DATE: March 27, 2008

Travel teacher. Entrepreneur. Millionaire. Rick Steves (BA 1978) has carved a niche in the travel industry by turning budget travelers into savvy travelers. At a UW Foster School of Business event March 25, he talked to alumni about building his business from shoestring budget to $40 million per year operation and about the political value of travel.

"I see our country as quite isolated," began Rick Steves. For an outspoken opponent of war, advocate for legalizing marijuana, supporter of eradicating poverty, this social activist believes travel can broaden people’s horizons. While critics speculate on money he’s lost by being vocal on social issues, business is still booming. "I have managed to turn something I’ve always loved into a business that gives me a lot of energy, a lot of joy, employs 80 people well, and has made me quite wealthy."

Experimental roots
Rick Steves guidebooks started as adjunct materials for his European tours. He created handbooks for a UW Experimental College travel class in the ‘70s and tried selling his tours after lectures.

"Time and time again, people would look at the books, like what they saw, and take the books because they wanted to do it on their own. And it occurred to me, these little books are driving decent people to theft. I should make them available for sale."

In 1980, Steves published his first book, Europe in 22 Days. "We would tap into the efficiency and economy of organized travel. I put everything in that book. The result is more people bought the books and more people took the tours."

A travel guide leads the way
Since then, he’s written numerous books and offered tours all geared for Americans who don’t have many vacation days per year and want to experience a good sense of Europe… through the back door. Destination guidebooks. Budget books. Phrase books. Handy maps. Steves' books and tours aim to provide a unique travel experience and eliminate redundancies. "I get so tired of people telling me you could spend a lifetime in Florence. Of course you can spend a lifetime in Florence, but I’ve only got 14 days. Let’s get down to what’s really valuable."

As an example of classic Rick Steves travel advice, he says, "Cambridge is better than Oxford. So many people can't say that because they’re worried about offending Oxford. Screw Oxford! I am the hired hand of my readers. I'm not trying to protect somebody in Oxford. I deal with the tourist boards all the time and all they want me to do is shill for them."

Books, tours, TV and radio shows
Along with guidebooks and tours, Steves and his company also produce TV and radio travel shows. An advocate of promoting affordable travel, Steves takes radio shows back to the basics, offering free shows for public radio stations and free travel advice to travelers.

Guerilla marketing is how he describes each segment of his business feeding the other segments. While his business is mainly subsidized by the European tours, his other business operations are healthy, thanks to their natural cross-promotion. "Not one part of my business could be viable on its own. They all relate and support each other," said Steves before mentioning the handouts he brought for the Foster School alumni audience: a newsletter, booklet of blog excerpts, tour brochure and travel planning map.

Marketing aside, timing was also key to his success. "Arthur Frommer kind of blazed the path. Flights became cheap, the dollar became strong, affluence grew in America and people wanted to go back and check out their roots."

Business school basics boost business
How did business school help him succeed? Steves said he wasn’t passionate about studying business, but absorbed enough in the classroom to put his education to work. He found economics, business writing, ethics and human resources to be some of the most useful subjects for running a business. "At business school, without knowing it, I think I was learning stuff that was going to make me turn my passion into a viable livelihood."

For someone who spends the majority of his extensive travels backpacking through Europe, Steves has turned his passion into a comfortable lifestyle.

Savvy businessman or savvy traveler? A bit of both.