BookYogaRetreats went bankrupt. Tripaneer B.V., the Amsterdam company behind it, was declared bankrupt on 30 September 2026. If you're a retreat host, the deposits your guests paid may never reach you. Here's what happened, where the money is, and what to do this week.
Not legal advice: ask an adviser in your country. Facts checked 15 October 2026; things may change.
What happened
The official Dutch insolvency register lists Tripaneer B.V. (case F.13/26/306) as declared bankrupt on 30 September 2026, a few days after a suspension of payments. A curator (administrator) has been appointed to handle the company's assets and debts.
It was a big, trusted platform: online for about 12 years, more than 1,200 reviews on Trustpilot at 4.4 stars, around 177,000 visits a month. And it went from normal to bankrupt in a few days, with no warning for hosts. Tripaneer ran nine sites, including BookYogaRetreats, BookYogaTeacherTraining, BookSurfCamps and BookDetoxRetreats.
BookRetreats.com is a separate company and is not part of this bankruptcy.
The site is still online, with no notice
In mid-October the site was still showing retreats with availability, and you could still go through a booking. There was no bankruptcy notice for guests. A yoga school published a warning on 13 October saying the sites "still show retreats and training programs that can be booked online" and that people "may continue making new reservations without being aware". In other words, new guests may still be paying deposits to a bankrupt company.
Where's the money? Only the deposit is stuck
Here's how the payment worked: the guest paid a deposit online to Tripaneer (never lower than the commission). Tripaneer sent the host's share of that deposit 1–2 days after the guest arrived. The rest of the price was paid by the guest directly to the host.
- The rest of the price: paid directly to you, not affected.
- Deposits for retreats that already happened but weren't paid out yet, and deposits for future retreats: they're sitting with the bankrupt company.
According to the curator, as quoted in BookRetreats' host guide, the company "is currently unable to make payments on claims relating to bookings that have yet to take place", and it isn't yet possible to say whether those claims will be paid in the future.
Could someone buy BookYogaRetreats?
Possibly. It's a 12-year-old site with traffic and a known name, which has value. But as of mid-October no buyer has been announced. And keep this in mind: a buyer usually takes the website, not the debts. A new owner wouldn't necessarily pay back your stuck deposits.
Your guests come later? You have 3 options
- Honour the booking and absorb the lost deposit. Best for the relationship, hardest on your margin.
- Ask the guest to pay that part again, directly to you. Some will, some won't. Their own card provider may help them get the first payment back.
- Move or cancel, with new dates or a clean cancellation.
Whatever you choose, do it in writing, and soon. Your guests are worried too.
Do this now
- Stop new bookings. In your Tripaneer office, set your dates to "Not Available" or deactivate your listing, so no new guest pays a deposit that you'll never receive.
- Save everything today: photos, texts, your reviews, your guest list and contact details, your payout history. The site could disappear.
- File a claim before 9 December 2026. It's free, on ClaimsAgent: search "Tripaneer B.V. (F.13/26/306)". The creditors' meeting is on 9 December 2026.
Don't expect much back. In a bankruptcy, ordinary creditors like hosts are paid last, and often get little or nothing.
The part nobody talks about: your reviews don't move
You worked hard to give your guests a great experience, and on a platform, reviews are everything. But there's no way to move them. If you had 50 reviews and the site disappears, you're back to zero. No other platform imports BookYogaRetreats reviews. Start on a new platform and you start again from nothing, behind hosts who already have hundreds.
BookYogaRetreats alternatives for hosts
If you were listed on BookYogaRetreats or another Tripaneer site, here are your realistic options. None of them brings your old reviews with you.
1. BookRetreats
The biggest retreat marketplace (roughly 600,000 visits a month, more than 4,500 active retreats). Free to list, 15% commission plus about 3% payment fees, paid out 2–4 weeks after your guests arrive. They have published a guide for Tripaneer hosts and offer to set up your listing from your existing photos and texts. Your reviews start from zero, because they only show reviews from guests who booked through them. Read our full BookRetreats review.
2. Retreat Guru
The other big marketplace (roughly 470,000 visits a month), also known for the booking software it sells to retreat centres. Check their current host terms and commission before you list, and ask the same questions as for any platform: when do you get paid, who sets the cancellation rules, and what happens to your reviews if you leave.
3. Your own booking page
A page for your retreat on your own website, with an online deposit (Stripe, PayPal…). No commission, only card fees of around 2–4%. You keep your guests' contact details, your reviews and your price. The catch: nobody finds it unless you bring people to it, through your community, email list and social media.
4. A mix
For most hosts, the safest setup is your own page as the base, where your people book, and at most one platform as an extra source of new guests. If that platform disappears tomorrow, your business doesn't. Before you set your new prices, check what the platform fee does to your profit with the retreat pricing calculator.
Two roads from here
Road 1: another platform. Their rules, a commission on every booking, and they can disappear too. This bankruptcy is proof that any company can.
Road 2: your own thing. Your own website, your own community, no commission. Nobody tells you how to price your retreat, and you don't compete on price, because people choose you, not a listing or a deal.
Platforms can still be a useful extra. Just don't let one company hold your guests, your reviews and your cash.
Sources
- Official Dutch insolvency register, Tripaneer B.V., F.13/26/306: insolventies.rechtspraak.nl
- File a claim: claimsagent.nl
- How the deposit worked and the curator's statement, via BookRetreats' host guide: bookretreats.com
- Yogakulam Academy notice, 13 October 2026: yogakulam.substack.com
