Fill in the blank...

[WebmasterCricket]

"At SSR, your room is guaranteed _____ 4:00."

No it's not a trick question :)

[WebmasterCricket]

Anyone, really :)

You don't have to know the correct answer, just say what you think it is. I was wrong, I just want to see what others think is right.

[Doctor P]

I believe the answer is "after".

[Deemarch]

That was always my impression, anyway.

[cobbler]

After?

[LIFERBABE]

My Confirmation for this Sunday says After.

Check out Time is 11:00 am.

I think they should capitalize the After and Is

[WebmasterCricket]

The correct answer is "After".

My question to that is, what exactly is the guarantee? If they never gave out rooms before 4:00, that would make the term valid, but since this is not the case, the term makes no sense. Taking it as it is written, you could get your room at 11:59 PM and they would still be within the "guarantee" time limitation.

What is the point of saying "4:00"? The time becomes irrelevant. Why not just say, "We guarantee you to get your room sooner or later".

Why is the answer to my original question not "by"?

[Granny]

Why is the answer to my original question not "by"?Probably because it depends on how many and how early the guests checking out that day leave their villas, and how many people are checking in.

I agree, it is kind of a meaningless statement. I think it's there to set an expectation that rooms won't be readily available before then. Our experience has been that we got into our rooms before noon 40% of the time, right at 4:00 40% of the time, and after 4:00 20% of the time.

[WebmasterCricket]

I think it's there to set an expectation that rooms won't be readily available before then.

But rooms are ready before then, so the term is completely meaningless. It has no truth to it whatsoever. Unfortunately, it does set expectations that rooms will be ready by/at that time. Otherwise, what purpose does the time reference serve other than to mislead us?

[spiceycat]

when we didn't get a villa until 5 pm once (arrive at 7am that morning) they say it says 'AFTER'

so in cases where they can't get you in the villa until after 4 pm - they have a way out - so we can't demand that we get that night free - because they reservations says after 4pm...

[bobbiwoz]

We have been very fortunate, the only time that our room wasn't ready until AFTER 4 was when we had a 2 bedroom, and the studio portion actually was ready and they gave us the key to that.

I just checked the Pop century ressie that we have and sure enough, it says "Check in after 3PM, check out before 11 AM."

Oh well, at least they don't make us line up after 4PM for a check-in, that would be horrendous!

Bobbi

[Deb & Bill]

Shoot, we didn't have the previous guests move out until AFTER 4:00PM on Jan 1. And then they still had to clean the room. It was a mess. We were lucky we got in by 5:30PM.

Actually, it's probably to keep new guests from bothering them numerous times until after 4PM to see if their room is ready. Otherwise, guests would keep asking, is my room ready - at 11AM, noon, 1:30P, etc. At least the guests know that the earliest their room should be ready is by 4PM.

[WebmasterDoc]

Early-on, the Disney confirmation letters stated "Check-in is at 4:00pm" - and they were pretty adamant about that time- not allowing guests to get their room an earlier even if ready.

At one point at OKW, they had an express check-in for members with a separate desk where the portfolios were already prepared and rooms were often ready early. You could even request an "early arrival" and pick up your resort materials/free passes/room ids at a pre-specified time (pre-specified by the member).

As DVC grew and most check-ins were members, the express concept disappeared (without fanfare) as did the special member's checkin area. (If 90% of the checkins were members, the need for a "special" desk disappeared- especially from a logistical viewpoint.)

At this point, I look at the "after 4:00pm" policy as a subtle reminder and a cop out. While they are very willing. at this time, to allow us into rooms earlier when possible, the "after" component of the policy serves now as an
"explanation" for those occasions when a room is truly not available earlier in the day.

I've never heard them have any issue with checkouts prior to 11:00am though! :smooth:

[DrTomorrow]

Probably because it depends on how many and how early the guests checking out that day leave their villas, and how many people are checking in.

I agree, it is kind of a meaningless statement. I think it's there to set an expectation that rooms won't be readily available before then. Our experience has been that we got into our rooms before noon 40% of the time, right at 4:00 40% of the time, and after 4:00 20% of the time.

1. I was going to tell Cricket that the word "guarantee" shouldn't be there! :lmao: :rolleyes1 I'd suggest to Disney that they strike this word from the corporate lexicon - requests aren't guaranteed, dining ressies are guaranteed - heck, even park admission isn't guaranteed!

2. Agree with Granny - it also matters what day of the week it is. I bet a LOT of folks check out on Friday to avoid the point cost, so a lot more rooms need a full clean.

3. Agree with Granny even more about expectations. As I learned in the "Do FastPasses Expire?" thread on Theme Parks, there are many folks who will parse Disney documents with a scalpel and pounce on any linguistic vagueness (and Disney LOVES to be vague). In this case, if Disney said "by" 4:00 PM then people would start to show up earlier and earlier, the better to "work the system" and complain. (Disclaimer: we fly in and stay at a Studio the first night, then go over to SSR to check in around 9 or 10 the next morning, but this is only because we're near useless on arrival day. We're happy with whatever room we get!)

Be well!

[WebmasterCricket]

Actually, it's probably to keep new guests from bothering them numerous times until after 4PM to see if their room is ready. Otherwise, guests would keep asking, is my room ready - at 11AM, noon, 1:30P, etc.



But that is exactly what the front desk says to do. Once it got closer to the time, even the people on the phone were saying "call back in 15 minutes" and it was well before 4:00.



1. I was going to tell Cricket that the word "guarantee" shouldn't be there!



If they removed the word "guaranteed", at least it would sort of make some sense. I still want to know where it states the terms of the "guarantee". Isn't that a very specific legal term? Also, why say 4:00? Why not 5:00 or 3:00 or for that matter 11:30? It's all arbitrary if there is no real guarantee. If a time is stated for whatever the purpose, whatever that time may be, a reasonable expectation is that something occurs at that time. In this case, nothing occurs. It’s just a point in time used as a reference of which nothing is derived.

[lisareniff]

What is the point of saying "4:00"? The time becomes irrelevant. Why not just say, "We guarantee you to get your room sooner or later".

Why is the answer to my original question not "by"?

:rotfl: :rotfl: Well put. I agree totally. It makes no sense.

[Dean]

The correct answer is "After".

My question to that is, what exactly is the guarantee? If they never gave out rooms before 4:00, that would make the term valid, but since this is not the case, the term makes no sense. Taking it as it is written, you could get your room at 11:59 PM and they would still be within the "guarantee" time limitation.

What is the point of saying "4:00"? The time becomes irrelevant. Why not just say, "We guarantee you to get your room sooner or later".

Why is the answer to my original question not "by"?As noted, it previously said at, I think it also said by 4 at one time. I agree with some of the sentiments above that it's sad that they changed the wording specifically to allow after 4 to be acceptable, sometimes well after.

[Sammie]

My confirmation says:

Check in after 4pm

Nothing about rooms being ready at any certain time?

Where are yall reading that?

[mamatojon]

If they removed the word "guaranteed", at least it would sort of make some sense. I still want to know where it states the terms of the "guarantee". Isn't that a very specific legal term?

I agree! This is one of my pet peeves, it seems in the hotel industry guarantee means "we'll try our best". My last confirmation actually said "GTD Non-Smoking" and I know for a fact from reading these boards that there is no way on earth that it was truly guaranteed. Why say "requests are only requests and not guaranteed" and then put "GTD" on the ressie?

[lisareniff]

My confirmation says:

Check in after 4pm

Nothing about rooms being ready at any certain time?



Wouldn't it be really nice if it did?

As it is now, that 'check in after 4pm' means nothing. It may set expectations but has no meaning as to when you will get your room.

[KPetty725]

I have worked in the hospitality industry for many years, and all resorts set a check-in/out time. This gives Guests an idea of when rooms are expected to be ready for them to enter into and what time they are expected to leave by (if they don't want to incur any type of late c/o fee). Terminology is very important because it does give the resort "wiggle" room if something happens and they are not able to provide the room that you wanted at the time you wanted it (obviously, they would prefer to give you everything you want, b/c then you'd be happy and more likely to return!).

By using the word "guarantee," the hotel is stating that you have entered into a contractual agreement with them that you will exchange money/voucher/etc for a room. Where that room is, when you will receive it, or any other detail is negotiable. For example, if you have a reservation at WDW for a specific time, you are guaranteed a room. If a watermain breaks and half the rooms at one resort are unble to be occupied, they will move you to as comparable a resort as possible. Since WDW has so many resorts to chose from, the likelyhood of that room being off property is slim to none, but HH is a different story. They are very limited and have been known to walk Guests to outside chains when problems have arisen.

The morale of the story is that the wording of confirmations is the resort's way of clarifying your expectations. Read every word carefully (especially the fine print!) and you'll be far less likely to be disappointed because you will have more realistic expectations about what you are purchasing!

All that being said, typically, the fewer requests you have, the more likely you are to get a room earlier than check-in time. If you have specific requests (non-smoking, pool view, first floor, away from elevators, etc.) then they have fewer rooms to chose from and you're more likely to be waiting around for housekeeping to get to that particular room/section. If you're completely open (or have only one request, like non-smoking), you'll probably get in faster. It's kind of like requesting the "first available" table at a crowded restaurant rather than specifying a smoking preference.

Hope this helps! princess:

[Barak's Disney]

"We guarantee you to get your room sooner or later".


:rotfl2: Do you think they will use this on any future marketing materials?

[spiceycat]

I remember differently.

You could check in early or leave later on your last day... but not both...

we always did the early check in.

I loved the express check in - your package was there and you could go to your room immediately or to the parks... it was GREAT!!! I really like that this express check in allowed you to check in over the phone. So everything was ready when you arrived....

Early-on, the Disney confirmation letters stated "Check-in is at 4:00pm" - and they were pretty adamant about that time- not allowing guests to get their room an earlier even if ready.

At one point at OKW, they had an express check-in for members with a separate desk where the portfolios were already prepared and rooms were often ready early. You could even request an "early arrival" and pick up your resort materials/free passes/room ids at a pre-specified time (pre-specified by the member).

[DrTomorrow]

I was surprised to see Disney go back to using the word "reservation" (the 'R' in ADR) instead of the term "priority seating" (PS). At least PS was accurate; all it meant was 'once you show up you're in the queue ahead of any walk-ups'. Despire the 'R', nothing is reserved in an ADR.

[Dean]

Pat, it's been a while since they would allow a late check out. They formally and specifically did away with this in the late 90's. I'm certain it was never formally tied to an either or option, both were on a case by case basis.

[LSchrow]

my check-in is "after 4PM" on 8/27/06.
soooooo, all is okay if my room is not ready until, say, november?

;)