Public Relations Proposal:
Opening the Biltmore Estate to the Public
1
Background
Getting to know the Client
George Washington Vanderbilt envisioned a grand summer home positioned on a
sprawling country estate. Six years later his vision became reality when he created the Biltmore
estate - the largest home in America - in December of 1895. Located in Asheville, North Carolina, the Biltmore estate covers four acres of ground space, features 250 French-renaissance
inspired rooms, and is 125,000 acres of forest. Vanderbilt was attracted to the location near
Asheville because of the natural beauty of the mountains and warm climate during the summer
months. With such a large area of land, and a love for the earth, the Vanderbilts founded the
Biltmore Forest School in 1889, the first institute for scientific forestry in America.
George Vanderbilt and his wife birthed a daughter in 1900, Cornelia Vanderbilt, who was
raised in the house. Cornelia married to John Francis Amherst Cecil, a descendant to Lord
Burghley, in 1924. The couple continued to live in the house and raised two sons George Henry
Vanderbilt Cecil (1925) and William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928). The Biltmore estate offers
an indoor pool, a bowling alley, and 250 rooms - including 34 master bedrooms, 43 bathrooms,
65 fireplaces, and 3 kitchens. The estate was decorated with expensive art works and furnishings [Wallace, 2000].
After Vanderbilt died in 1914, his widowed wife sold approximately 86,000 acres of forest
was sold to the United States Forest Service. There are 8,000 acres remains of forest, park, and
gardens privately owned by the family. Upkeep of the Biltmore estate was paid-for by a large
nursery and a dairy, but after a 1916 flood the nursery was destroyed [Wernick & Lautman,
1992].
Asheville, North Carolina
In 1930 Asheville is home to 50,193 residents. The key publics the firm wants to address
and accommodate are the citizens of Asheville, the Vanderbilts, and potential tourists.
Asheville is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the joining together of the Swannanoa River
and the French Broad River. Asheville has a total area of 41.3 square miles (107.0 km²), of
which 40.9 square miles (106.0 km²) are land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) is water [Census
Bureau, 2010].
By 1927, both Asheville and Buncombe County had incurred over $180 million in bonded
debt to pay due to improvements of the courthouse, City Hall, paved streets, school buildings
and municipal parks. However, the stock market crash of October 1929 began a period of American history known as The Great Depression. On November 20, 1930, eight local banks failed
[New York Times, 1930].
The opening of the Biltmore estate to the public will bring tourists into the area from up
and down the East Coast. Upper and middle class families are encouraged to vacation in the
Blue Ridge Mountains and visit the Biltmore estate. Press releases will be sent to newspapers
in Washington, D.C., Richmond, VA, Wilmington, NC, Charlotte, NC, Philadelphia, PA, New
York, NY, Charleston, SC, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA.
The Situation at a Glance
On behalf of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Colonial PR Firm, requests the opening of the Biltmore estate to the public. With the recent stock market crash and a decline in
Asheville’s economy we feel opening the Biltmore estate to the public will create great opportunities for the area. Tourism in the area will increase, increasing business for hotels and restaurants as well as the Biltmore estate. With the Biltmore estate opening for business, more job
opportunities will open up for Asheville residents. Jobs will not only open through the estate, but
in hotels, restaurants, and businesses in the other surrounding area. For the Vanderbilt-Cecil
family, opening the estate will allow for profit within the family as well as great press for the fami2
ly name. By allowing the Biltmore estate to open to the public, awareness of Asheville, as a location to vacation and reside will increase. Tourists will find great joy in visiting and seeing what
life is like as a Vanderbilt. They will also have the opportunity to visit a different culture by vacationing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Seeing the lavishness and splendor of the Gilded Age firsthand will be a personal enrichment experience for all vacationers.
Unfortunately, there will be risks if we chose to open for business. First, we need to have
the Vanderbilt-Cecil family to agree to the opening. Opening the Biltmore estate to the public will
reduce some of the family’s privacy. Even though the family can move into their own secluded
wing of the house, all of their items and furnishings will be exposed to the world.
Getting the word out to different areas on the East coast will take time. Advertising and
press will need to start early. With the economy the way it is, we might have a little difficulty
bringing tourists to the area. Opening business to the public could potentially cause a reverse
effect. Progress may be slow at first, but the estate will continue to increase in awareness as
more visitors attend and the economy begins to recover. In order to prevent these risks from
ultimately occurring, we need to make sure the experience is enjoyable. We intend to release
press testimonies from visitors to the Biltmore estate so potential tourists can imagine themselves enjoying this unique experience.
A Unique Opportunity
By opening the Biltmore house to the public, the Vanderbilts will be able to recover
losses they have suffered from the estate’s upkeep expenses and increased tourism to the
Asheville region will boost the local economy. If the Vanderbilts do not open their house to the
public, their current financial endeavors may not be enough to maintain the estate and the family could go bankrupt.
Our Targeted Publics
The publics that will be essential in the opening of the Biltmore estate will be the citizens
of Asheville, the Vanderbilts, and tourists. All of these publics play a crucial role in the Biltmore
Estate being opened to the public and it actually being beneficial to all the parties involved.
The citizens of Asheville are all vital in the success of opening the estate to the public.
They will provide workers for maintaining, giving tours and other jobs for the Biltmore Estate.
With more tourists comes commercial stimulation for the surrounding area, while also increasing
an overall awareness and appreciation for the beautiful town of Asheville, North Carolina.
The Vanderbilts are also another key public making or breaking the whole transition of
opening their home to the public. The upkeep of the estate has put a severe strain on the Vanderbilt fortune, but with the opening of the home the estate is projected to stop losing money
and eventually turn a profit. This could help recover from a failed attempt at establishing a
country club on the property as well as improve their public image by supporting the local economy.
Tourists are really the wood to the fire, if there were no tourists there would be no reason
to open the estate to the public. Potential visitors can be sold on the promise that they can get
a glimpse of the rich and famous lifestyle and how the Vanderbilts live. Opening the Biltmore
estate to the public will be a way for tourists from all over to experience an extravagant lifestyle
while taking the vacation of a lifetime.
Goals, Objectives, Tactics and Strategies
In preparation for the opening of the Vanderbilt family’s Biltmore residence to the public,
there are goals being implemented to make it a success. Opening the estate to the public will
stimulate Asheville’s economy in part by providing increased job opportunities for its citizens.
3
Our objective for this goal is to see Asheville’s job market double in size by December 1930.
The Asheville working class public needs to be informed of the jobs that are available on the
Estate and potential jobs opening in the surrounding areas. This information will be posted in
the classifieds section of local newspapers beginning November 1929 and continuing until January 1930.
Our objective is to increase revenue from tourism by 50% after the first year of the Biltmore estate being open to the public. Local hotels would instruct their concierges to promote
and inform tourists of the Biltmore estate’s opening to the public. Pamphlets will be distributed to
the hotels and remain at the front desks for concierges to dispense to tourists. These pamphlets
will provide information about the amenities and activities the Biltmore estate has to offer. Pamplets will be handed to guests from January 1930 to June 1930.
Our goal for the Vanderbilt family opening their home to the public is to create an economically beneficial opportunity. By opening their estate to the public, the Vanderbilts will be
able to recover losses suffered from the destruction of the nursery and supplement the budget
needed to maintain the estate. In addition, the public will have the opportunity to get a glimpse
into their lavish lifestyle and what it is like to be a Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilts will profit by keeping their home privately owned, but allowing the public to tour it for a fee.
Our objective is for the Biltmore estate to open to the public by the end of March 1930, in
time for the spring/summer season. There will be a “Grand Opening” event for the public, including a tea party, opening ceremonies with guest speakers, and guided tours throughout the day.
The “Grand Opening” event will begin at 10 am with a tea party of true Vanderbilt caliber in the
gardens, with music provided by a prestigious orchestra. After the tea party, guest speakers
John and Cornelia Vanderbilt-Cecil, will officially open the Biltmore estate to the public. The
guided tours through the house will begin at noon and continue until sundown. Tours through
the gardens and grounds will be self-guided and at the visitors’ own leisure. Hosting this Opening Day event will allow for socialites and other patrons to gather together and experience this
historic Gilded Age chateau and all the luxury of the Vanderbilt lifestyle.
Our next objective is to sell 20,000 tickets to the Biltmore estate by the end of March
1931. Ticket cost would be $2 for adults and $1 for children. Media campaigns will be focused in
highly populated cities such as, Washington, D.C., Richmond, VA, Wilmington, NC, Charlotte,
NC, Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, Charleston, SC, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA. To carry out our media campaigns, we will send press releases to newspapers in the
selected cities. These press releases will begin circulation in November 1929 and end April
1930. In addition, there will be advertisements on the radio in the listed cities. Radio advertisements will be aired in February 1929 and continue through April 1930. Press releases and advertisements launched after opening day will be testimonies of tourists who have enjoyed their
visit to the estate.
Calendar and Budget
To maintain a consistent flow of information about the opening of the Biltmore Estate to
the public, we will utilize media outlets well into the first month of operation. By targeting more
than one form of media, people will have a constant reminder of the Biltmore estate when they
read the newspaper or listen to the radio. Costs for the employees at Colonial PR Firm are
$275.00.
It’s important to inform the residents of Asheville of job openings as a result of the Biltmore estate’s public opening. We will place ads in the classifieds section for job openings in the
local Asheville and Brevard newspapers for a duration of 75 days, beginning November 1929
through January 1930. The interview and training process will last from December 1929 to February of 1930. Also in November we will have written multiple press releases and have sent
them to our selected cities through the end of April 1930. The cost of postage to send press re-
4
leases out to the different locations will be $1.60 for the duration of the campaign. Radio advertisements, while costly, will be most efficient when reaching potential tourists. Costs for radio
advertisements 4 times a day for 60 days is $138.
Brochures will also be passed out at local Asheville hotels. Concierges will be responsible for disseminating these brochures and other information to their guests. The design for
these brochures will begin in November 1929 and last only 45 days, for print and presentation
by opening season. The release of these brochures will begin on the first of January 1930 and
last through late June 1930. Pamphlet design and printing will cost $16.67 for the six months
they will be printed and distributed.
On opening day, the Vanderbilts will host a ceremony with a tea party social revealing
the estate to the public. Supplies for the tea party include tea and honey which will cost $33.75
altogether. Catering includes tables, chairs, linens, and hors d’oeuvres for 300 people, totaling a
cost of $83.33. Along with refreshments, a 75 piece orchestra will perform throughout the morning and afternoon at a fee of $122.50. After the guests finish their day touring the Biltmore, the
first 400 visitors will be handed a small survey to complete about their experience. This will cost
a total of $100.00 to print.
The total cost for the entire campaign and events will cost approximately $770.85. Evaluation will begin on the beginning of March 1930 and last the entire year until the same day in
1931.
Evaluation
In order to evaluate the success of our campaign, we would need to analyze the amount
of tickets sold, and subsequently the income into the Biltmore estate. The Vanderbilts would
keep records of tickets sold and income for tax and business purposes. We would measure the
value of the Biltmore house as a tourist attraction by asking visitors to complete a survey upon
finishing their tour of the estate. The survey would include questions that ask about the quality
of their experience and whether they would come back. This would help us determine the success of the Biltmore estate’s opening to the public and allow the Vanderbilts to tweak the tour
experience. We would also measure the growth of the tourism industry in Asheville. To do this
we would look at info from the next census taken.
Conclusion
Introducing the world to the extravagance that is the Biltmore estate will begin a new
chapter for the Vanderbilt family. As subsequent generations of Americans flock to this majestic
site, the Vanderbilt name will immortalize itself in synonymy with this monument to a bygone
era. For the immediate future, however, the Biltmore estate will be the premier tourist attraction
for the Blue Ridge Mountain region of North Carolina. The Asheville economy will benefit greatly
from its allure, making the city all the more desirable to live, work, and play in. We hope the
Vanderbilts will accept our offer to open up their home for the benefit of the family as well as the
greater Asheville area.
5
Press Release
ASHEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERECE
February 21, 1930
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Further Information Contact: Jordan Streetman
Vanderbilt’s Announces the Biltmore Estate Opening to the Public
Asheville, NC—Cornelia Cecil-Vanderbilt will present the Grand Opening of the 250 room Biltmore Estate to the public at 10am on March 15th, 1930 in Asheville, NC.
The Cecil-Vanderbilt family requests dignitaries and the public to join them for the Biltmore Estate opening day celebrations. Festivities begin with an elegant tea party, Vanderbilt style, at
10am in the garden’s grand foyer on the 125,000-arce estate. Opening ceremonies following the
tea party host guest’s speakers, John and Cornelia Cecil-Vanderbilt. The first tours will begin at
noon and will continue on the hour until sundown. Prices for admission are $2 for adults and $1
for children. The Biltmore Estate is located on One Approach Road in Asheville, NC.
Come visit the Biltmore Estate is view like as a Vanderbilt for a day. Explore the largest house in
the America, including French-Renaissance style rooms, breath-taking gardens, and the Biltmore Country Club all located on the grounds.
6
Budget for opening Biltmore Estate to public
Conversions: 1$ then=about $12 now
“Opening Day” Catered Tea Party Social
1. Tea: $120x 300% markup = $360/12 = $30
2. Honey 5 pounds: $15x 300% markup = $45/12 = $3.75
3. 75 piece orchestra: $13900x 300% markup = $4170/12 = $122.50
4. Service Charges including: cost for 5 employees for 8 hours and enough china for 300
people- $600+Catering fee of $400=$1000/12=$83.33
TOTAL: $239.58
Advertisements
1. 400 Pamphlet for concierges to handout to tourists at .50$ = $200/12 = $16.67
2. Radio advertisements (30 second clips) 4 times a day for two months = $1657/12 = $138
3. 40 Press releases:only cost is postage=3 cents (a stamp) + 1 cent (an envelope) x 40 =
$1.60
4. Classifieds for workers-covered by the people running the estate
TOTAL: $156.27
Employees working on campaign from Colonial PR Firm
1. Public Relations Media Director:1 month working = $25
2. Public Relations Firm Director: 6-8 months working = $250
TOTAL: $275.00
Insurance/Liability: Not required in the 1930’s
Exit Survey after patrons finish their tour
1. Survey the first 400 visitors at .30$ = $1200/12 = $100.00
Final Budget Cost: $239.58 + $156.27 + $275.00 + $100.00
= $770.85
Budget Sources
http://www.festiviteas.com/
http://webpages.charter.net/tvaughan/honeyprice.html
7
Works Cited (APA)
Barrett, M. (2009, September 6). Depression-era projects became tourist draws. Asheville Citizen-Times, A9.
Baur, B. (2009). American field trip: Biltmore house - Asheville, North Carolina. U.S. Stamp
News, 15 (10), 23. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier Database.
Biltmore Company, The. (2005, February). Biltmore celebrates 75 years of hospitality [Press
Release]. Retrieved from http.biltmore.com/media/news-release-archived.asp?id=26
Times, T. N. (1930, November 21 ). Retrieved April 2010, from The New York Times :
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60912F7355C11738DDDA80A94D94
15B808FF1D3
"The 1930s: Media: Overview." American Decades. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (April 26, 2010).
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468301250.html
U.S. Census Bureau (2010). Retrieved April 2010, from American FactFinder:
http://factfinder.census.gov
Wernick, R. & Lautman, R. (1992). Here’s the house that lots and lots of jack built.
Smithsonian, 23 (6), 58. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
8