BikeHike Adventures, a Vancouver-based adventure tour company, has been organizing sports-themed vacations for its actively inclined clientele for more than a decade. Veteran traveller Trish Sare, BikeHike's 42-year-old owner and operator, founded the company in 1994 after wandering the world for the better part of 15 years.
National Geographic Adventure magazine has recognized Ms. Sare as one of the best adventure tour operators in the world. In November, the magazine's team of adventure editors and travel writers voted BikeHike the second-best biking outfitter on Earth.
The typical BikeHike explorer is active and outdoorsy, aged 25 to 55, with a disposable income large enough to absorb up to $3,000 for a two-week vacation (not counting airfare) that may well find them sleeping in a tent.
While Ms. Sare's expeditions are physically challenging, she says her customers are "just regular mortals in good physical condition" who work out a few times a week.
Still, it's a safe bet that weak-kneed culture vultures won't be signing up for BikeHike's nine-day "high-energy extravaganza" (biking, hiking, rafting, kayaking and rappelling) in Brazil this year, or the coast-to-coast "muscle power" expedition in Costa Rica.
In the midst of Ms. Sare's fairy-tale existence, a few storm clouds have appeared on the horizon. "Things are changing," she says, explaining that she's traditionally relied on word of mouth to bring her new customers.
"Our clients are getting a little older, and maybe they're starting to look for a little more luxury and something a little softer."
If she is going to keep her business going in the right direction, she needs to revitalize her customer roster with younger people who will keep coming back year after year, instead of relying on those loyal travellers who have been with her from the start.
While Ms. Sare doesn't want to give up the adrenalin-based adventures, she has decided to change her business plan to include family excursions and "wellness trips" centred around yoga and meditation. "I wish I had an answer as to why we haven't grown faster. I don't have a business background, so I learn as I go," she says, explaining that her bookings have plateaued at about 100 customer trips a year.
What the experts say
Hill & Knowlton Canada's senior vice-president, Kadi Kaljuste, says Ms. Sare should mention the National Geographic award on every piece of paper BikeHike produces - be it pamphlets, letterhead or business cards.
She should also make sure her company's voice mail mentions the designation to help entice first-time callers.
"Larger companies can simply order more letterhead," Ms. Kaljuste says. "For smaller companies, it can be cost prohibitive to dump what you have. You can get stickers done to put on all of your printed materials - it's a simple fix."
Ms. Kaljuste also sees opportunities for Ms. Sare to reach out to younger travellers by becoming something of a celebrity. She says Ms. Sare should approach tourism authorities - national, provincial and municipal - and offer herself up as an example of a successful operator.
She should also seek out speaking opportunities, as a way of prospecting for new leads.
"She can offer herself up as the poster child of excellence in adventure travel," Ms. Kaljuste says.
She should find other industry awards - why not try for entrepreneur of the year, Ms. Kaljuste asks - and do whatever needs to be done to ensure BikeHike makes it to the top of the National Geographic rankings again next year.
She warns that media hits have a best-before date. Ms. Sare did the right thing when she sent out a press release to let the world know about the designation, provided she had a good media contact list. She says every small-business owner should have a "living, breathing list" of important media publications, and know what is being written about them.
