My husband and I are into biking vacations. We find them to be an ideal way to see new countryside, meet the local people, learn about an area, and earn the benefits of exercise. When you are cycling 25, 35 or 65 miles a day, you can pretty much eat whatever you want!
This year we signed up for Backroads’ Big Sur trip – cycling from Monterey to Santa Barbara along California’s renowned Highway 1 before exploring the Santa Ynez Valley. Some good friends joined us and our vacation was everything we expected. The Pacific Ocean was a vibrant blue, the sun bright, and the group interesting. And it provided a much-needed break from my work in the world of public relations.
Nonetheless, while peddling out of Carmel, I got to thinking about business – specifically Backroads’ business and the lessons I could learn from my observations. Founded in 1979 by Tom Hale, a fellow Oregon Duck, Backroads is now the world’s No. 1 travel company and for good reason. Backroads seems to be unfailing in its commitment to making its trips as fun as possible – and they do this for each “individual” person. This is no easy feat. On our Big Sur trip, there were 22 people of varying ages, fitness abilities, interests and backgrounds. So how do they do it?
As far as I can tell, Backroads’ recipe for success is built on 1) its leaders; 2) its training process and 3) its marketing.
The trip leaders are Backroads’ most important asset. Certainly, there are others – fleets of well-maintained bikes and vans, trailers, ample food, etc., but I believe that without question the leaders are the most essential ingredient to creating a consistently excellent guest experience and building the brand. In my five trips over nine years each was first-rate and memorable.
These leaders are the ones that put the trips together: selecting routes, restaurants and hotels. They fix broken bikes, share safety tips, answer questions, solve problems and accommodate myriad requests. They consistently demonstrate an amazing array of skills – they are well-organized, articulate and natural leaders adept at managing a group. They can maneuver heavy vans and trailers. They are dedicated, hard workers – often up at the first light of day setting up and preparing for the morning route rap, and the last to go to bed after making sure the group has dinner and is comfortably ensconced in the hotel.
Since the leaders are my heroes, I asked one of our guides, Courtney, about the hiring and training process. She explained it is a rigorous process involving applications, interviews and a Leader Hiring Event. Tom Hale, she said, still attends many of the Leader Hiring Events and takes an active role in selecting leaders. Apparently, he can tell whether a candidate will make a good leader just from his or her introduction.
Once hired the new employees receive intense training to further develop their skills and learn about the regions where they will be leading. Courtney explained many people opt out during this process, but the ones that stay on are poised for success guiding trips in some of the most beautiful regions worldwide.
My final observation involved Backroad’s marketing. It is true that Backroads has a comprehensive website, newsletters and expensive-looking but entirely free catalogs with beautiful photos, but the customer experience really speaks for itself. People love these trips and truly believe Backroads is a better way to see the world. Backroads capitalizes on this with an entire section of its website devoted to customer testimonials. They also invite guests to enter annual Backroads Photo and Video contests and offer compelling prizes to winners – many of the people on our trip were working to capture a winning image.
Backroads is a role-model company. I am already daydreaming about my next bike adventure and hope someday to actually get the opportunity to meet Tom Hale.