Aggressive DVC Housekeeping Checkout Day

[CarolMN]

This thread has generated into a debate with the same things being posted over and over again. Please just stop.

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[KimMcGowan]

No.

There is a reason that Disney added the word after to their policy. If it was not important they would just say check-in is at 4. I am not saying I agree with it - but if you are waiting well after 4 for your room this is what you will be told. In any case, I think they do a pretty good job getting people into rooms. However, by the same token, the policy say check out is at 11. So, I understand they people upset if they are being pushed out before that time. (I know, nobody is physically being pushed out.)

 

[Travel60]

I hope that's just anonymous internet toughness not an actual message you would communicate to someone working an entry-level job in the services industry. There's a way to deliver the same message without demeaning a worker trying to do their job.


Management takes all factors into account and they have for years. It's a challenging position to manage with workers who don't make great wages for difficult job and, in 2022, can choose to gravitate away from large employers who dictate undesirable schedules.

I don't find it demeaning. I would rather let them know expectations/repercussions up front than gripe online.

BTW, we tip well and often establish rapport with staff during our stay.

 

[RoseGold]

This thread has really disappointed me. DVC people care more about towels in the hall than someone banging on my door to wake me up on my last day of vacation, to defend the Mouse's decisions. This is something so unpleasant you remember it years later. This isn't OK, and DVC should staff like every other hotel, which would never, ever do this or they'd have a line of angry people demanding their money back.

If someone barged in my $500/night room in Vegas at 8:55AM, I would be absolutely furious. What's the difference between that and the morning after extended hours?

BTW, that is what they should be doing instead of barging into rooms at 8:55AM, cleaning up the room service and towels.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/since-when-is-this-acceptable.3889629/

 

[RivShore]

Just to give a little non-Disney bubble perspective - I took my first post-covid business trip recently, stayed at a very nice hotel on the west coast and received absolutely no housekeeping services at all during my 3 night stay. If any services needed - towels, bed making, anything, you had to call the front desk to schedule a visit. During my time there, I saw not one housekeeper in the hallways (and you could see every hallway from the atrium). I also asked my co-workers who have been traveling regularly for the last year and they said all of the hotels they have stayed at have eliminated daily cleaning.

I don't think higher wages solves this nationwide issue. Too many workers have found they can live OK without that second or part-time job they had in retirement or as a second income in the household. If they have not rejoined the workforce at this point, they are never coming back. Also, and this is starting to get a lot of press in economic news, the severe reduction in legal immigration is really being felt in industries like this (like everything, it ground to a halt during covid and has slowly been coming back). That's why the entire industry has moved to this on-demand cleaning method and upped the pressure on turning over rooms quickly.

All that is to say, don't expect any changes in the near future...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just to give a little non-Disney bubble perspective - I took my first post-covid business trip recently, stayed at a very nice hotel on the west coast and received absolutely no housekeeping services at all during my 3 night stay. If any services needed - towels, bed making, anything, you had to call the front desk to schedule a visit. During my time there, I saw not one housekeeper in the hallways (and you could see every hallway from the atrium). I also asked my co-workers who have been traveling regularly for the last year and they said all of the hotels they have stayed at have eliminated daily cleaning.

I don't think higher wages solves this nationwide issue. Too many workers have found they can live OK without that second or part-time job they had in retirement or as a second income in the household. If they have not rejoined the workforce at this point, they are never coming back. Also, and this is starting to get a lot of press in economic news, the severe reduction in legal immigration is really being felt in industries like this (like everything, it ground to a halt during covid and has slowly been coming back). That's why the entire industry has moved to this on-demand cleaning method and upped the pressure on turning over rooms quickly.

All that is to say, don't expect any changes in the near future...

IDK my husband travels a lot and doesn't have the same experience (he's been to Sacramento several times, Vegas several times, San Jose and Oakland, Seattle, New Orleans will be in Reno in a week and a half, etc all this year for business).

Sometimes when people discuss what constitutes daily services might be different I def. agree on that. Like our Riu hotel in Mexico for April 2023 does daily housekeeping but the linens are not switched out everyday (I forget the interval in which they are).

We've been to Wynn/Encore 3 times during this pandemic most recent last month. We always saw housekeeping multiple of them on the floor. Honestly those carts are huge lol. Hard to wheel your suitcase with them there.

In May when we stayed at Universal for 3 nights we left the DND up and we got a text from them saying they attempted to service our room but we had our DND up but to let them know if we need anything. However the Hampton Inn we stayed at for the rest of our trip is following more Hilton's policy where you notify them when you want your room cleaned (fine by us).

I do think the point many make when it comes to Disney vs non is that there are places that do not do things the same way Disney does. It's not been a norm anywhere I've stayed at nor my husband who has traveled countless times all over to have housekeeping knocking on a door asking when are you going to leave.

 

[71 Truck]

Here is an idea, Disney lets you check out on the app. How about Disney put a feature that allows you to tells housekeeping what time you plan to vacate the room.
They are big getting everyone to use the app instead of having contact with the cast members, right.

In the morning all the housekeeping manager has to do is give the housekeeper a print out telling them when the room will be clear of guests.
At least if the guest stay longer than expected they are not disturbed by an unwanted knock on the door.

 

[RivShore]

IDK my husband travels a lot and doesn't have the same experience (he's been to Sacramento several times, Vegas several times, San Jose and Oakland, Seattle, New Orleans will be in Reno in a week and a half, etc all this year for business).

Sometimes when people discuss what constitutes daily services might be different I def. agree on that. Like our Riu hotel in Mexico for April 2023 does daily housekeeping but the linens are not switched out everyday (I forget the interval in which they are).

We've been to Wynn/Encore 3 times during this pandemic most recent last month. We always saw housekeeping multiple of them on the floor. Honestly those carts are huge lol. Hard to wheel your suitcase with them there.

In May when we stayed at Universal for 3 nights we left the DND up and we got a text from them saying they attempted to service our room but we had our DND up but to let them know if we need anything. However the Hampton Inn we stayed at for the rest of our trip is following more Hilton's policy where you notify them when you want your room cleaned (fine by us).

I do think the point many make when it comes to Disney vs non is that there are places that do not do things the same way Disney does. It's not been a norm anywhere I've stayed at nor my husband who has traveled countless times all over to have housekeeping knocking on a door asking when are you going to leave.

Interesting. I suspect it is very location based? Most of the travel my little part of the company does is around Boston, San Fran, and NJ. All very high cost and very tough to hire people for any kind of work.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Interesting. I suspect it is very location based? Most of the travel my little part of the company does is around Boston, San Fran, and NJ. All very high cost and very tough to hire people for any kind of work.

I'm not so sure it is. His coworkers have been to Baltimore (he had covid and was unable to go), the DC area, Newark, etc. It's really all over they've been. They mainly work on airline fueling systems so they do travel quite a lot.

I have no doubt of staffing issues, that's glaringly obvious but hotels can take on policies as a whole like Hilton themselves is more about "you tell us" so the absence of housekeepers on the floor right there that very minute isn't going to mean service is non-existent or that housekeeping is in such dire straights due to immigration. And back to Disney it def. doesn't mean they have to come knocking, we know that's been something people have spoken towards every so often for over 20 years.

There have been a lot of comments from people who have stayed elsewhere during this pandemic enough comments I would say to show that there was a reason for lack of housekeeping for a while but other places have picked up. Their competitor virtually down the road texted us the 2nd day of our visit (so the first day the room would need to be cleaned) about housekeeping. It's not as dire out there as it once was for the industry as a whole.

But all of that is not to say people can't have different experiences, certainly we are.

 

[Judique]

Those of you getting walked in on must not be using the secondary chain/bar lock when you are in the room.

Early morning knocks must be unique to the individual housekeepers. We've never gotten one at any of the DVC resorts. We mostly stay at the BWV. Sounds like we've been lucky.

I think you've been lucky or like me, you've been DVC so long you've quickly forgotten this rather minor in most cases intrusion. I stay at BWV often and also own there.

I always try to let the housekeeper on floor area know if I'm checking out early the next day. Seems to me as my experience they get little precise checkout info, other than that it's checkout day for my room.

In 22 years I will say that I can't remember anyone returning to knock 2-3 times once I've told them we are trying to leave by 10:30, 11am or whatever. I would find that somewhat offensive.

For those who have been bothered a lot by this, why not put a note on your door saying we are not leaving until 11am? Personally I've never found this to be so annoying as posted, in my recent memory.

I'm going back to BWV next month. Maybe my tune will change after my visit.

 

[tjkraz]

This isn't OK, and DVC should staff like every other hotel, which would never, ever do this

It's not a hotel, it's a timeshare.

The premise that Disney is refusing to staff "like every other hotel" is likely false. A normal hotel has people checking out at 7-8am to make early flights, business meetings, to be on the court / field for their travel sports event, etc. And an average occupancy of ~65% means they have dozens of unneeded rooms each day. Housekeepers can work full 8 hour schedules like 8-5 or 9-6. At the start of their shift they're servicing rooms from the early departures and later they're finishing with rooms that aren't even needed that night.

With DVC we're apparently saying "don't you dare bother me before 11am" and also "my room better be ready before 4pm or else." With 100% occupancy that means you have 5 hours to clean every vacated room. Workers scheduled 8-5 or 9-6 are either standing around with nothing to do at the start of their shift or still cleaning rooms after the 4pm cutoff.

It's just different. Blaming a timeshare for not being like a hotel is like blaming Seattle for having different weather than Las Vegas.

Search the internet. Housekeeping knocking on doors actually does happen at hotels too. Reddit and Trip Advisor are good places to start. I have experienced this myself. They say "sorry I'll come back later" and it's over.

I don't think anyone is forgiving blatantly poor behavior on the part of Disney housekeepers. Nobody should be "barging" into the room. Rudeness is unacceptable. There shouldn't be mystery phone calls to wake people up. (This has absolutely never happened to us at Disney.) They also shouldn't be disregarding the Room Occupied signs.

But if it's 2 hours before checkout and there is no sign on the door, I see no problem with housekeepers knocking to see if the guest has left.

 

[RoseGold]

With DVC we're apparently saying "don't you dare bother me before 11am" and also "my room better be ready before 4pm or else."

That isn't what we are saying at all. We are saying use some means to figure out who is in your rooms that isn't banging like the building is on fire. $20 on 300 hangtags would probably help.

And this is a hotel. This isn't your special club or your apartment or your home or your apartment or whatever they told you at the DVC sales pitch. This is an expensive hotel, and I expect the bare minimum of expensive hotel expectations, which is privacy. Just because they have a Disney uniform doesn't mean I want them in my room at 8:55AM.

They know the occupancy. They know the rules. Staff like this isn't a surprise.

Yea, there are mistakes in other hotels. This is a pattern. I'm the OP, and it literally happened to me 2/2 in a very recent trip. Gross.

 

[RoseGold]

I'm going back to BWV next month. Maybe my tune will change after my visit.

Clearly, the solution is to put a Post it on your door that says you are leaving at 10AM, unless you want to be woken up at 8AM. Oh, and put the phone off the hook for the hang up calls. Fun!

 

[tjkraz]

We are saying use some means to figure out who is in your rooms that isn't banging like the building is on fire. $20 on 300 hangtags would probably help.

1) They shouldn't be "banging like the building is on fire"
2) There is already a hangtag in the room, one labeled "room occupied"

Additional signs are not needed. If housekeepers are ignoring a "room occupied" sign and acting rudely, it should be corrected.

If the guest has not placed a sign on the door and it is checkout day, I see no problem with knocking.

And this is a hotel. This isn't your special club or your apartment or your home or your apartment or whatever they told you at the DVC sales pitch.

My comments have nothing to do with sales pitches or warm fuzzies for being part of a "club". They are a reflection of the reality that housekeeping challenges are different for hotels and timeshares.

 

[RoseGold]

My comments have nothing to do with sales pitches or warm fuzzies for being part of a "club". They are a reflection of the reality that housekeeping challenges are different for hotels and timeshares

I've stayed in more hotels pre- and post-Covid than most people -- and never experienced this anywhere outside of Disney. I am not sure why you keep defending this, because it isn't normal hospitality practice, except apparently in cheap timeshares. I'm glad no one banged on the door to get you out of bed, great for you.

I got banged out of bed once at a Hyatt, years ago, by actual police, with an actual emergency, and Hyatt comped the room that night. And it wasn't their fault, and the police were correct. Heck, even the police didn't enter my room with an actual issue and they needed to! The Poly housekeepers pounding on my door were just annoyed I wasn't gone already. Yuck. That's even worse, and apparently I don't see "reality."

If a cheap timeshare is what I have, which doesn't care about my gross Boardwalk couch and someone pounding on the door, then maybe it's time to sell. I will give you DVC is acting increasingly timeshare-y. But these hotels are still very, very expensive, and they should be staffed appropriately, like every other luxury hotel in Orlando.

 

[lowlight]

This is one of those arguments that will forever go around and around. Either you’re bothered about it or not, but I still do believe that we should stand united and not tolerate poor service whether it affects us or not. This issue doesn’t affect me, but I understand why it bothers others and support them. The reality is we shouldn’t have to troubleshoot the problems of a billion dollar multinational mega corporation. Disney isn’t alone in this, I’m a Marriott Bonvoy lifetime Gold/occasional platinum member that feels they are unrecognizable from when they were SPG and have liquidated almost a million points to get away from them for good. All companies exhibit greedy and bad behavior if you let them, which is why I believe in fighting and being a United front.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Clearly, the solution is to put a Post it on your door that says you are leaving at 10AM, unless you want to be woken up at 8AM. Oh, and put the phone off the hook for the hang up calls. Fun!

I must admit that's a detail that sorta floors me that people are actually unhooking the phones and that it's an advice given out commonly enough that has made its way through the grapevine on how not to be bothered by "when are you checking out" questions.

 

[RivShore]

hotels can take on policies as a whole like Hilton themselves is more about "you tell us"

That is probably why our experiences are so different - Hilton is the preferred company brand so most travelers just select them. If they have gone to that chain wide, that's probably why my coworkers experiences have been different.

With 100% occupancy that means you have 5 hours to clean every vacated room.

I hadn't considered that and it really does add to the challenge. That being said, Disney knows this in advance and has been at this for decades (cleaning 30-40k hotel rooms), how have they not figured it out yet?

As a few have said, why not let the tech fix this - They have basically made the app a requirement so the large majority should have it. Send out a push the night before checkout requesting the time you expect to vacate the room. If no response, send again in the early AM. That will allow them to easily set up a staffing and cleaning plan in advance without wasting time knocking and disturbing your customers.

And I don't think the door tags are an answer, they get left on the door so many times in the chaos of gathering children and bags that they can't be trusted.

Our annoying experience was at OKW about a year ago, over the span of a half hour (well before 11 AM) we had 3 different housekeepers bang on our door, actually the third time was the same one who knocked first but they had a supervisor with them the second time. Insane and unnecessary! We finally just left the door propped so they could see we were still gathering our stuff without the need for the bang.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That is probably why our experiences are so different - Hilton is the preferred company brand so most travelers just select them. If they have gone to that chain wide, that's probably why my coworkers experiences have been different.

Maybe, Hilton is our preferred company. My husband has stayed at several Hilton branded properties this year from Hilton to Embassy Suites and I believe a Doubletree and not had issues. He's also stayed at IHG branded ones and Marriott, but really my point was that a hotel policy like Hilton for example would not the same as saying every place you've been to no housekeeper in sight which means you're not getting housekeeping. The experiences we've had and what my husband has had traveling and his coworkers isn't coming down to Hilton or not. Maybe your coworkers were unaware of the place they stayed at and housekeeping policies. We didn't know the Hampton Inn at Disney we stayed at was like that until we saw a sign in our room. It wasn't however like we wouldn't be getting housekeeping daily, if that's what we wanted we just had to tell them.

ETA: re-reading your comment and my guess is like you mentioned they book mostly Hilton is just not realizing if you need to call or not for housekeeping. It's been a while since I checked but the really high end like Waldorf Astoria may be different. I do think if the hotel property is under the "call if you want housekeeping" they should be a bit more loud about it but the cynic part of me figures there's a reason they aren't.

 

[robinb]

I must admit that's a detail that sorta floors me that people are actually unhooking the phones and that it's an advice given out commonly enough that has made its way through the grapevine on how not to be bothered by "when are you checking out" questions.

It's either that or you get a mystery phone call where the person on the other line hangs up on you when you answer. That has happened to me multiple times (admittedly, over 25 years), INCLUDING the my stay last month. Obviously, I forgot to disconnect the phone.