Guest experiences with daily room checks

Status
Not open for further replies.
We only had luggage services come to our room unexpectedly while we were in the room napping at AoA in late April. We also had mousekeeping visits each day.

It dawned on me that it would be pretty easy for them to know if we're in the room or not by checking our magicband activity; if we just entered EPCOT an hour ago, it's unlikely that we'd be in the room.
 
I must have been one of the very first to experience this "room-check" stuff. I stayed at Pop in Jan for a 12-day solo trip and had the frightening experience of someone trying to enter my room while I was showering. When I complained about this at the front desk, I was told it was a "safety and wellness check" and that it had to be done on a daily basis. There was absolutely no heads-up on this when I had checked in. Being a woman alone AND hearing-impaired, I let it be known that I might not hear the door knock. So they literally contacted me on my phone every single day to ask if I was out of the room. The whole thing was very annoying.
 
We were out all day most of the time, but housekeeping came at 8am a couple of days but said she'd come back later. If we were room checked I don't know about it.
 
We did a 3-resort DVC split stay September 19-30th.

-Nights 1-2 at Polynesian Bungalows: Room was not ready until 4:00pm. No one disturbed us this evening. We did order Twilight Feast room service. Day 2 we were disturbed while husband and I were sharing the bathroom’s spa tub in the late afternoon. Husband robed to answer the door to a man wanting to change the air filters. Husband told him we were checking out next day, he could come back then. Checking out next day around 11:00am, I stayed in the room with the bags as husband called for them to be picked up while he moved the car. Without looking, I opened the door to someone knocking soon after, expecting the luggage attendant; but it was the maintenance man again. I let him in, he went into the first bedroom with a cart, closed the door, and proceeded to make a lot of loud banging noises. He was still there when I left.

-Night 3 at AKL Jambo Concierge: No disturbances as it was just the one night.

-Remaining nights at BWV: No rude intrusions. We were out most days by mid morning and returned sporadically throughout the afternoon and evenings. Trash removal and scheduled housekeeping had already been performed upon our return each day except one. We were there that day when trash removal occurred; but we were just lounging and watching TV. Per usual, on our last morning, housekeeping wanted to clean the room much earlier than our check-out time so I asked them to return after 11:00am, which they did.

ETA: Upon further conversation with my husband, I need to make a correction re our bungalow stay. We were actually disturbed twice. I was in the plunge pool late morning when my husband turned away the maintenance man. A man came for trash removal while we were in the spa tub. My husband closed the door to our bedroom and reluctantly allowed him to collect the trash in the rest of the bungalow, letting him know he was disturbing our getting ready to go out for the evening.
 
Last edited:


Just spent September 29-October 3 at BCV. We probably spent about 2 hours each afternoon in the room (it was hot) each day, and didn't usually leave the room until closer to 10:30 am each day, and we were never once bothered by the security checks, although our trash was taken out each day so they must have come at some point. This is our 4th full trip since these inspections were implemented and over those 4 trips only one time have we ever encountered the room check personnel, which we expected because my husband had been in the room for well over 24 hours without coming out as he was sick and we didn't want to expose anyone.
 
10/1-10/6 was our last stay, we had 1 room check where we were actually in the room to witness it
Guy (not housekeeping) poked his head in, said "everything okay?" and then left when we said yes
Our trash was actually never taken out, which was odd
 
We just got home from five nights at Boulder Ridge Villas on DVC points. We usually left the villa about 10AM and returned around 2 or 3PM. We never saw the cast member doing the daily room checks. They only took our recyclables, not the other trash in the villa. On day 4, we got all the trash removed and our towels replaced per DVC procedures. We didn't see that CM either.
 


We had this after the marathon in January at Pop. After being up since 2:00 am and being very sore and tired, it was annoying to have them come in. The inspection itself was super fast. I don’t remember any inspection in April after dark side, but I was done faster since it was only a half marathon and I could be out of the room for mousekeeping.
 
We were in three studios at Saratoga Springs from October 10 to 17. Two rooms had Room Occupied signs, but ours did not. We left the rooms at various times between 9:00 and 11:30 and returned around 4:00 or so to get ready for the evening. Trash was removed every day while we were out - we were never disturbed. I called housekeeping on the 4th day of our stay to confirm trash and towel service and asked that it be done earlier in the day. They were happy to accommodate. No issues at all.
 
Stayed at Pop earlier this week, Sun-Wed. Third time this year. Opted out of mousekeeping each trip ..no issues whatsoever. We left the room by 9am each day, returned late afternoon for a brief rest before heading back out. No knocks, no disturbances or interruptions. Called down a few times for more coffee or towels, delivered promptly without an issue.
 
We stayed at POFQ Oct11-14. Had daily housekeeping. Did not have any other room inspection that I know of. Left the room around 7:30 each morning, back in the afternoon for a rest, and then out again around supper time. No issues.
Moved to Poly Oct14-18. Had daily housekeeping. They came to make up the room at different times each day. Sometimes we were there, sometimes not. Did not have any other room inspections that I know of.
 
My DH and I returned Sunday from a 8 night stay at BWV. We had and used the RO sign and engaged the security latch whenever we were in the room, and removed the RO sign when leaving the room. We always sleep in and have breakfast and leisurely enjoy several cups of coffee on the balcony. We requested to change rooms after 2 nights since first room had a solid balcony that blocked the view of the lake/boardwalk while sitting. The morning after we moved at about 9 am, HK came to do a full clean of the new room. I explained we had just moved, she really wanted to clean but I accepted fresh towels and coffee supplies and she left. Due to the early hour of her visit, I called HK to ask to meet with a housekeeping manager. A manager named Kristin came up to our room within 20 minutes. I requested our room checks be done between 11-3, and she agreed. I asked her also why we were scheduled for a full clean day 2 of being in the second room. She apologized and said when there is a room change, the room assigner has to note that fact in the system correctly to alert HK to change the schedule and that sometimes doesn’t happen correctly which was what happened to us.

The rest of our stay we did not receive knocks on the door while we were in the room with the RO sign up except for once. Another day we returned to the room before 2 and had the RO sign up so someone called and asked when they could take the trash. I asked for them to come back in 30 minutes when we planned to go down to swim. It’s great to schedule a time for the visit but not ideal if your plans change even a little. The first 2 days the kitchen trash was removed but not the 2 trash cans in the bath room. It also appeared to me that the closet door was opened once when we were out of the room. We found having to engage the security latch was inconvenient when DH worked out in the gym and I was on the balcony as I could not hear him knock or call out. He joked to other guests passing by that I locked him out but he wasn’t really amused.
 
Forgot to add two other things:

In addition to housekeepers we observed a middle age man in official looking business attire with a small computer or notebook device knocking quietly and discreetly on room doors on our way to the elevator in our floor. We passed by before seeing whether he entered rooms or not.

We had 2 maintenance issues in the 2nd room (broken curtain rod and a bulb that was burned out) so I called maintenance to report them. We were told to make sure the RO sign was not on the door. They didn’t say why and I didn’t ask but presumably a RO sign on the door may have delayed having the issues taken care of.
 
Stayed at All Star Sports this past Sun-this morning. Had daily housekeeping. Left late morning every day & closed the parks except our last full day on Thurs. We hung around the resort all day. Left RO sign up. Nice fella knocked around 4. We were just chillin' in the room for a bit. We answered the knock. He didn't try to come in before we answered. He asked if we needed housekeeping & when we said we didn't, he said he needed to do a quick security check. He walked back to the bathroom, looked around, came back out & wished us a magical day!
 
Stayed at Pop Century last week. I wasn't asked if I wanted to decline housekeeping or not and totally forgot until we got back to the room the first evening and figured it was too late at that point. Daily the mouse keepers came in except for Thursday which was our MNSSHP day. We decided to take it easy and wait til late afternoon to leave. Between 1 and 2 pm we had a knock on the door. My boyfriend and I were right there so I said "One second" so he could go answer the door. Another forceful bang on the door, so louder I said "JUST A MINUTE!" as he went to open it. Immediately the guy "Said oh sorry... Maintenance. We were just going to come collect your old router but we will come back later." and left. When we left the room a little after 3 pm we could see and hear other "maintenance" people knocking on doors for room checks. I don't understand why they aren't just honest and say what they are really there for, very odd experience.
 
Last edited:
Nine nights at Beach Club Villas (on points) with no issue. There was a “card” on the bed at check-in explaining they’d need to access the room daily. We were at the end of the hall so perhaps last on the list anyway but were in the room each day until ~10am and back ~4 with no issue. Trash was emptied each day but one. There was not a room occupied sign in the room on the first day so I just left a note asking for one and they left it the next day and we used it when in the room for remainder of stay.
 
I am currently staying in all star sports. Despite having a hotel off property my partner was keen for us to stay on property while attending the Halloween party 30th and 31st. I was not made Aware of the room inspection policy. After arriving back late from the Halloween party on the 30th we decided to sleep in late. We refused housekeeping but around midday a I heard a knock at the door. Originally I thought it was the neighbours door and didn’t move initially to answer it. I was shocked when a cast member/house keeping let themselves in simply announcing room inspection! My partner was in the shower at the time and this member of staff walked around the room checking down the side of the bed. I was offered no explanation. This is the first time I have come across this and felt so degraded. Im 42 years old and it felt like I was back living at home with my parents. I did a little bit of research and now understand the reason behind it. It was the lack of information and the way it left me feeling. We are a couple travelling and my first reaction was to consider going back to our base hotel. I understand the reason behind it but it still makes very unnerved by it. Usually I like housekeeping daily, knowing I have a tidy room to come back to is a little bit of heaven, but a room inspection for me personally is to far.
 
We had a negative experience with these last week at POFQ. They knock once then try to enter before you can respond. We kept the door latched except when one of us was out. They barged in several times, and reacted really awkwardly to my husband having his shirt off. Once while he was napping. Another time he answered it because they had already tried to enter three times and failed due to the latch. I had just gotten out of the shower, and he informed them of this. They had the nerve to ask how long I needed to get dressed! We just told them to come back when we had an ADR that afternoon. My husband said the way they checked the room made him feel like he had committed a crime and was hiding a body. None of the room check staff was at all personable or friendly about it- a stark contrast to every other resort cast member we encountered. It was extremely intrusive and frustrating that they don't utilize their own technology to know when guests are out of the room. We put the sign up when we were in the room and took it down when we went out. There has to be a better way to manage this, and the customer service element needs vastly improved. Guests should not feel awkward or ashamed for being in the rooms they paid for or using them for showering or sleeping. After this experience I would definitely not recommend a Disney property for adults looking for any level of privacy.

ETA: May have been coincidental, but we we also had to let staff enter to replace the glasses in the room with a new style. Thankfully, when a crew came around to replace the tissue box cover with a new style they let me do it for them while my husband slept.
 
I just returned from a five-night stay at the All-Star Music resort. I did not have any problems with room checks. I was out of my room by 11 AM each day and took the "room occupied" sign off the door each time I left. The first four days I was there, housekeeping serviced the room and I believe that counted as a room check. The fifth day, I chose not to have housekeeping and left the "room occupied" sign on the door all day (because I would be coming and going several times, between a breakfast reservation at another resort and then park-hopping between two parks). That day, I returned to my room in the middle of the afternoon and I'm pretty sure a room check had been done (as I am almost certain I had turned off all the lights when I left, but the switch by the door was on when I returned).

My advice if you want to avoid room checks would be to simply be out of your room by 11 each day and have housekeeping service your room. Take down the "room occupied" sign when you leave. I did not have any issues with housekeeping knocking on my door or anything. Plus, my room was clean every night when I returned from the parks.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top