Interview with a local: Whitney Roberts

Part of what makes Breckenridge so great is our very involved, very vibrant community. Our locals are what drive the passion we all have for our little mountain resort town. In our new series, we’ll interview a few locals to see what life is like year-round in Breck and how different it can be from where you live. 

Question: Where are you from?
Whitney Roberts: 
The Midwest — specifically west central Illinois. I have lived in Chicago and went to Northern Illinois University. I studied communications, as I have been a radio DJ for a number of years. I also spent some time living in Ireland, but now I call Colorado home! 

Q: What is your favorite part about living here?
WR:
I moved here for recreation. There is always something to do and everything is super spontaneous. Even if you have nothing to do, there ends up being something to do that you weren’t planning on doing by the end of the day. Snowboarding is my weapon of choice, other favorite activities include; hiking, running, disc golf, and I am extremely passionate about kayaking. When I am not active I like to enjoy some of the microbreweries around the area and going to as many live music shows as possible. I also sing and play a little guitar in my downtime, which can be rare sometimes with everything there is to do!

Q: What do you do for a living?
WR: 
I work for central reservations so I sell complete packages to guests in Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Vail. I find lodging, activities, and transportation so they don’t have to worry about anything when they arrive, except to have a good time. Giving the best customer service possible is key. It is important to me to verbally explain what I see everyday to make the guest more excited about their visit.

Q: What is the best part about your job? 
WR:
Giving the guest clarity and put their mind at ease. This is a vacation place but it’s also my home. Coming here shouldn’t be stressful. Once a guest books you can hear the relief in their voice and giving recommendations from activities to my favorite places to dine and go out make them even more excited.

Q: What is the most common question you get asked? 
WR:
There are so many options when a guest shops around online. We are here to narrow down their choices, so the main question I get asked about is lodging. We know best where to put certain parties and where they are ideally looking to stay.

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job? 
WR:
When a guest calls back and asks for me. This means they trust me. I am not trying to push a sale, I am trying to relate to a guest. I want them to enjoy what I live with everyday. It is so rewarding to hear the excitement in their voice and knowing you helped them.

Q: What has a guest said that is completely unexpected?
WR:
Building report with guests is what I do, so I have heard a lot of things; everything from how to ice your wine with grapes, what people bring on lifts (drinks, flags, beads), to what their favorite song is to hear in the club. Some people really open up — one person told me about their biggest catch in the Mississippi River one time (totally unrelated to a ski trip) but apparently it was one massive catfish.

Q: What do you always recommend to a visitor?
WR:
If you are coming out to ski you need to do more than that. I always recommend ice skating or horse drawn carriage rides. I have a preference of snowboarding Peak 7, so I talk about that a lot on the phones. My favorite dining options are Columbine for breakfast, lunch at Cool River/Park and Main, dinner at Northside (the Eagle’s Nest is my favorite pizza!), and 2 for 1 appetizers and martini’s at Blue River Bistro. As far as nightlife I recommend Ollie’s, Brooklyn’s, and Liquid Lounge. During the winter I usually am at 320 South checking out all the live music though.

Thanks to Whitney for our first Local Interview. Who would you like to hear from in town? Have a dream mountain town job you’d like to know more about? 

To chat with Whitney or another call center agent about booking your next trip to Breck, please call 1-800-985-9842 toll free.

— Interview by Morgan Bast