On the Road Again: Lonely Planet Rolls with the Punches
by Shannon Maughan, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 5/18/2004
On day eight of the five-week Lonely Planet bookstore tour, the LP crew embraced the number-one rule of road trips: expect the unexpected. The gang met with surprises both pleasant and not-so-pleasant in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, May 15, where PW boarded the Lonely Planet RV.
The day before proved eventful as the crew lost some time tending to an alarm that went off inside the vehicle indicating a possible problem with the propane tank. All checked out O.K., but once back on the road, the RV was pulled over by a policeman who kindly pointed out that one of the hatches was open. The delays made for a very long Friday (last store visit was over after 9 p.m.), but none of the gang was the worse for wear.
Saturday's first bookstore destination was Trover Shop near Capitol Hill. The RV rolled up in all its glory just past 11 a.m. Neighborhood residents flowed in and out buying newspapers and books while Lonely Planet's U.S. trade sales director Gary Todoroff and v-p of marketing and business development Robin Goldberg (who boarded the RV in Montclair, N.J., on Thursday) presented promotional T-shirts, playing cards and a poster to co-owner Andy Shuman. In explaining their unorthodox visit, Todoroff said, "We celebrated our 30th anniversary last fall, and we wanted to find a way to thank the independent booksellers who have been such a big part of our success. We thought that doing this trip and making this kind of one-on-one connection was a good way to start."
Shuman, whose father founded the Trover Shop (which has two other locations as well as two card and gift shops in town) 47 years ago, has been working in the store all his life. "I think it's nice that they care about the indies," he said of the LP crew. "We feel that we're not really at the top of many people's list with the economy the way it is right now." Understandably, Shuman's shop does a bustling trade in political books and routinely attracts the Capitol Hill crowd. John McCain will be in the store signing Why Courage Matters on Wednesday, and Tim Russert signed his Big Russ and Me on Friday, May 14. Like most D.C. booksellers, Shuman has high hopes for the forthcoming Clinton book. "We're hoping for that signing; his wife's went well here," Shuman noted.
After snapping a few group photos and securing Shuman's autograph on a special tour T-shirt--a ritual at each stop--the group moved on. But by then, the mercury had climbed well into the 80s and the humidity was keeping pace. "We planned this trip for May thinking it would still be cool enough," said Todoroff. "But this feels like July!" Intrepid RV driver Ian White (Todoroff's stepson) cranked up the A/C, but it didn't seem to be working properly and brought little relief. Luckily, bottles of cold water in the fridge on board temporarily did the trick.
Adam, a friend of Ian (and of Lonely Planet) who lives in D.C., rode shotgun and served as chief navigator. As the RV crept past the Mall and various monuments teeming with people, Marc Visnick, associate manager of special sales, who joined the crew last Wednesday, helped prep the next batch of promotional materials. Along the way he also helped operate digital and Polaroid cameras.
Next stop: Politics & Prose. Upon the group parked in front of the store, a woman donning a sun hat hurried over to the RV, exclaiming, "I'm one of the best customers you have! I wouldn't go anywhere without my Lonely Planet books." Politics & Prose had promoted the Lonely Planet visit in its store and online newsletters, offering a 20% discount on Lonely Planet books during the event. This coverage attracted fans and curious onlookers, many of whom purchased Lonely Planet titles.
Co-owner Barbara Meade treated the now-famished LP crew (and her store employees) to a much-appreciated lunch of pizza and soft drinks in the staff break room. The group ate in shifts and talk turned to books, travel, and the early days of both operations (the store celebrates its 20th anniversary this fall). Politics & Prose co-owner Danny Gainsberg soon made the scene as well. Todoroff then presented a brief slide show on his laptop computer chronicling Lonely Planet's history from its very humble beginnings. "We've noticed that our multicultural clientele is exponentially larger than when we first opened," said Meade. "It has helped out our travel book sales." Meade added that Lonely Planet's recent book redesign is "very attractive." Meade also mentioned the possibility of working with Lonely Planet in the future: "We're thinking of getting more into the trip business," she explained. She had plenty to be pleased about besides travel books; Meade said book sales for April in her store were up 25% over last year. "The political books have helped drive it," she noted. "Titles by Woodward, Clark, Suskind and Wilson have all done well. And there are many more to come. We really want Clinton to sign here. We did well by Hillary at her signing and hope she puts in a good word for us."
Back on the RV, Goldberg received some good news via cell phone. "The person who does marketing for the city of Chicago said that she thought our Chicago book was fantastic and that she wants to do something with it during the week of BEA," Goldberg relayed to the group. Everyone's mood brightened a bit in the wilt-inducing heat.
A stop at bookstore Chapters allowed Goldberg to tell co-owner Terri Merz about the fall coffee-book title The Travel Book, which seems like a good fit for her customer base, who Merz said buys more travel literature than travel guidebooks. The store's calming atmosphere, with classical music playing in the background, was a welcome respite.
Then the RV took a pleasant detour. Adam recalled seeing a new travel bookstore in his neighborhood and directed us to it. The LP gang made a surprise visit to Candida's World of Books on 14th Street N.W., much to owner Candida Mannozzi's delight. Mannozzi opened her doors in February, filling the void left by the closing of Travel Books and Language Center in 2001. In fact, Mannozzi had spent time in consultation with Travel Books' owner, Rochelle Jaffe, because she wanted to get the travel store elements just right. "It's going well so far, and people are really excited about it," Mannozzi said of her new venture. "This neighborhood didn't have a bookstore before, and, especially with this theme, they love it." She also mentioned the neighborhood's rebirth, which involves a mandate that new businesses in a certain stretch must have an "arts and culture" connection. Art galleries and an expanded dance theater will be her new neighbors.
"We're the only travel bookstore in the D.C. area," Mannozzi said. "Lonely Planet books are hot sellers for me. So many D.C.-ers are savvy travelers. Most of them are originally from elsewhere and have some connection to travel [Mannozzi herself is from Italy]. They know exactly what kind of guidebook they want."
Following this side stop, the search was on for a gas station--a frightening prospect given the RV's 75-gallon tank and gasoline prices comfortably above $2 per gallon in the metro area. As the RV refueled, so did the crew, with cold drinks and ice cream.
Running behind schedule, Todoroff had to cancel a scheduled stop at Olsson's in Alexandria, Va., and offered to make a visit to the Olsson's in Dupont Circle instead. A nearby bank thermometer registered 100 degrees. Ian found a plum parking spot near the busy store, and the gang surprised the booksellers on duty with the fun freebies.
Happily, Olsson's is in close proximity to Kramerbooks & Afterwords, the last store of the day, where the gang had planned a visit as well as casual dinner with booksellers invited from the various stores in the area. The store and café were both doing brisk business.
"I think it's really cool," said Kramerbooks employee Mary Sylvester of the RV road trip. "It sounds like a lot of fun. And with all this stuff, I feel like we've hit the Lonely Planet lottery. Come back soon!"
At the end of the day, there was no problem that a cold beverage, a cool breeze, and a comfy chair couldn't fix. "No matter how much you plan, something isn't going to work out," Goldberg said. "It's all how you handle it; you can let it get to you or not." Clearly, the Lonely Planet crew is in the latter camp, currently rolling through the Carolinas.
Return to the "Lonely Planet 2004: Everywhere You Are" Main Page
