Rick Steves

Rick Steves (born in Edmonds, Washington in 1955) is an American authority on European travel. He is the host of a public television series [1] and a public radio travel show [2] and the author of many travel guidebooks [3].

Career

Rick Steves started his career in travel by teaching travel classes at the University of Washington in Seattle and working as a tour leader in the summer. At the time, he also worked as a piano teacher. His father had owned a piano store.

In 1979, based on his travel classes, he wrote the first edition of Europe Through the Back Door, a general guide to how to travel in Europe. Unlike most guidebook entrepreneurs, he opened a storefront business, which at first was both travel center and piano teaching studio. He held travel classes and slide shows, did travel consulting, organized a few group tours per year, and updated his books. He did not provide ticket booking or other standard travel agency services. He incorporated his business as "Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door." The store was in Steves' hometown of Edmonds, Washington (a suburb of Seattle). The company's headquarters are still there.

During the 1980s, his business (informally known as Europe Through the Back Door or ETBD) grew slowly but steadily. He brought out more guidebooks, published by the alternative publisher John Muir Press, under the label "2 to 22 Days in...." His group tours competed more on sincerity, small group size, and service than on price. He sold railpasses and travel gear in his store and eventually by mail order, ran a trip consulting service, and held slideshows and lectures. Gene Openshaw, a childhood friend of Steves', wrote most of the history and art material in his books. David C. Hoerlein, an architect by training, drew maps for the guidebooks and became a popular tour leader.

During these years, Steves' guidebooks and tours had a modest readership. They emphasized authentic experiences and value for money. The books did cover mainstream sites like the Colosseum and Tower of London, but they also tried to point to "back doors" with lower prices which were not in the business of staging cultural experiences for tourists.

In 1991, the company had approximately five employees. That year, Steves began producing TV shows about European destinations. These shows were produced with his own funding and given to public television stations for free. The TV shows made him a nationwide figure, and his tour, guidebook, and mail-order business boomed. An important factor in the company's success was the information exchange possible between the various parts of the business. The tour business benefitted from the guidebook and trip consulting businesses and vice versa. Few travel industry firms have this kind of synergy.

As the company gained market share during the 1990s it became steadily more mainstream, and by the early 2000s it increasingly resembled other mainstream guidebook and tour companies such as Frommer's or Collette. The informal name of the company changed from "Europe Through the Back Door" to "Rick Steves' Europe." As with many other travel information entrepreneurs, Steves' initial strategy of focusing on alternative destinations and "back doors" gained him early success but became problematic as the brand name became better known. The consumer advocacy and honesty of his earlier books has had to give some way. The top-listed hotels and local guides in his guidebooks are often the same ones patronized by his group tours. Some reviewers have wondered whether these listings are self-serving and a conflict of interest. However, Steves has hundreds of thousands of satisfied readers.

As of 2007, the company, which is still privately held by Steves, has multi-million dollar revenues, a staff of 60 (plus many freelance tour guides), over 300 tour departures per year and 25 guidebooks in print.

Since the beginning of his career, Steves has taken strong left-wing political positions. As his company has grown, his political opinions have attracted increasing attention. Some suggest that his political activism hurts his company's business interests. Regardless, he has continued to argued for the advantages of bringing the European social model to the United States, has spoken out against American unilateralism in foreign policy, and favors the decriminalization of marijuana.

Current activities

Both his books and television shows deal with travel mainly, though not exclusively, in Europe, and are directed at an American audience. Steves lives in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington with his wife Anne and two children, Andy and Jackie.

Rick Steves advocates smart independent travel. As host, writer and producer of the popular Oregon Public Broadcasting television series Rick Steves' Europe, 70 half-hour episodes of which have been made so far, and through his travel books, he encourages Americans to delve deep into Europe and become "temporary locals". His readers and viewers discover not only major cities, but also cozy villages away from tourist-trampled routes. He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe — and Europeans — for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.

Steves' television series, guidebooks, and his company's European escorted bus tours continue to attract loyal "Rickniks" and a growing stream of new devotees. Many of these "Rickniks" treat their hero more like a rock star than a travel guide. They say Rick's philosophy of travel has opened their eyes to the world in a way traditional packaged travel has not.

Over the past 15 years, Steves has hosted nearly 100 travel shows for public television (most still airing in rebroadcasts) and numerous pledge specials. Steves' relationship with public television began with his first series, Travels in Europe with Rick Steves. Since then, he has become one of public television's top pledge drive hosts, raising millions of dollars annually for stations across the U.S. His current series has grown to nearly 50 half-hour shows carried by 312 public television stations annually, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Steves writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions. Steves has also published Mona Winks, a book containing personalized tours of Europe's top museums.

Steves recently launched a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. Focusing on world travel, each program has a guest travel expert for interviews, followed by call-ins with questions and comments.

Steves self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door, in 1980. He has also written twelve country guidebooks, nine city and regional guides, six phrase books, and co-authored Europe 101: History and Art for Travelers. His guidebook to Italy is the bestselling international guidebook in the U.S. In 1999, he tackled a new genre of travel writing with his anecdotal Postcards from Europe, recounting his favorite moments from 25 years of travel. Steves' books are published by Avalon Travel Publishing.

In addition to his guidebooks, Steves also pens columns for newspapers and magazines and is a contributing writer for ABCNews.com. He appears frequently on television, radio, and the Internet as the leading authority on independent European travel.

Trivia

Steves took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories in Germany with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, he jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons.

A March 14, 2006, article in the Seattle Times revealed that Steves is a member of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He serves on NORML's Advisory Board and has given the keynote speech at NORML's 2005 conference. NORML's website includes a 'biography of Rick' and an explanation as to 'why he believes marijuana laws need to be changed'. Steves admitted to occasionally smoking marijuana, but his busy schedule keeps such occasions to a minimum.

In 2005 Rick and Anne Steves purchased a 24-unit apartment complex in Lynnwood, Washington and fixed it up to serve as transitional housing for homeless mothers and their children. The Steveses invested much of their retirement nest egg and are allowing free use of the complex for 15 years--leaving management responsibilities to the local YWCA Pathways for Women, while Rotarians in the Edmonds Noontime Rotary Club help maintain the buildings, do grounds upkeep, and provide everything from the furniture to the flowers. In addition, the club raised USD $30,000 in donations to build a play structure for the children of Trinity Place. About 100 mothers are expected to ultimately live there.

Steves is an active Lutheran, and has written and hosted educational videos on subjects such as Martin Luther and the European Reformation of the Church. He also raises funds for Bread for the World. Notwithstanding this, Steves is the brother-in-law of current Notre Dame President, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, a Roman Catholic priest. Jenkins' sister Anne is Steves' wife.

Steves is also an alumnus of the University of Washington and played the sousaphone as a member of the UW Marching Band.

Personal Quotes

"I would like travelers, especially American travelers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective, because I think Americans tend to be some of the most ethnocentric people on the planet. It's not just Americans, it's the big countries. It's the biggest countries that tend to be ethnocentric or ugly. There are ugly Russians, ugly Germans, ugly Japanese and ugly Americans. You don't find ugly Belgians or ugly Bulgarians, they're just too small to think the world is their norm."

"We can travel in a way that exacerbates the problems between us and the rest of the world, or in a way that connects us with the rest of the world. I do not want to encourage and enable Americans to travel in a way that makes the problem worse, and a lot of people do travel in a way that makes the problem worse. My travelers, I think — I'd like to think — travel in a way that connects them with the rest of the world and when they come home they are changed Americans. They are more likely to understand what the family of nations is all about."

"Travel, like the world, is a series of hills and valleys. If something's not to your liking, change your liking. Travel is addicting. It can make you a happier American, as well as a citizen of the world. Our Earth is home to nearly six billion equally important people. It's humbling to travel and find that people don't envy Americans. They like us, but with all due respect, they wouldn't trade passports."

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood, and age only matters if you're a cheese."

"Until next time, keep on traveling!"

" Hi, I'm Rick Steves, your globe-trotting guinea pig!"

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