Best Retreats Accreditation Standards

How We Define a Trustworthy Ayahuasca Retreat Center

Best Retreats Accreditation is awarded to retreat centers and facilitator programs that meet the following operational standards. The standards cover safety, screening, transparency, complaint handling, and ethical conduct. They are reviewed during the eligibility process and apply on an ongoing basis throughout a center’s accreditation.

This page documents the standards in full. Centers considering accreditation should read all nine standards and confirm they meet the criteria before applying

1. Build Trust

Establish and maintain a positive, verifiable presence in the retreat space.

• Must be actively operating for 6+ months or led by founders with a prior track record.
• No recent history of serious legal, ethical, or criminal action related to participant harm, misrepresentation, or fraud.
• Hold a Trust Grade C or above as determined by our independent research process. Trust grades are evaluated independently of accreditation status; a center’s accreditation does not influence its grade, and a grade drop does not automatically result in removal but may trigger a standards review.

2. Advertise Honestly

Use clear, ethical messaging – especially around health, transformation, and trauma.

• Avoid false pricing, miracle claims, and manipulative funnels.
• No fake testimonials or staged “guest reviews.”
• All ads and social posts must comply with ethical marketing for vulnerable populations.
• Willingness to modify or remove ads flagged in our ad review process.

3. Tell the Truth

Represent your retreat, services, and experience clearly and accurately.

• No misrepresentation of substances, guides, training, or lineage.
• Full disclosure of pricing, schedules, substances used, and expectations.
• No deceptive or performative identity language (for example, claiming “licensed” status without actual licensure, or claiming indigenous lineage without genuine relationships).

4. Be Transparent

Disclose key facts that affect guest decisions – upfront and publicly.

• Location, leadership, team bios, and pricing must be clearly listed.
• Be open about risks, challenges, and support systems.
• Use real photos and avoid misleading imagery.

5. Honor Promises

Deliver what you advertise – and support participants before, during, and after.

• Fulfill the full experience as promoted – no surprise changes or downgrades.
• Provide real integration resources if promised.
• Be available to address questions, emergencies, or follow-up needs.

6. Be Responsive

Address concerns, complaints, and reports in good faith.

• Reply to complaint submissions within 7 days.
• Cooperate with our complaint process, mediation, or arbitration as needed.
• Commit to resolution – not retaliation or gaslighting.
• Adjust your practices if patterns of complaints emerge.

7. Protect Privacy

Respect participant confidentiality and safety – online and off.

• Handle personal and medical data with care.
• Never sell, exploit, or overshare guest information.
• Be clear about photos, recordings, or public-facing content.
• Honor all opt-outs and unsubscribes.

8. Act with Integrity

Do what’s right – especially when no one’s watching.

• Avoid deceptive press, partner with integrity-aligned providers, and own your mistakes.
• We reserve the right to suspend or revoke accreditation at any time if conduct becomes harmful, exploitative, or misleading.

9. Honor Reciprocity with Indigenous Communities

Acknowledge and materially support the communities whose traditions made your work possible.

The modern ayahuasca industry sits on top of indigenous Amazonian traditions – Shipibo-Conibo, Asháninka, Cofán, Shuar, Siona, Yawanawá, and other peoples whose knowledge of plant medicine, ceremony, and healing practice underwrites the entire industry. Most of the industry’s revenue does not return to those communities. Accredited centers must demonstrate that theirs does, in some meaningful form.

• Maintain documented, ongoing relationships with named indigenous partners. “Indigenous-inspired” or “in the lineage of” without specific named relationships is not enough. Centers should be able to identify which communities, organizations, or individual practitioners they work with and what those relationships look like.
• Compensate indigenous partners fairly. Compensation should reflect the actual contribution being made – whether that’s facilitating ceremony, providing plant medicine, training, or cultural guidance. Token honoraria or volunteer arrangements that depend on indigenous people working below market rates do not satisfy this standard.
• Support indigenous-led organizations or initiatives when direct community partnership isn’t structurally possible. Examples include Chaikuni Institute, Temple of the Way of Light’s reciprocity programs, ICEERS’ indigenous initiatives, the Yawanawá Cultural Center, and similar organizations doing work directly with affected communities.
• Be transparent publicly about what reciprocity looks like at your center. Centers should be able to describe their reciprocity practice publicly, including who is supported and how. Vague references to “giving back” without specifics do not satisfy this standard.
• Avoid extractive or appropriative practices. This includes selling indigenous spiritual practice as a wellness product without context, claiming cultural authority you have not been granted, and using indigenous imagery, names, or symbols decoratively.

Path to Accreditation

1. Inquiry. Interested centers contact us through the Get Accredited page or directly at contact@bestretreats.co.
2. Eligibility review. We review the center’s current operations against the nine standards, including a baseline reputation review across our monitoring sources and a review of stated reciprocity practices.
3. Documentation. Centers may be asked to provide documentation of safety screening protocols, facilitator credentials, complaint history, indigenous partnerships, and other operational details relevant to the standards.
4. Decision. The accreditation team determines eligibility and communicates the outcome, including any conditions or required corrective actions.
5. Onboarding. Approved centers are added to the accreditation registry, receive their verification badge, and begin ongoing monitoring.
6. Annual review. Accreditation is reviewed annually based on the same standards and the center’s operational record over the prior year.

Monitoring and Enforcement

The Retreat Safety Project monitors all retreat centers in our directory – accredited and non-accredited – through several methods:

• Social listening across Reddit, Quora, Tripadvisor, Aya Advisors, NewAgeFraud.org, and other public forums
• Review aggregation from Google, Tripadvisor, Retreat Guru, and direct platform reviews
• Community reports submitted through our incident reporting form
• News and court records searches for safety incidents, legal action, and regulatory issues
• ICEERS reports and harm-reduction publications
• Reports from indigenous communities, advocates, and partner organizations regarding reciprocity practices and cultural conduct

Enforcement Process for Accredited Centers

When a concern is raised about an accredited center, the following process applies:

1. Initial review. The research team evaluates the report against the accreditation standards.
2. Communication with the center. The center is notified and given the opportunity to respond, provide documentation, and propose corrective action.
3. Standards review. If the concern is substantiated, the team determines which standard(s) were violated and the severity.
4. Action. Outcomes range from a written notice and required corrective action, to public notes on the center’s listing, to suspension of accreditation, to permanent revocation in cases of serious harm or repeated violations.

Trust grade adjustments are determined separately by the research team based on the same evidence and apply regardless of accreditation status.

Get Accredited

Centers ready to begin the eligibility review can start here or contact us at contact@bestretreats.co.

Best Retreats Accreditation is operated by The Retreat Safety Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 41-5114645). Trust grades and incident reports are determined independently of accreditation status. No retreat center pays for favorable listings or trust grades.