Retreat Host

2 part-time roles available, weekdays and weekends, up to 16 – 32 hours per week. £12 per hour, with potential for growth. Rotas are agreed two months in advance, uniform (sweaters and tees) provided and full training given.

Start date: 1st April ’24.

Role description:

Our hosts are responsible for the smooth running of our retreat space, behaving as Cabilla Cornwall brand ambassadors, ensuring that all guests who stay with us leave feeling better than when they arrived. Our goal is to have a huge impact on the lives of others, giving them a happy, joyful, and frictionless experience whilst at Cabilla Cornwall – for those on retreat, or those putting their trust in our space, hosting their retreat here. We want to become a global role model in how we treat our land, and how we treat others.

We are looking for people who are passionate about the natural world and who believe in our mission, to connect everyone in the world with the restorative power of nature. The host team will be fundamental to the success of our mission, our 2024 season and our future.

Role responsibilities:

Based on the changing weekly / daily requirements needed on site, the hosts will support the other members of the Cabilla Cornwall team to deliver the following elements:

1) Client liaison:

• Welcoming guests as they arrive at Cabilla Cornwall.
• Checking in guests as they arrive at Cabilla Cornwall, ensuring all administration forms are signed and showing guests to their Koyt, helping with bags.
• Friendly and inclusive, intuitive regarding when and how to have conversations.
• Taking guests on guided walks of the Temperate rainforest and beaver enclosure – full training provided.

2) Supporting the Cabilla Cornwall team:

• Receiving weekly email briefings from the Retreat Producer, to ensure clarity on retreat schedules and expectations.
• Daily shift briefing from Head Housekeeper or Retreat Producer.
• Writing handovers for incoming hosts, updating the Retreat Producer on anything necessary.
• Supporting our expert practitioners:

-Laying out yoga mats / equipment
-Taking yoga mats to the rainforest studio.
-Serving tea and coffee in the mornings.
-Making mocktails in the evening (full training provided).
-Assisting chef with meal prep and helping with close down in the kitchen.
-Log burner maintenance in Koyts
-Lighting fire pits / putting out blankets in the evening.
-Helping to prepare the space for different elements of the retreats, meals, classes, quiet time.

3) Supporting housekeeping:

• On changeover days (mainly Thursdays, Sunday, Monday) gathering linen for the laundry, generally mucking in where needed.
• Ensuring Koyts are fully equipped with maps, Field notes, lanterns etc.
• Upholding cleaning standards for the Barns & Koyts, sweeping porch, checking the log burner, spotless Kitchen and Coffee bar at end of service, laundry and pot washing.
• Topping up products in bathrooms and Koyts.

About you:

• A keen interest and passion for nature and well-being. Intuition and compassion regarding self-care / self-development are important as is a natural affinity with the outdoors.
• High energy, friendly person, we need helpful, enthusiastic doers who can operate autonomously, always going the extra mile to support the team and uphold Cabilla’s reputation.
• Experience of customer facing roles is essential, we’re looking for confident and comfortable communicators.
• Highly motivated and driven team player, organised, a good listener and able to multi-task and prioritise effectively.

About Cabilla Cornwall:

Located in the middle of Bodmin Moor, Cabilla Cornwall is at the start of a new chapter. Focusing on three key strategic pillars, Restoration, Retreats and Research our goal is to connect everyone in the world with the restorative powers of nature and become the global leaders in restorative retreats. With 100 acres of temperate rainforest which is famous for its air purifying lichens, British wildflower meadows full of butterflies and ancient rivers that are pure enough to drink from and bathe in. Situated deep within one of the UK’s very few dark sky environments there is an abundance of stars, no unnatural light and no sounds from aircraft or traffic, it’s a calm, serene and beautiful wilderness. Founded by Merlin and Lizzie Hanbury-Tenison, their dream is to share Cabilla with those who need it most.

About The Founders:

Merlin grew up at Cabilla and has always found a peace and tranquillity in the woods that he has longed to share with others. After 8 years in the British Army he retired from service and spent 8 years working in the heart of London. During this period the importance of spending time in nature became clearer and clearer to him as he witnessed the increasing levels of stress and anxiety brought about by urban living. Returning to Cabilla has given him the opportunity to open the ancient oak woodland and the grazing land up and to invite visitors, groups, scientists and farmers to explore it. Usually found with Elsa and Ella, their trusty Labradors, very important people at Cabilla.

Lizzie has over a decade of experience in senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most loved and exciting brands including Green & Blacks, Boots, Gap, Boden, Clinique and most recently as Head of Marketing and PR for the fastest growing beauty brand in the world, Charlotte Tilbury. Ensuring a balance between the city and the countryside has always been hugely important for her, the woods at Cabilla allowing her to mentally re-set and gain perspective. Learning about nature, its ingenuity and its untold, mesmeric power is a source of genuine joy for her, there is always something to learn and take inspiration from. Now operating as a freelance brand consultant, alongside running Cabilla Cornwall, moving to the wild beauty of Bodmin Moor is the realisation of years of dreaming now coming to life.

To apply, email us at [email protected] with your CV and ‘Retreat Host’ as the subject.