DG: How, when and why did you found Natural Habitat Adventures?

BB: I couldn't find a job! Seriously, I was not qualified to do anything except for work for myself. I was a teacher at a prep school in New Hampshire and I took a group of kids skiing and came up with the idea to start an adventure travel company. I quit teaching that summer and drove a garbage truck at an amusement park in New Jersey where I saved $600 to print (photocopy, really) a typed brochure. Needless to say, it took many years to get the company started... For a background, see this page on our site: http://www.nathab.com/about/index.aspx?pageID=100

What were the biggest challenges at the beginning?  

The truth is that the biggest challenges were that I knew nothing about business. I was 21 years old and had a passion for travel and nature, but that did not mean I knew anything about running a business. With that in mind, you can imagine the number of mistakes I made.   

What was the biggest mistake you made, and what did you learn from it?  

As a business founder, I have made plenty of mistakes. I usually need two or three chances before I learn from them. The very best mistake I have learned in running a business is that I tried to expand beyond that which we do best — nature expeditions. We tried to run yoga tours and walking tours for our partner company, Gaiam, and it was a total failure. Why? Simple — just because we know nature tours does not mean we know anything about walking tours or yoga tours. Not only did the tours run crappy, but we lost money on them. I have definitely learned to do what you do best (I try regularly to get that valuable lesson across to my wife when she wants me to do yard work and I tell her I am much better at drinking beer and watching television, but she ain’t buying it).

How has the organization evolved through the years?

About 5-8 years in, even though the business started to gain a little traction, we were still driven exclusively by me -- my ideas, my marketing vision, my destinations. More recently, like about ten or 12 years ago, we started to be driven by a team of people, really anyone in the company who had the passion for nature and travel and the ability to accomplish their goals. In short, the company is now well beyond being "Ben Bressler," which makes it a great company.

What are the primary hallmarks and goals of Nat Hab trips?

Guests know they are on a Natural Habitat trip when they come into close contact with remarkable natural sights and the experience is greatly enhanced by their guide. It is our goal that each and every guest be infected with the same passion for our natural world as we are, and we do that by putting an enormous focus on the services of our Expedition Leaders.

How would you describe the typical Nat Hab traveler?

The Nat Hab traveler is not a specific age or demographic. He or she is a person with a passion for nature — whether it’s to view an enormous herd of elephant in Botswana or to sit quietly at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

What are the prime challenges facing Nat Hab today?

Of course we face business challenges like anybody else – slowing economy, poor exchange rate and escalating fuel prices. But this is normal and we accept it and take it in stride. Our bigger, overall challenge is balancing our own passion for protecting our planet with the fact that we are, after all, a business. I guess, if we had our druthers, our staff would spend all day working towards protecting our natural world through all sorts of initiatives, including, of course, eco-tourism which we see as the best way to protect our planet. But we have to remember that on a daily basis we are running a business and marketing and accounting and sales are all a part of that.

How are you addressing these challenges?

Our business, like life, is a balance between what you love and want to do and what you need to do. There are some very gratifying moments in running a business and while we may want to spend all day helping polar bears and baby seals, it is equally as gratifying when our guests return from a trip and tell us that it was the most meaningful moment in their lives.

What are the prime challenges facing the larger travel industry today?

On a conservation level, climate change is already starting to have negative affects on certain areas: the Arctic in particular. In the long run, it is likely to be devastating. In a business sense, the declining exchange rate will have an affect on the amount of money Americans will have to spend overseas. As the dollar declines, it is natural that it does not go as far in travel which obviously reduces the number of Americans who can travel overseas. Of course, fuel prices aren’t helping either.

How do you think the industry needs to evolve?

The good news is that companies can now save some costs by using advancing technology —things like online reservation systems and electronic communications. This not only helps us keep our prices to our guests down, it also helps us reduce paper waste substantially. But companies need to embrace this technology and, at times, it is difficult for established institutions to make changes.

How do you see Nat Hab evolving in the future?

Natural habitat Adventures will hopefully not change in our offerings. We plan to stay the course — the world’s greatest nature expeditions! That said, we have been investing in other partner companies who offer unique adventure trips that will complement our nature-based offerings. By creating an intimate group of small companies, each of us can focus on what we do best but we can share technology, buy product at better rates and share specific operations in order to reduce the cost to our guests.

What’s the greatest pleasure of your work for you?

My greatest pleasure is clearly watching the young (and not so young) staff in our office or in the field embrace our philosophy and take it to the next level. I am exceedingly proud that I have been able to offer jobs to these passionate people who are capable of absolute greatness and who work diligently to provide our guests with lifetime experiences and to protect our planet. At this point in my career, I am the keeper of our structure and the staff make the company great.

Is there one moment or anecdote that captures the rewards of your work?

Many years ago, probably 1990, I was working for the month of March in the Gulf of St. Lawrence running our Seal Watching expeditions. The intention was to create an alternative revenue for the tiny islands that had depended somewhat on seal hunting in the past but now, due to international pressure, could not earn money on harvesting seals. It was the perfect eco-tourism story and, as an animal lover, I was proud to be a part of the story.

Since this particular adventure was so focused on such an adorable animal -- the baby harp seal -- it attracted many people from around the world who cared deeply for animals. Most of the guests had donated for years to help protect these animals and the plight of the baby harp seals became an important element in their lives. Some of the guests had saved for years to be able to afford the journey to northern Canada and one particular aging British woman, her name escapes me, told me how she shad saved her pounds in a jar in her kitchen in order to afford the trip. When she exited the helicopter, assisted by an ex-seal hunter we had hired, she had tears in her eyes as she took me aside to tell me that now that she had seen the harp seals and they were safe, she could die a happy woman.   

That’s a beautiful story! Thank you, Ben.