Retreat legal basics: TICO, travel rules and what to check
The short answer
If you sell a retreat that includes accommodation or transportation from a location in Ontario, you may need to register with TICO under the Travel Industry Act, 2002; TICO's own guidelines use a yoga studio retreat as an example. Quebec licenses travel agents through the OPC, and some US states, such as California, have seller of travel laws. Check your province or state before you sell.
If you sell a retreat that includes accommodation or transportation from a location in Ontario, you may need to register with TICO, the Travel Industry Council of Ontario. TICO’s own guidelines use a yoga studio retreat as an example. Quebec, and some US states such as California, have their own travel seller rules. Check yours before you take the first booking.
This is not legal advice. Confirm with the regulator in your province or state, or a lawyer, how these rules apply to your retreat.
What is TICO and who has to register?
TICO administers Ontario’s Travel Industry Act, 2002. According to TICO’s registration overview (checked October 2026), travel retailers (travel agencies, including online ones) and travel wholesalers (tour operators) that sell travel services from a location in Ontario must register, and selling without registration, even while an application is pending, breaks the Act.
The Act describes a travel agent as someone who sells travel services provided by another person, and travel services include sleeping accommodation and transportation. That is why a retreat package can come into scope: you are reselling a lodge’s rooms or a bus company’s seats as part of your price.
Does my retreat fall under TICO’s rules?
TICO publishes special interest travel guidelines (checked October 2026) for organisers whose main business is not selling travel. Its examples include a yoga studio offering a retreat that includes transportation or accommodation. The guidelines are there to help you work out when registration is required, so read them and ask TICO about your setup.
How the retreat is sold changes the picture:
| How you sell it | What you are selling | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions only; guests book rooms directly with the venue | Your teaching | Usually the simplest setup; still confirm with TICO |
| One price including rooms and meals | Your teaching plus accommodation from another business | May fall under the Act; ask TICO |
| One price including rooms, meals and transport | A travel package | Likely in scope; ask TICO or partner with a registered agency |
| A registered travel agency sells the package, you lead the sessions | Your teaching, sold through the agency | The agency carries the travel registration |
Where you sell from matters as much as where the retreat happens. A retreat in Costa Rica sold from Toronto is still sold from Ontario.
Two questions to put to TICO, in writing, before you sell:
- Here is exactly what my price includes (sessions, rooms, meals, transfers). Does selling it this way require registration?
- If I only sell the sessions and guests book rooms with the venue themselves, does that change the answer?
Keep the reply with your business records. It is the clearest evidence that you checked.
What about Quebec and the other provinces?
Quebec regulates travel agents through the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC), which issues travel agent licences. If you sell retreat packages from Quebec, ask the OPC whether your activity needs one.
Other provinces have different rules, and some have no travel-agent registration at all. Check with your provincial consumer protection office before you assume either way.
Are there seller of travel laws in the US?
Some states have them. California requires all sellers of travel to register with the Attorney General’s Office (checked October 2026). Other states have their own versions or none. If you are in the US and sell retreats that bundle lodging or transport, look up the rules in the state you sell from, and in California start with the Attorney General’s page.
What other legal basics should a retreat host cover?
Travel registration is only one piece. Use this checklist before you open sales:
- Business registration: a registered business name or corporation, depending on your province or state, and a business bank account for retreat money.
- Sales tax: whether GST/HST in Canada, or state sales tax in the US, applies to what you sell. Ask your accountant, especially if you bundle lodging.
- Venue contract: dates, room block, minimum numbers, meals, attrition and cancellation penalties, and what happens if the venue cancels.
- Venue licences: the venue’s own permits, food handling and any rules for activities on water or trails.
- Insurance: liability cover for an event away from your studio; ask a broker. Ask the venue what its policy covers too.
- Transport: use licensed operators for passenger transport.
- Waivers: a clear waiver signed before the retreat. Enforceability varies by province and state, and Quebec’s Civil Code limits waivers for bodily injury, so have a lawyer review yours.
- Health information: treat it as sensitive and collect only what you need; see retreat health form and waiver.
- Cancellation policy: written, shown before payment, with tiers that make sense. See retreat cancellation policy.
- International guests: entry rules change, so point guests to official sources instead of advising them yourself.
How do I keep a clear record of what guests agreed to?
Keep the terms, waiver and payment for each guest together. With elastudio for retreats, guests accept your terms and sign your waiver online before the retreat, your cancellation tiers are set up once, and every payment becomes an order with a receipt, paid straight into your own Stripe account with no cut of your sales. Registration with TICO or any other regulator is still yours to handle.
Check first, then sell
Decide what you are selling (sessions, rooms, or a full package), find out whether your province or state treats that as selling travel, and sort out your business registration, insurance and venue contract. Getting this right before the first booking is far cheaper than fixing it afterwards.
Questions people ask
Does a yoga teacher running a retreat need TICO registration?
It depends on what you sell. TICO's special interest travel guidelines say a yoga studio offering a retreat that includes transportation or accommodation may fall under the Act. If you only sell the sessions and the venue sells rooms directly, the picture is different. Ask TICO about your exact setup.
What if my retreat is abroad but I sell it from Ontario?
TICO's registration requirement is about selling travel services from a location in Ontario, so where you sell from matters, not only where the retreat happens. Confirm with TICO before you take bookings.
Are there similar rules in the US?
Some states have seller of travel laws. California, for example, requires all sellers of travel to register with the Attorney General. Other states have different rules or none, so check the state you sell from.
Do I need insurance to run a retreat?
It is strongly advisable. Ask an insurance broker about liability cover for events away from your usual studio, and ask your venue what its own policy covers.