A visit to Summit County is dreamy in itself, but some local companies offer concierge services that turn a pleasurable vacation into a luxe getaway.

Summit County has a large luxury real estate market, and many of these properties act as second homes for owners who want to host and gather their multigenerational families for a visit to the Rocky Mountains. But when not in use, these homes sit empty, and many are turned into rental properties for others to enjoy, too.

That’s where Steamboat Springs-based Moving Mountains and Breckenridge-based Summit Luxury Estates come in: Both businesses not only manage luxury properties and help with rental bookings, but each also offers and coordinates other hospitality services to make a guest’s stay exquisite.

The leaders at each business have a history in the hospitality industry. ​​Robin Craigen, co-founder and CEO of Moving Mountains, and his wife used to operate a luxury charter yacht in the British Virgin Islands before opening up their own property management company in Steamboat in 1997.

“We wanted to replicate that experience in the mountains to do many of the things that we had done for guests on the yacht to offer the same level of service to make the vacation more seamless, more relaxing, more enjoyable (and) less to worry about,” Craigen said. “When we looked at a ski vacation in particular, we could see how complicated that experience was, and we decided it was a perfect opportunity to try to simplify that experience for the guests and to make it a more relaxing and enjoyable time to come with friends and family staying in a home.”

Adam Parker, owner and president of Summit Luxury Estates, used to own a real estate company in St. Louis, and he and his wife — who has an affinity for hospitality and interior design — decided to move to Summit County and open their own business in 2017.

Though each owner has a unique vision for how their companies are run, there’s one thing they have in common, and that’s to help create a lavish experience for their guests while also taking care of the properties for owners.

Once a guest books through Moving Mountains — which has an office in Breckenridge and operates 75 homes locally — a staff member works with them to build an itinerary and offers to take care of some of the details, if needed. The staff works with third parties to book activities such as ski lessons, sleigh rides, horseback rides, snowmobile tours and more. They can also coordinate transportation to and from Denver International Airport, book in-home ski boot fittings and coordinate grocery pickup and drop-off. Though the team does few of these services itself, Craigen said his front-facing customer service staff’s primary role is to make life easier on guests.

Summit Luxury Estates’ staff also has a few special touches up its sleeve to make a guest’s experience worthwhile. The company operates around 20 properties, and when one is booked, a staff member greets the guest at the door of their property when they first arrive. Once an agent greets them, they take the guest on a tour of the home.

“That’s something that our guests have just been blown away by because a lot of these homes are larger homes,” Parker said. “They have amenities — hot tubs and gas fire pits and complicated stoves and ovens and things like that. That was another thing we used to hear a lot is that guests would just spend the first two days fumbling around the home trying to figure everything out.”

Like Moving Mountains, the team at Summit Luxury Estates relies on third parties to help deliver services such as personal transportation, grocery delivery, family photography, child care, pet care and in-home ski boot fittings. The team can secure lift tickets, supply oxygen delivery and book tee times, and it also has relationships with third-party companies that can provide personal chef and in-house masseuse services.

The staff at Summit Luxury Estates can also put together Champagne and flower arrangements, and they offer baby equipment rentals. In the past, they’ve handled small, specific requests, such as filling balloons and playing music before the guests arrive.

Both Parker and Craigen said families are the biggest clients who book one of their luxury rentals, but both have also catered to friend groups and corporate business retreats, too.

No matter who is visiting, both agree their goal is to provide a high-end experience from start to finish.

This story previously published in the December/January edition of Summit County Home magazine.