Check Out Day Hang Up Phone Calls at BW

[DVCajun]

Good grief! I haven't experienced this yet (at least I don't remember it if I have) but if it happened repeatedly on the same morning I would be one ticked off DVCer!!! I am taking this to heart, however, and making sure I tell the front desk that we don't want calls and also leaving a "do not disturb" sign on our door.

Jon, I don't know that I agree with you about the management instructions. I believe the housekeeping staff is probably instructed to keep a close eye on the rooms scheduled to change hands that day and they are taking the "easy" route by calling to see if you're still there. Sounds like one of those lazy solutions to me. I think the note to housekeeping the day before checkout might work, but I would personally be wary of ticking off the housekeeper while she's alone in our room.

Yikes!!

 

[mikesmom]

At Vero, they leave you a note that asks you to call as you leave. A very nice solution, I think.

That being said, in three trips total to BWV we have never been called or had a knock on the door on check out day. And traveling with teenagers, we generally checkout at about 10:58 AM. LOL.

 

[pentex]

We got two of those calls on the day of our departure at BWV. I never even put two and two together until I read these boards. It never happened to us at OKW, where is where we stay all the time.

I feel I shouldn't have to leave my phone off the hook for privacy. What if there was an emergency at home and someone had to call me?

That is just plain rude and they should NOT be doing it. If checkout time is 11:00, they could call at 11:00 but not before.

 

[JonHM]

Your reaction was the same as my initial reaction when I read the first post or two on this thread. But after reading more and more posts, my point was that the problem seems SO widespread, that saying that it's coincidence that ALL these different housekeepers, at different resorts, have employed the *exact* same tactics just started to seem like something of a stretch.

But in any case, *wherever* the fault lies, with housekeeping or with housekeeping management, I still think that contacting member services about it would be the best way to proceed. They would contact whoever should be responsible for it (housekeeping management) and would eventually recognize a pattern of a continued problem if they continued receiving such complaints even after they had repeatedly passed on such complaints to management.

By the way, I wasn't saying that I was SURE where the fault lay, just that it *could* lay with a supervisor up the chain from the housekeeping person who loses the tip. If that were the case, then the loss of tip would be hurting the completely wrong person. But I *certainly* wasn't saying that I was sure that it wasn't the fault of the housekeepers themselves. I don't think any of us could answer that for sure.

 

[Figaro30]

I can't believe that so many people has had this happen to them. Our first trip is in November and I will be sure to mention when we check in that if anybody bothers us on the day of checkout, ie., housekeeping, mysterious hangs up....that I will be sure to complain and housekeeping WON'T be getting a tip for the two rooms we'll be using those 8 days!!! This is really irritating to think that they do this. If they want us out of the room early then they should give some incentive to doing that. Perhaps a free breakfast on the day of checkout not to be used after 10:00pm. That would get me out of bed early on our last day!

 

[Lesley]

The free breakfast idea is an interesting one, but many people would then go to breakfast early before checking out and then head back to the room to pack!

On our next trip we'll be changing rooms twice, so I'll see what happens on out first 2 check out days...regardless of what happens I will definitely use the Do Not Disturb sign (actually we always keep it out) and request no calls on out last morning because we have a long drive ahead of us and will need the rest!

Why don't they start the DVC housekeepers at 10am rather than 8? Seems to me that would give them plenty of time to do the rooms that have been vacated early without disturbing those who don't leave until 11. They could also ask you at check in your approximate time of check out and pass that info along to housekeeping. I can see where a "please call housekeeping when you leave" request might not work because many guests would forget to do it.

 

[Minnietta]

We were at OKW in July and housekeeping knocked on our door at 8:30am to ask when we were leaving. We were already up but I would have been really irritated had we not been! Same thing happened in Dec when we were there. I was disappointed in the condition of the room compared to the room we had had in Dec......had to be next in line to be refurbished! Also, on our confirmation letter they had typed in when our Trash & Towel day was....it was the wrong day. I did the housekeeping and laundered the towels on the day they came so there was nothing for them to do and then they refused to come on the next day, which was the day my confirmation letter said. Oh well......we still had a great time!!

 

[Figaro30]

As far as the breakfast thing.....they could give you the coupon for the free breakfast (for 2 people mind you) if and when you check out early!! That would assure that nobody would eat and then go back up to take a nap!!!

 

[JonHM]

At most hotels, I get housekeeping knocking on my door really really early *every* day that I'm in the room, if I don't put up the do not disturb sign. Not WDW hotels, just hotels in general. BUT I have NEVER had the hang up phone calls that everyone has been talking about, and which I think are the real issue.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We had one of these phone calls about 8:30 am on check out day when we were at BWV in mid-July. As others have noted, we knew what was going on from discussions in this forum. I then put out the "Do not disturb" sign, better late than never .

In the "old" days of many years ago, a guest had to check out at the front desk and settle the bill. This indicated that the room was (or soon would be) empty. With express check-out being essentially universal (I don't think I've visited a front desk for check out in at least 5 years, probably more) there needs to be some way to notify Housekeeping that the room is now empty and available for cleaning. When we stayed at VB in January and at the Disney Institute in March 2000, our express check out/bill included a number for us to call when we vacated the room. In each case, this was a direct line to Housekeeping who then logged that the room was empty. I didn't mind making this call in return for not being disturbed on our last morning.

One difference at the DVC resorts compared to standard hotel operations is the lack of daily housekeeping services for all guests. In a more conventional hotel operation, there are usually a number of guests who have hung the "Please service room" sign on the door when they have gone out for the day, notifying the housekeepers that the room is available for service. These may keep the staff busy until check-out time, at which point they can address the newly vacated rooms. If someone leaves earlier than the posted check-out time, staff has additional time to get to that room, but they are unlikely to be idle in the meantime because of other guests requesting earlier attention. I know we usually try to remember to hang such a sign when there is one in the hope that out room will have been done by the time we return.

Ralph

 

[baileybrad]

Hang-up calls by housekeeping on check-out day is wrong. And, obviously, bothering guests on their last morning of their stay is totally improper and in no way be defended....so it appears that the housekeeping management just refuses to believe that it really is happening. The other side of the coin is that the sooner that they get into the room to clean the better "chance" that someone gets to check-in early. A note advising you to simply call housekeeping on your way out the door similar to what is done at Vero would great. I sometimes think that the language disconnect that exists for many members of housekeeping does not help with communicating with the guests about many things, this hassle of soon-to-be departing guests. We have not experienced this at HH.

 

[KNWVIKING]

In the half dozen or so DVC trips we've made since '98 to OKW,BWV and HH, we have never been given our room prior to 4:00 pm - and we go in the off-season. And every time we've checked in early they state very emphatically that check-in is 4:00pm just to be sure we understand that 4:00 pm is when we get our room...yada,yada,yada. So as far as I'm concerned the room is MINE till 11:00 and I don't appriciate house keeping knocking on my door or ringing my phone. Someone mentioned earlier about having the mystery phone calls traced- whats the point,they are calling from house phones,not phones located in housekeeping.

Bottom line is that they probably don't have enough staff to service all the rooms in the 5 hours between 11:00 and 4:00 so they try to get a head start. Hiring additional staff would increase our dues. I think it is unreasonable for WDW to expect guest to vacate their rooms prior to 11:00 and hang up phone calls very rude and unprofessional but I think guests should inform housekeeping when they do leave.It's in all our best interest.

 

[A1A1]

For those who received the hang-ups:



Did their tactic work? Did you leave your room any earlier than you were planning to as a result of the hang-up?

 

[pentex]

For me, the answer is no. I didn't even think it meant anything until I realized it happened to all these other people.

I'm sure it doesn't make anyone leave earlier. It's a stupid and inappropriate practice.

 

[baileybrad]

We all agree that check-out is 11:00 am and official is 4:00 pm. We have gotten into our rooms at various times. As early as 1:00 pm and as late as 4:15 pm and this covers about 8 trips. So when a room is cleaned might help someone else get in early. But I repeat that bothering guests on the last day is a practise that cannot be defended and is improper in every instance.

 

[A1A1]

This is exactly my point:

The practice of hanging up on departing guests does not cause them to hurry up to check out, it does nothing more thanannoy, anger, and disturb.

Management must be aware of the practice, eventhough they have implied that they did not. This is a regular or accepted practice apparently. How is this allowed to continue? Each of us must report these calls to management in order to get them to stop. It happened to me as well, but like most I didn't do anything about it. I have even had the maids pounding o the door with the do not disturb sign on the door. What is it? What else can we do?

 

[pentex]

I'm with you A1A1. Like I said, I never put 2 and 2 together until reading on this board. Now, even though it's 9 months later, I am going to send an e-mail over to them telling them what happened and how I feel. You are right that we all have to speak up or nothing will ever be done.

 

[DebbieB]

Did their tactic work? Did you leave your room any earlier than you were planning to as a result of the hang-up?

I really don't think it's a tactic to get people to leave earlier. I sure never left earlier because of it. They are trying to find out who has left so that they can start working on the rooms. With express check-out, the front desk does not know who has checked out like in other hotels. I think that a simple solution is to leave a note card by the phone saying "as a courtesy, please call x.... when you check out of the room". Leave a VM the night before as a reminder. But don't keep hanging up or knocking on the door in the morning!

 

[pentex]

I never thought of it that way, Debbie B, but you may be right. I just assumed the worst, but maybe they are just checking to see where they can clean.

In any case, there still is no reason to hang up on someone! They could just say who they are and why they are calling.....

I don't know, but I just think there is no reason whatsoever for them to call/knock on doors before 11 am.

We never experienced this at OKW and since that's where we stay most often, I hope it doesn't change to this practice.

 

[Halle]

We have never had the calls at OKW or BWV but we did at All Stars. We checked in at 1:30AM and left the do not disturb sign on the door. My DH, DD and I went to the food court and when we returned to the rooms( 2 adjoining) our sons told us that they had been called and that housekeeping had knocked on the door 2X, within 10Min of our arrival back to the room we had yet another knock on the door!!! Outrageous, now we just use our points even when arrive at a late hour.