Luxury hotels and tourist attractions across Europe are increasingly restricting photo and video shoots by social media influencers, as complaints mount that unchecked filming for online content disturbs other visitors and intrudes on their privacy.
Restrictions on influencer filming are spreading at hotels and restaurants in France and Britain, the Guardian reported on the 19th.
Changing Outfits for Photo Shoots Prompts Luxury Hotel Crackdown
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a luxury property in Antibes, France, recently began requiring guests to obtain permission before taking photographs.
The move followed cases in which some visitors brought multiple outfits and accessories, changing repeatedly as they focused on photo shoots. They were intent on posting the images to social media, prompting the hotel to introduce the restrictions to protect the privacy and rest of other guests.
Hollies, a farm shop in Cheshire, England, has taken a similar step. The venue decided to limit filming after a surge of visitors followed a social media post by Molly-Mae Hague, a former contestant on the reality dating show "Love Island," who shared photos taken there.
Photography and video recording are now banned at Hollies from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jeremy King, who runs well-known restaurants in London, has also voiced frustration with influencer behavior. In an opinion piece for the Evening Standard early this year, King described fatigue over influencers treating restaurants like film sets and called for restraint.
'No Influencers' in the U.S., Screens in Japan
Friction over influencer filming is not confined to Europe. A shop on Nantucket, an island in Massachusetts, drew attention early this year by posting a sign reading "No influencers."
The town of Pomfret, Vermont, has also restricted filming by influencers who flock there each fall foliage season to take photographs.
Japan has seen similar cases. When tourists crowded in to photograph Mount Fuji, authorities in Fujikawaguchiko installed a screen in front of a convenience store. The measure was aimed at preventing visitors from concentrating at a well-known photo spot.
Hotels Say Guest Experience Comes First
The main reason hotels and tourist facilities are restricting filming is to protect the privacy and rest of other visitors.
At luxury hotels in particular, an environment where guests can stay comfortably without feeling watched is considered a core element of service.
"Guests want the hotel, at least, to remain a private space," said Sophie Bolland, general manager of Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. "We had no choice but to look for a solution."
The hotel industry acknowledges the promotional value of influencer posts on social media but argues that filming that inconveniences ordinary guests should be curbed.
Anna Fedu, an executive at Beaumier hotel group, said some influencers shoot at times when they do not disturb other guests, but stressed that "guest experience always comes first."