure of how you sell the trip and protecting client money; insurance (such as public liability or professional indemnity cover) protects you against other risks, like an accident during a class or activity. Most retreat hosts need to think about both – one doesn't replace the other, and having good insurance doesn't automatically mean you're PTR compliant, or vice versa.
Could I be personally liable if something goes wrong?
This depends entirely on how your specific retreat is structured, so we can't give a blanket answer – but it's a real possibility worth taking seriously. If your retreat is found to meet the definition of a "package" under the PTRs, you could carry personal legal and financial responsibility for that trip, in a similar way to how a licensed travel company would. This is exactly why getting proper advice and the right protections in place matters, rather than assuming everything will be fine because it always has been before.
What happens to my clients' money if a retreat is cancelled?
Under the UK’s PTRs, client money for a "package" needs to be financially protected – meaning if a retreat is cancelled, or a supplier goes under, there are mechanisms in place so your clients aren't simply left out of pocket. Without that protection in place, a cancellation could mean refunding your clients out of your own pocket, even if the reason for cancelling was completely outside your control.
What actually happens if I get this wrong?
Honestly, it varies – but the consequences can range from having to personally refund guests, to facing enforcement action, to reputational damage that's hard to recover from in a small, trust-based industry like wellness. We've heard directly from hosts who've been stranded abroad during unexpected world events, and others who've had to cover guest refunds from their own funds when a venue collapsed. These aren't rare edge cases – they're the reason my business exists.
How does working with The Earthed Retreat Co. help?
Every retreat booked through me sits under Travel Counsellors' regulatory and financial infrastructure – meaning the compliance side is handled properly, client money is protected as required, and you're not left trying to interpret complex regulations on your own. Not to mention that the travel admin side of the retreat is handled professionally by for for you and your guests. This means you focus on the transformation you're creating for your community; we focus on making sure the structure underneath it is sound.
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