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Build the Room - Retreat Planning Course for Retreat Hosts
You've been to the retreats. Now it's time to host one.
Build the Room is a one-day intensive for women who are ready to stop dreaming about hosting their own retreat and start building it.
You know the feeling. You've sat in a beautiful room, surrounded by women who finally exhaled, and thought - I could create this.
Maybe you've been thinking about it for a year. Maybe longer. You have the vision, the audience, and the calling. What you don't have is a clear path from idea to execution - the budget, the vendors, the pricing, the experience design, the details that make a retreat feel like a retreat and not just a nice trip.
That's what this day is for.
WHAT IS BUILD THE ROOM
Build the Room is an intimate one-day retreat planning intensive hosted by Rakita Lillard-Brown, Founder and CEO of Holistree LLC and a decade-long curator of luxury retreat experiences for Black women across four continents.
This is a room - capped at 10 women - where you will do the actual work of building your retreat, with real guidance, real feedback, and real infrastructure to take home.
WHAT YOU WILL WALK AWAY WITH
By the end of the day you will have:
— A named retreat concept and clear audience
— A working budget framework built around your vision
— A pricing strategy for filling your room profitably
— A vendor and logistics roadmap
— A retreat outline built in the room and reviewed live
— A 90-day plan to launch your first retreat - a clear, actionable timeline from today to the moment your guests arrive
You are not leaving with inspiration. You are leaving with a plan.
HOW THE DAY FLOWS
The day is designed intentionally. We move from clarity to strategy to execution in that order because the biggest mistake first-time hosts make is jumping to logistics before they've gotten clear on what they're actually building.
We open with breakfast and introductions. Not the kind where you say your name and what you do. The kind where you say what you're building and why it matters. By the time we sit down to work, the room already knows what each woman is there for.
The morning is about foundation. We get into your retreat concept, your audience, and the experience you want to create. What does your retreat stand for? Who is it for? What do you want women to feel when they leave? We answer these questions before we touch a single spreadsheet because everything else builds from here.
Midday we move into the numbers over lunch. Budget, pricing, and the financial architecture of a retreat that actually works. We map your expenses, build your pricing strategy, and talk about how to fill your room without discounting your value or burning yourself out trying.
The afternoon is the build. This is where you do the actual work retreat outline, logistics roadmap, and your 90-day launch plan while Rakita is in the room. No homework to do alone later. No figuring it out after you leave. You build it here.
We close with hot seats. Each woman shares what she built. Rakita reviews it live. The room witnesses. This is where the plan becomes real and the vision stops feeling like a maybe.
Light breakfast and lunch are included. A printed workbook is yours to keep.
YOUR HOST
Rakita Lillard-Brown is the Founder and CEO of Holistree LLC - a luxury wellness brand built over a decade of curating transformative retreat experiences for Black women across the globe.
Since 2016, Rakita has hosted and curated retreats in Puerto Rico, Grenada, New Orleans, California, Curaçao, Morocco, Antigua, Washington DC, and Madeira and has served as retreat concierge for hosts taking women to Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mt. Shasta, and Sequoia. She has facilitated corporate retreats, led masterminds and workshops, coached women through major life and business transitions, and curated high-end galas and special events.
She does not just know how to plan a retreat. She knows how to hold a room, protect an experience, navigate the unexpected, and make every woman who walks through the door feel like she was always supposed to be there.
She is the architect of The Sweet Life Way™ and one of Founded by Women's "20 Founders On a Mission."
Build the Room is the day she wishes had existed when she started. You don't have to figure this out alone and you don't have to figure it out from someone who's only done it once or twice.
She has done this across four continents, in boardrooms and on beaches, for intimate groups and large gatherings. She is your go-to and this is your room.
TWO CITIES. TWO DATES. ONE EXPERIENCE.
New York City - Saturday, August 15th
10am - 4pm | Location revealed upon registration
10 seats only
Maryland - Sunday, August 23rd
10am - 4pm | Location revealed upon registration
10 seats only
Both events cover the same curriculum. Choose the city that works for you or bring a friend to the other.
CAN'T MAKE IT IN PERSON? THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU.
Build the Room is also available as a fully self-paced digital course the complete curriculum, in your own time, from wherever you are.
You will move through every module at your own pace with a digital workbook to guide your process. And when you complete the course, you will have a private 1:1 call with Rakita to review your retreat plan, answer your questions, and send you off with clarity.
This is not a consolation prize for not being in the room. This is for the woman who is ready to do the work on her own terms and still wants Rakita's eyes on her plan before she launches.
Digital Experience - $197
Full course access | Digital workbook included | Private 1:1 completion call with Rakita
INVESTMENT
General Admission - $597
Full day experience, printed workbook, breakfast and lunch included.
VIP - $997
Everything in GA plus a private 45-minute 1:1 session with Rakita in the two weeks before the event. She'll know your retreat concept before you walk in the room. The day hits differently when you've already had that conversation.
Digital Experience - $197
Full self-paced course, digital workbook, and a private 1:1 completion call with Rakita.
EARLY BIRD - BOOK NOW AND SAVE
The first 5 seats in each city are available at the early bird rate.
General Admission: $497 (save $100)
VIP: $797 (save $200)
Early bird pricing closes once the first 5 seats in your city are filled. Digital pricing remains $197.
THIS IS FOR YOU IF
You've been sitting on your retreat idea and it's time to move.
You've tried to figure this out alone and keep hitting the same walls.
You want to be in a room with women who are serious not just curious.
You know you need someone who has actually done this to tell you the truth about what it takes.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF
You're looking for inspiration without accountability.
You're not ready to make real decisions about your retreat this year.
You want a recording to watch later. This is a live room and every seat matters.
WANT TO GO EVEN FURTHER?
For women who want hands-on support beyond the day, two exclusive opportunities are available:
Retreat Concierge - First Retreat Support
Let Rakita and the Holistree team walk alongside you as you plan and execute your very first retreat. From vendor sourcing to logistics to the day-of experience -you won't be doing this alone. Limited spots available. Inquire at retreats@holistree.com
The Sweet Life Curator Circle - 2027 Founding Cohort
An exclusive training and licensing program for women who want to host retreats under the Holistree umbrella. Go through the full Curator training, receive a license to use the Sweet Life brand, and have Holistree's network and reputation behind your first event. Build the Room attendees receive first access before the public waitlist opens. Interest list opens at the event.
You've been to the retreats. Now it's time to host one.
Build the Room is a one-day intensive for women who are ready to stop dreaming about hosting their own retreat and start building it.
You know the feeling. You've sat in a beautiful room, surrounded by women who finally exhaled, and thought - I could create this.
Maybe you've been thinking about it for a year. Maybe longer. You have the vision, the audience, and the calling. What you don't have is a clear path from idea to execution - the budget, the vendors, the pricing, the experience design, the details that make a retreat feel like a retreat and not just a nice trip.
That's what this day is for.
WHAT IS BUILD THE ROOM
Build the Room is an intimate one-day retreat planning intensive hosted by Rakita Lillard-Brown, Founder and CEO of Holistree LLC and a decade-long curator of luxury retreat experiences for Black women across four continents.
This is a room - capped at 10 women - where you will do the actual work of building your retreat, with real guidance, real feedback, and real infrastructure to take home.
WHAT YOU WILL WALK AWAY WITH
By the end of the day you will have:
— A named retreat concept and clear audience
— A working budget framework built around your vision
— A pricing strategy for filling your room profitably
— A vendor and logistics roadmap
— A retreat outline built in the room and reviewed live
— A 90-day plan to launch your first retreat - a clear, actionable timeline from today to the moment your guests arrive
You are not leaving with inspiration. You are leaving with a plan.
HOW THE DAY FLOWS
The day is designed intentionally. We move from clarity to strategy to execution in that order because the biggest mistake first-time hosts make is jumping to logistics before they've gotten clear on what they're actually building.
We open with breakfast and introductions. Not the kind where you say your name and what you do. The kind where you say what you're building and why it matters. By the time we sit down to work, the room already knows what each woman is there for.
The morning is about foundation. We get into your retreat concept, your audience, and the experience you want to create. What does your retreat stand for? Who is it for? What do you want women to feel when they leave? We answer these questions before we touch a single spreadsheet because everything else builds from here.
Midday we move into the numbers over lunch. Budget, pricing, and the financial architecture of a retreat that actually works. We map your expenses, build your pricing strategy, and talk about how to fill your room without discounting your value or burning yourself out trying.
The afternoon is the build. This is where you do the actual work retreat outline, logistics roadmap, and your 90-day launch plan while Rakita is in the room. No homework to do alone later. No figuring it out after you leave. You build it here.
We close with hot seats. Each woman shares what she built. Rakita reviews it live. The room witnesses. This is where the plan becomes real and the vision stops feeling like a maybe.
Light breakfast and lunch are included. A printed workbook is yours to keep.
YOUR HOST
Rakita Lillard-Brown is the Founder and CEO of Holistree LLC - a luxury wellness brand built over a decade of curating transformative retreat experiences for Black women across the globe.
Since 2016, Rakita has hosted and curated retreats in Puerto Rico, Grenada, New Orleans, California, Curaçao, Morocco, Antigua, Washington DC, and Madeira and has served as retreat concierge for hosts taking women to Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mt. Shasta, and Sequoia. She has facilitated corporate retreats, led masterminds and workshops, coached women through major life and business transitions, and curated high-end galas and special events.
She does not just know how to plan a retreat. She knows how to hold a room, protect an experience, navigate the unexpected, and make every woman who walks through the door feel like she was always supposed to be there.
She is the architect of The Sweet Life Way™ and one of Founded by Women's "20 Founders On a Mission."
Build the Room is the day she wishes had existed when she started. You don't have to figure this out alone and you don't have to figure it out from someone who's only done it once or twice.
She has done this across four continents, in boardrooms and on beaches, for intimate groups and large gatherings. She is your go-to and this is your room.
TWO CITIES. TWO DATES. ONE EXPERIENCE.
New York City - Saturday, August 15th
10am - 4pm | Location revealed upon registration
10 seats only
Maryland - Sunday, August 23rd
10am - 4pm | Location revealed upon registration
10 seats only
Both events cover the same curriculum. Choose the city that works for you or bring a friend to the other.
CAN'T MAKE IT IN PERSON? THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU.
Build the Room is also available as a fully self-paced digital course the complete curriculum, in your own time, from wherever you are.
You will move through every module at your own pace with a digital workbook to guide your process. And when you complete the course, you will have a private 1:1 call with Rakita to review your retreat plan, answer your questions, and send you off with clarity.
This is not a consolation prize for not being in the room. This is for the woman who is ready to do the work on her own terms and still wants Rakita's eyes on her plan before she launches.
Digital Experience - $197
Full course access | Digital workbook included | Private 1:1 completion call with Rakita
INVESTMENT
General Admission - $597
Full day experience, printed workbook, breakfast and lunch included.
VIP - $997
Everything in GA plus a private 45-minute 1:1 session with Rakita in the two weeks before the event. She'll know your retreat concept before you walk in the room. The day hits differently when you've already had that conversation.
Digital Experience - $197
Full self-paced course, digital workbook, and a private 1:1 completion call with Rakita.
EARLY BIRD - BOOK NOW AND SAVE
The first 5 seats in each city are available at the early bird rate.
General Admission: $497 (save $100)
VIP: $797 (save $200)
Early bird pricing closes once the first 5 seats in your city are filled. Digital pricing remains $197.
THIS IS FOR YOU IF
You've been sitting on your retreat idea and it's time to move.
You've tried to figure this out alone and keep hitting the same walls.
You want to be in a room with women who are serious not just curious.
You know you need someone who has actually done this to tell you the truth about what it takes.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF
You're looking for inspiration without accountability.
You're not ready to make real decisions about your retreat this year.
You want a recording to watch later. This is a live room and every seat matters.
WANT TO GO EVEN FURTHER?
For women who want hands-on support beyond the day, two exclusive opportunities are available:
Retreat Concierge - First Retreat Support
Let Rakita and the Holistree team walk alongside you as you plan and execute your very first retreat. From vendor sourcing to logistics to the day-of experience -you won't be doing this alone. Limited spots available. Inquire at retreats@holistree.com
The Sweet Life Curator Circle - 2027 Founding Cohort
An exclusive training and licensing program for women who want to host retreats under the Holistree umbrella. Go through the full Curator training, receive a license to use the Sweet Life brand, and have Holistree's network and reputation behind your first event. Build the Room attendees receive first access before the public waitlist opens. Interest list opens at the event.