When most people visit Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, they notice the architecture, artwork, incredible rooms, gardens and sheer size of the property.
I noticed all of that too.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about the staff.
Maybe that’s what happens when you own an estate staffing company.
As I walked through Biltmore House, I kept wondering:
Who cleaned all of this?
Who managed the household?
How many housekeepers did it take?
Who planned the meals?
Who polished the silver?
Who prepared all the guest rooms?
Where did the staff live?
And how in the world did they coordinate everything without cell phones, group texts, emails and household-management apps?
Everyone else was touring Biltmore.
I was mentally staffing it.
The more I learned about the people behind Biltmore, the more I realized something fascinating:
The titles and technology have changed dramatically. The fundamentals of running a great estate haven’t.
At Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing, we specialize in placing Estate Managers, Executive Housekeepers, Household Managers, Private Chefs and other private-service professionals for luxury residences, estates and Family Offices throughout Florida and nationwide.
Walking through Biltmore gave me a fascinating look at where many of those modern household roles began.
Biltmore House opened to George Vanderbilt’s family and friends on Christmas Eve 1895.
The numbers are almost hard to comprehend.
250 rooms.
35 bedrooms.
43 bathrooms.
65 fireplaces.
And approximately 8,000 acres remain part of Biltmore Estate today.
Now look at those numbers from an estate-management perspective.
Someone had to clean those rooms.
Someone had to maintain those fireplaces.
Someone had to prepare bedrooms and care for linens.
Someone had to manage meals, china, silver and wine.
Someone had to receive guests.
Someone had to care for the grounds.
And someone had to make sure all of those people knew what they were supposed to be doing.
During the years George, Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt lived at Biltmore, they employed up to approximately 40 domestic staff members working in the house and stable.
Biltmore has described the household during large house parties as operating almost more like a luxury hotel than a private residence.
That makes perfect sense to me.
A property of this magnitude wasn’t simply a home.
It was an operation.
There were departments, managers, specialized positions, schedules and standards.
And just like today’s best private-service teams, much of the work was designed to happen without the family or their guests ever seeing it.
This was probably the part that fascinated me most.
One of Biltmore’s highest-ranking household positions was the Head Housekeeper.
But don’t let that title fool you.
Biltmore’s historical records show that the Head Housekeeper supervised female household staff, oversaw the upkeep of the house, managed household bills and inventories, hired and dismissed employees and reviewed daily plans with the Vanderbilts.
Emily Rand King, who served as Biltmore’s Head Housekeeper from 1897 to 1914, had particularly significant responsibilities.
Mrs. King met with the Vanderbilts to discuss the day’s plans, including the chef’s proposed menus and guest activities. She then coordinated with the Chef and Head Butler.
When I learned that, my first thought was:
She was essentially running the estate.
If Mrs. King were applying for a private-service position today, we might be discussing whether she was an Executive Housekeeper, Household Manager, Estate Manager or Director of Residence.
And this is still one of the most important lessons in estate staffing today:
The title doesn’t always tell you what the household actually needs.
We can have two clients looking for an Executive Housekeeper and discover that they need two very different professionals.
One household may need a hands-on Executive Housekeeper focused heavily on housekeeping, fine linens, wardrobe and household presentation.
Another may need someone managing several housekeepers, inventories, vendors, guest preparation and communication with a Family Office.
That’s why we spend time understanding the actual household before determining the position.
Apparently, that mattered in 1895 too.
Then there was the Butler.
Biltmore’s Butler supervised male domestic staff, including footmen and houseboys, and was responsible for ensuring meals were served smoothly.
But his responsibilities went much further.
He oversaw the family’s china, crystal and silver, managed wine storage and service, greeted guests, helped coordinate arrivals and departures, maintained clocks and even created floral arrangements.
Imagine a formal dinner at Biltmore.
The table had to be perfect.
The appropriate china, crystal and silver had to be ready.
Wine had to be selected and served.
The kitchen had to know the timing.
The footmen had to know their responsibilities.
Guests shouldn’t see confusion.
They should simply experience impeccable service.
That is something we still look for in exceptional private-service professionals today:
The ability to make an enormous amount of work look effortless.
The best household staff anticipate.
They notice.
They communicate.
And they often solve a problem before the principal ever knows there was one.
Biltmore’s behind-the-scenes operation may have interested me as much as the grand rooms.
The Butler’s Pantry, for example, essentially functioned as a service command center.
Food traveled from the kitchen toward the dining areas, while Biltmore’s annunciator—or servant call system—allowed someone in the house to press a button and alert the household staff.
Think of it as the Gilded Age version of instant messaging.
Only with a bell.
Biltmore’s kitchens also required their own hierarchy of professionals. Historical records identify chefs, cooks, pastry cooks and kitchen maids.
And they weren’t cooking only for George and Edith Vanderbilt.
There were family members, guests and staff to feed.
Imagine the planning.
Breakfast.
Lunch.
Afternoon tea.
Dinner.
Staff meals.
Houseguests.
Special events.
Multiple courses.
And there was no texting the chef:
“Just a heads-up—we added eight people for dinner.”
A great Private Chef today faces different challenges, but many of the underlying skills are surprisingly similar.
Private chefs frequently manage food inventories, dietary requirements, provisioning, vendors, entertaining, family preferences and travel.
The best private chefs don’t simply know how to cook beautifully.
They learn the household.
This is where my staffing brain really went into overdrive.
Two hundred and fifty rooms.
Imagine calling Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing and saying:
“I need a little help with housekeeping. It’s a 250-room home.”
I might need another cup of coffee before that intake call.
Biltmore employed chambermaids, parlormaids, laundresses and other household staff.
Chambermaids cared for bedrooms while parlormaids cared for common areas. Their responsibilities went beyond cleaning and included laying fires, refreshing linens and preparing rooms for the evening.
The laundry operation was particularly impressive.
Biltmore’s historical records describe laundresses processing hundreds of pieces in a single documented day in 1908.
And this was demanding, highly skilled work.
They needed to understand fabrics, chemicals, starches, washing methods and ironing—without today’s commercial laundry equipment.
Modern luxury housekeeping is obviously very different, but expertise still matters.
Today’s Executive Housekeeper may be responsible for fine linens, couture clothing, silver, crystal, antiques, marble, specialty surfaces and household inventories while also supervising other housekeeping professionals.
The best Executive Housekeepers aren’t simply cleaning.
They are protecting the assets and presentation of the home.
That distinction matters.
This was another detail I found fascinating.
Biltmore’s own historical figures document 66 servants’ bedrooms—26 in Biltmore House and another 40 in the stable complex.
For many domestic employees, the estate wasn’t simply where they worked.
It was where they lived.
Modern live-in estate staffing is obviously very different. Today’s positions should have clearly established accommodations, responsibilities, schedules, time off and boundaries.
But live-in household staff remain important for certain estates, seasonal residences and families who require greater household coverage.
Again, the world changed.
The underlying household need didn’t completely disappear.
Just when you think you’ve wrapped your head around staffing the house, you walk outside.
Biltmore’s magnificent gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, one of America’s most important landscape architects and the designer of New York City’s Central Park.
The estate today encompasses approximately 8,000 acres.
And that reminded me of another important part of modern estate staffing:
The property doesn’t stop at the front door.
Large private estates may require Estate Managers, Property Managers, Housemen, Property Engineers, grounds professionals, security personnel and specialized vendors.
For waterfront residences, particularly here in Florida, household operations may also intersect with captains and yacht crew.
A modern estate can be its own ecosystem.
Biltmore simply demonstrates that on an extraordinary scale.
This was my biggest takeaway from visiting Biltmore.
Today we have smart homes, smartphones, private aviation, security systems, household-management software, Family Offices, digital calendars and instant communication.
But technology doesn’t replace exceptional people.
A modern estate might employ an Estate Manager, Executive Housekeeper, Household Manager, Private Chef, Personal Assistant, Houseman, Nanny, Domestic Couple, Property Engineer or yacht crew.
A Family Office may oversee financial and administrative matters.
There may be multiple residences in different states—or different countries—that need to operate consistently.
The structure can become sophisticated very quickly.
But the goal is remarkably similar to what it was at Biltmore:
Create a household that operates seamlessly so the principals can enjoy their home, family and lifestyle.
When we think about Biltmore, we naturally think about the Vanderbilt family.
We remember the architecture.
The artwork.
The gardens.
The enormous dining room.
But after my visit, I kept thinking about the people whose names most visitors will never know.
The housekeepers.
The laundresses.
The chefs.
The cooks.
The butlers.
The footmen.
The gardeners.
The people who got up every morning and made this extraordinary estate function.
Without them, Biltmore would still have been a magnificent building.
But it couldn’t have operated as the home the Vanderbilts envisioned.
More than a century later, I see the same principle in our industry every day.
Beautiful homes don’t run themselves. People make them work.
This is a question we hear in modern estate staffing, and the answer depends on what you actually need accomplished.
An Executive Housekeeper is typically more focused on the presentation, cleanliness and care of the residence. Depending on the position, that can include managing housekeeping staff, fine linens, wardrobe, household inventories and specialty surfaces.
An Estate Manager generally has broader operational responsibility. That may include supervising household employees, managing vendors, overseeing multiple properties, coordinating maintenance, managing budgets and communicating with principals or a Family Office.
But luxury household titles aren’t standardized.
That’s why I believe the better question is:
What does your household need this person to accomplish?
Once we understand that, we can determine the right position—and then find the right professional.
There isn’t a magic number.
A large residence doesn’t automatically need a large staff, and adding more employees isn’t always the answer.
The right staffing structure depends on the size and number of residences, how frequently the principals are in residence, entertaining, travel, children, pets, yachts, security requirements and the level of service expected.
Sometimes one exceptional, versatile professional can transform a household.
Other estates require a carefully structured team.
Successful estate staffing isn’t about having the most people. It’s about having the right people in the right positions.
If you’re visiting Asheville, North Carolina, Biltmore Estate is absolutely worth experiencing.
Enjoy the architecture.
Admire the art.
Walk through the gardens.
But look behind the grandeur too.
Notice the kitchens and service areas.
Look at the Butler’s Pantry.
Think about the staff stairways and hallways.
Imagine bedrooms being prepared while meals were being cooked, fires tended, laundry processed and guests attended to.
Suddenly, you’re not simply looking at America’s largest home.
You’re looking at an incredibly sophisticated household operation.
I went to Asheville expecting to tour Biltmore.
I left thinking about the people who made Biltmore work.
Then again, I own an estate staffing company.
Apparently, I can’t help myself.
During the period when George, Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt lived at Biltmore, the family employed up to approximately 40 staff members working in the house and stable.
Biltmore’s historical records identify Head Housekeepers, Butlers, Lady’s Maids, Valets, Chefs, cooks, pastry cooks, kitchen maids, chambermaids, parlormaids, footmen and laundresses, among other positions.
The Head Housekeeper held significant authority in the American household structure. Emily Rand King, Biltmore’s Head Housekeeper from 1897–1914, managed staff and household responsibilities and coordinated closely with the Vanderbilt family, Chef and Head Butler.
There is no exact modern equivalent. Depending on the household and responsibilities, a similar position might now be called an Executive Housekeeper, Household Manager, Estate Manager or Director of Residence.
Yes. Biltmore documents 66 servants’ bedrooms, including 26 within Biltmore House and 40 in the stable complex.
Start with responsibilities rather than titles. If you need someone primarily responsible for the care and presentation of the residence, an Executive Housekeeper may be appropriate. If the position involves broader staff, vendor, property and operational management, an Estate Manager or Household Manager may be a better fit.
A professional estate staffing agency can help define the position before beginning the candidate search.
Thankfully, most clients aren’t calling us to staff 250 rooms.
But whether you’re managing one luxury residence or multiple properties, the same principle applies:
The right people change the way a home operates.
If your household is growing, you’re adding another residence, you’re struggling with turnover, or your current staffing structure simply isn’t working, the solution may not be adding another employee.
It may be determining which professional you actually need.
That’s where Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing can help.
Lorraine Lee Estate Staffing is a Florida-based domestic and estate staffing agency serving luxury private residences, estates and Family Offices throughout South Florida, Central and West Florida, and nationwide. We recruit experienced Estate Managers, Executive Housekeepers, Private Chefs, Personal Assistants, Chief of Staff professionals, Housemen, Property Engineers, Nannies, yacht crew and other private-service professionals.
Because one lesson from Biltmore remains just as relevant today:
Behind every well-run estate is an exceptional team.
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