[MUSIC]
In this episode of the Roadside MBA,
we're heading out to the Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch in northwestern Arizona.
To discover the real west.
>> Whoa, rodeo. >> Live the cowboy life.
>> Mike, you're looking more relaxed.
>> I'm getting there.
>> And see what it takes to make a living out on the range.
>> Wow, this is so pretty out here.
>> Rodeo, you're doing great out here.
[MUSIC]
Doesn't matter where you're coming from.
It's a long way to the Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch.
If you're coming from California like us,
you'll probably end up driving through the Mojave Desert on Interstate 40.
Across the state line into Arizona.
Then just before you hit the small town of Yucca, you'll turn off the highway
onto this bumpy dirt road and keep on driving for about 18 more miles.
>> We drove, it was a long ways, in an RV on dirt roads and,
I don't know how we found that here it is.
>> The remote ranch is the perfect place to forget your past and
get lost in a western cowboy fantasy.
>> How many horses are here altogether?
>> 47. >> 47?
>> Yep.
>> Wow.
>> Here there is no civilization in
any direction as far as we can see.
We are plump down in the middle of a hot dry desert.
And it's beautiful.
>> The vistas go for miles, there are mountains off in the distance, sagebrush.
So if you wanna be in the American west on a horse, this is a good place to go.
>> You guys can walk just inside the gate.
>> Okay.
>> We're here to find out why this business works and
why people will skip the beach and travel thousands of miles to this dusty spot,
to rope and ride in the hot desert sun.
>> Howdy folks.
>> Howdy. [LAUGH]
>> Morning.
>> Morning. >> Top of the morning.
>> We're London Cowboys.
>> [LAUGH] >> Many of
the guests come from as far away as Europe and Asia.
>> Oh, yeah.
First rule of a cowboy.
Put your hat on the right way.
>> [LAUGH].
>> [UNKNOWN] [LAUGH] >> So they showed how to throw a rope and
do some cowboy, so if you're not from the US that's interesting.
>> Yeah. >> To do the real cowboy stuff.
>> Have you ever done this before?
>> Only in my dreams.
>> Yeah?
>> Yeah.
First time ever on a horse, sitting there.
Never have sat on a horse before.
>> We do only Western riding here.
So it's a lot more relaxed.
>> This was Carrie Rynder's childhood dream,
a western horse ranch she thought up out of books she'd read as a kid.
It was a pull so
strong she eventually quit a comfortable life as a travel agent to give it a go.
>> You guys built this whole thing, is that correct?
>> Correct.
>> So this was just empty desert.
>> That is correct.
>> So you move out here,
you start putting up buildings then you have to get some customers.
What did you do?
>> [LAUGH] Well that saying if you build it
they will come doesn't always work when you build in the middle of the desert.
So. And that'll create some little bit of
problem. [CROSSTALK].
>> I wanted to talk to the guests to ask them how they got here,
because it's not easy to get here.
And I mean that not only the physical process of getting here,
but also the process of finding this particular ranch among
all the different kinds of vacations that people can take.
>> It turns out the main place guests go to find out if a dude ranch vacation is
the kind of experience they might enjoy is the internet,
sites like TripAdvisor, where previous guests post candid reviews.
>> We went on that TripAdvisor.
>> Hm. >> And, you know,
normally when you go on the TripAdvisor, you might get three or
four good reviews, and then you'll get one really bad, stinky, review.
>> There was no bad reviews.
>> But, every single review was,
was good, every single one that you could've just carried on and on, and on.
>> Online rating these days is just,
you know, you just compare with people who are experienced already.
And so it's a, a, gives you a good idea of, of you know, what you're looking for.
>> TripAdvisor in my opinion is probably one of the most
important marketing tools that we have because I am told time and time again, it
doesn't matter where you're coming from, if it's the United States, Europe, Asia,
everybody's checking TripAdvisor to see what people are saying about your place.
I do it myself.
>> Do you wanna hold that?
>> And here's where an important economic principle comes into play.
>> The ranch here is an example of, what we in economics would call,
an experience good.
This is a really important idea and concept in business.
>> And so an experience good is good,
that you have to experience before you can assess, the quality.
We are 15 miles from the Interstate.
It's all dirt roads, right?
It's very difficult for people to get a sense for
what their experience is going to be like here.
>> With experienced goods, customers rely on information provided by others.
So it's important to identify who the most influential others are.
Before internet sites like TripAdvisor became Carrie's biggest source of
recommendations, she used to invite tour operators to stay at her ranch and
experience themselves so they'd be more likely to recommend it to their client.
>> You're gonna talk a lot more about a place you've been to rather than
a place you haven't.
And you're gonna be much more convincing to the person that wants to come here if
you have personal knowledge of it.
>> We have a term for that in economics, as well.
We call those the intermediaries.
And they're intermediaries because they are the ones that are kind
of between the ranch and the customers.
And so it's really important for Carrie not only to market to individuals but
also to make these tour operators really well-informed and
so they understand what it's like to be here.
So then they all turn around and
recommend that to the customers that they're making their tours for.
>> Nowadays, the most critical intermediaries are past guests,
who post reviews online.
>> When they come to us and tell us, what a wonderful time they've had, we'll say,
hey, here's a car, would you mind, if you get a chance, so
that other people that maybe haven't ridden before, and
are a little leery about coming to a ranch will read your review and say okay,
you know, they've done it, they took great care of them, let's try it ourselves.
>> So managing their reputation on the internet is critical, both in terms of
making sure people have a good experience and say good things about them on
TripAdvisor, but also being responsive if somebody has a bad experience.
They have to get on TripAdvisor and try to address that.
>> A few bad reviews can be disastrous, so Carrie needs to do
everything she can while the guests are here to insure they have a great visit.
By making sure the accommodations are clean and tidy and
matching guests to horses that suit their experience level.
>> I know I'm never gonna please 100% of the people 100% of the time, but
we try awfully hard to do it.
[MUSIC]
>> Time to test this experience good for ourselves.
How would three economists measure up as modern cowboys?
Would we love it or leave it?
And would we recommend it to others?
>> For me, the horseback riding experience was definitely getting out of
my comfort zone.
I've never done anything like this before.
>> I would say about 95% of all the guests that come here is beginner riders.
>> So she gave me the easiest horse?
>> Absolutely.
The one that bucks the first five seconds.
>> I'm a little bit afraid, but it's.
>> Yeah, no you're perfectly fine.
>> Mike is not a horse person.
Mike is a lot of things, but Mike is not a horse person.
>> You're ready to get this experience going?
>> Let's do it.
>> All right.
>> Mike was first to mount up.
>> Just as I showed you.
You're gonna put your left foot in and climb right on up and over.
And I've got your, there you go.
Perfect.
>> I can't find the seatbelt anywhere.
>> [LAUGH] >> To tell the truth,
we were all pretty rusty in the saddle.
>> I think the last time I was on a horse it may have been, 1980?
So, Carter administration potentially.
>> You think you can reach that?
>> No problem.
>> Okay.
>> I hardly ever ride horses but
I can remember that it's a little tense at first.
That's a big animal,
those things were 1,200 pounds I think they said, that's a big animal.
And you're up pretty high.
>> Hold it.
>> Whoa.
They could tell that I was the expert ready to take on the skittish horse.
>> That's right, perfect.
>> Whoa, rodeo.
I'm not really, I was kidding, I'm not very good, Rodeo.
>> Then we were off, and it was a truly perfect, experience good moment.
>> Wow, this is so pretty out here.
>> This is great.
>> I remembered the lessons that my mother taught me.
And I sat up straight and I think I looked good in the saddle.
>> Okay, Scott did check his phone, at least once.
But for the most part we were just three cowboys on a trail in the American West.
And even Mike seemed to momentarily forget his fear of large animals.
>> Mike, you're looking more relaxed.
>> I'm getting there.
>> You're sounding more relaxed too.
[LAUGH] >> Was I breathing heavily before?
>> No but you were talk, kind of talking like this.
>> You were sweating profusely.
[LAUGH] >> You don't have such a vise grip on
your horn anymore.
>> I really tried while I was riding not to focus so much on the horse and
staying on the horse as much as looking out around me.
And when I was able to do that, it was very enjoyable.
>> Mike's final challenge was the dismount.
>> So you're just gonna take your right leg up and
over, keep that foot in until you get.
Okay.
You made it. >> I didn't need to block apparently.
>> You almost took me out, but that's okay.
[LAUGH] >> Mike's dismount was not Olympic grade.
If Mike were a gymnast, it would've been a 5.2, 5.3.
If Mike were on Dancing with the Stars, he'd have been voted off, unfortunately.
>> So we're not destined to be cowboys, but
did our time in the saddle teach us anything?
But big lesson, Carrie's experience good business works because she understands how
to reach customers the first time, and then keep them coming back.
>> So, reputation, reputation, reputation.
That is the key to her success.
She said about half of her business is repeat business.
So that is just an incredibly profitable niche if
you just get people coming back again and again.
>> Once somebody gets in the saddle, we always adjust their stirrups.
>> But it turns out after 14 and
a half years on the range, Carrie's decided to sell the ranch and move back to
her home state of Wisconsin so she can be closer to her children or grandchildren.
And the reason she's been able to sell it is because she's turned a dusty
collection of ranch buildings in the middle of the desert into a valuable asset
using intermediaries to promote her experienced good business.
So the next owner will be able to build on Carrie's success instead of having to
start from scratch.
[SOUND] That's a wrap.
Or that's, I don't know what you'd say when an interview is over.
I don't know the lingo.
>> You gotta say happy trails or something.
>> Yeah, happy trails.
>> You can't say it's a cut, you gotta say happy trails.
>> [LAUGH]
[MUSIC]
So that's it from the Roadside MBA team.
Happy trails.
[FOREIGN]
[MUSIC]
We've learned a lot on our travels, from Silicon Valley,
all the way out here to Arizona.
Now it's onto Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada,
where we say our goodbyes until it's time for our next road trip.
[MUSIC]