CASE STUDY: Biltmore Estate and Marc Sebastian Holiday 2025 Incident

Background

The Influencer:

Marc Sebastian Faiella is an American model and stylist with over 2.4 million followers on TikTok and 233,000 followers on Instagram.

He's known for his "Great American Gay Side Quest" series, where he visits iconic American landmarks and attractions. The Biltmore Estate had been the number one most voted place for him to visit by his TikTok audience.

The Incident:

During the 2025 holiday season, during the Christmas at Biltmore celebration, Marc Sebastian visited the Biltmore Estate as a paying guest and had a negative experience with staff regarding photography. Following the visit, he posted content indicating they "now have beef" —with 1.5 million views on the TikTok post—with the Biltmore Estate. He later posted a follow-up video stating, "North Carolina, you're still on thin ice, Biltmore, we cool", suggesting some resolution occurred, but was it enough?

The Photography Policy Context

The Biltmore Estate has specific photography policies that may have been at the center of the conflict:

Inside Biltmore House:

Cell phone or small camera photography without flash is permitted for personal use only (Biltmore)

Large cameras with lenses larger than 135mm, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, gimbals, Steadicams, GoPro cameras, or other photography equipment are not allowed inside (Biltmore)

Photography and cell phone use that negatively impacts the guest experience is prohibited, including blocking areas to take photos or asking guests or employees to move out of the way . (Biltmore)

Outside Biltmore House:

Photography is permitted for personal use only, with minimal setup requiring no more than two pieces of equipment (Biltmore)

All commercial uses of photography are prohibited without written permission (Biltmore).

Estimated Reach and Impact

Based on Marc Sebastian's following:

TikTok Reach:

2.5 million followers

107.3 million total likes across his content (TikTok)

His content typically receives hundreds of thousands of views per video.

The "Great American Gay Side Quest" series is particularly popular among his audience.

Instagram Reach:

233,000 followers

Lower reach than TikTok but still significant

Potential Viral Spread:

Other creators made response videos, including one titled "A mess but he did get the true Biltmore experience" (TikTok)

The incident appears in TikTok topic pages about "Marc Sebastian Biltmore Incident" (TikTok)

The Biltmore saw backlash and a very significant increase in traffic to their both TikTok and Instagram accounts from Marc’s followers.

What Biltmore Could Have Done Differently

1. Proactive Influencer Communication

Reach out to Marc Sebastian before his visit, given his large following and the estate being his #1 voted destination. Note: Marc reached out to The Biltmore before his arrival.
Provide clear guidance on photography policies for content creators.
Offer a media/influencer package with designated photography times and locations.
Assign a liaison/conseirge to ensure a smooth visit and content creation within policy bounds.

2. Staff Training on Influencer Relations

Train staff to recognize content creators and handle situations diplomatically
Provide guidelines for enforcing photography policies without creating negative experiences
Empower staff to escalate to management when dealing with influencers especially those who have large followings.
Create protocols for distinguishing between casual personal photography and content creation.

3. Flexible Content Creator Policies

Develop a clear content creator policy that balances preservation needs with modern social media reality
Consider designated content creator hours or areas
Create an application process for influencers to get photography permissions in advance
Offer supervised access to certain areas for professional content with proper equipment

4. Crisis Management

The estate appears to have somewhat resolved the situation (based on Marc's follow-up) but could have been more proactive.
Social media for mentions and responding quickly to emerging issues.
Have a social media crisis response team ready during peak visitor seasons.

5. Leverage the Opportunity

Instead of conflict, it could have turned Marc's visit into a positive partnership.
2.5 million followers represent enormous marketing value!
Could have created official Biltmore content with him!
The estate welcomes approximately 1.3 million guests annually (Explore Asheville), making positive influencer coverage valuable.

6. Policy Clarity

While policies exist, they may be unclear about the line between "personal use" and content creation.
Many influencers blur this line - they're creating content for their personal accounts, not commercial clients. Frontline staff understanding the difference is essential.
Could create a middle-ground "content creator personal use" category with reasonable restrictions.

Lessons for Heritage Sites

This incident highlights the tension between preserving historic properties and adapting to the social media age. The Biltmore's policies are designed to protect the 130-year-old estate and its holiday heritage (The Mountaineer) but enforcement requires nuance when dealing with influencers whose "personal" content reaches millions.

The apparent resolution suggests Biltmore recognized the value in addressing Marc's concerns but a proactive approach could have prevented the negative publicity entirely and created a positive partnership instead.

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CASE STUDY: THE BILTMORE ESTATE & MARC SEBASTIAN HOLIDAY 2025 DEBACLE—WHAT THE BILTMORE COULD HAVE DONE