Why so few room reports??

[InstImpres]

I just went to check out the room reports before my VWL trip to know if I am happy with what they give me at checkin and was surprised to see only 10 reports. Is there a reason that number is so low?

Thanks
Sandy

[RweTHEREyet]

To be honest. I am not sure where to find the room reports. I wanted to do one when we came back from WLV in March, but not sure where do go post.

[KNWVIKING]

Aren't room reports mostly posted over on the trip report board ?

[InstImpres]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
Aren't room reports mostly posted over on the trip report board ?

I thought that was overall experiences. Here's the link for room specifics
http://www.wdwinfo.com/dvc/room.shtml

it sounds like my ansewer might that people don't know to post there

Any thoughts.
Thanks
Sandy

[WebmasterDoc]

While I would certainly encourage people to post room reports, I personally think they are of doubtful benefit.

I think most of us assume our rooms will be as expected and therefore have no need to report that the room was clean and had all supplies in place.

For the unusual circumstance where a room is not what we expect, the negative report is sometimes made but, in most cases, any problems were corrected while that guest was there (if they reported it) and certainly has been subsequently corrected- thus the report is outdated within a short while and may cause unneccesary concern. With the continual renovation of all DVC resorts, a room that had stained carpet last week may already have new carpet this week.

I'd rather see us use the reports to state what the view was like in a specific room, as I think that would be more useful information for others than our perception of room cleanliness.

[spiceycat]

Doc that is a wonderful idea - can it be changed?

[disneyberry]

yes, i agree, it would be really nice if people could state the view from the room. the view never changes (well unless Disney does something drastic to the landscaping), but cleanliness does change.

other things that don't change: distance from the elevators, how much natural lighting (sunlight) the room gets, etc.

oh yeah, and whether the room is HC accessible or not...

or if it's somehow different from other rooms, like it has vaulted ceilings, or a larger balcony, or :eek: no balcony at all!

(btw, in response to Deb & Bill... i think it's mostly just out of curiosity... just like why we find Doc's Room Configuration post so informative and interesting! )

[Deb & Bill]

But sinve most of us have learned not to make a request for a specific room and only a view, smoking preference or Handicap preference, what good does it do ahead of time to know about a specific room?

[WebmasterDoc]

Originally posted by Deb & Bill
But sinve most of us have learned not to make a request for a specific room and only a view, smoking preference or Handicap preference, what good does it do ahead of time to know about a specific room?

Good point! In this case, the information would provide insight into the view from a building or specific area of a resort and might allow requests to be a little more directed. (OKW-Golf course view- building 28-34 area ... or 3 floor pool view at BWV)

[Terry S]

I agree, the view, where it is in the resort as well as balcony configuration would be a great use of the room reports area.

[spiceycat]

besides this way - it would be easier to avoid those few bad rooms - you know the looking out on the building when you paid preferred view at BWV, or the supply station at VWL - OKW which airconditioning units are in the way - and which has been mostly my case - are there just not in the way of the view that I asked for, I haven't heard about a bad view at BCV - but I am sure there is one!
;)

when you check-in and they offer one of these rooms - you can say immediately what else do you have - than try after the fact to change rooms when the front desk wants to charge you for changing rooms - easier for everybody I would think!

[InstImpres]

Doc -

That would be great to list view, distance from elevator etc. - that's what I thought was included.

Thanks
Sandy

[WebmasterDoc]

You can already add a note to the report. To see the notes just click on the link (left side or the report) and you'll get the entire report.

The note can list distance to the elevator, view or any other pertinent info.

Enjoy!

[Granny]

The room report site already allows free text comments to be included. So they wouldn't even need to modify the site.

I have found two problems with the room report site:

1. When I returned from my trips last year, both times the site was broken and I couldn't post a report.

2. The reports themselves only stay up for 4 months. That's just not very long. So the database doesn't build, it disappears. If I had posted about my stays last summer, they would have been gone by the end of last year.


But room reports can be very good and interesting reading. There is currently one out there from "Karan" who writes a detailed report about Room 2530 indicating her concerns with her VWL 1BR, including pictures. While I can't say I ran into the issues she wrote about, and hate to see our beloved VWL bashed, she does provide some insight into the issues and how they were handled (or mishandled).

[disneyberry]

Originally posted by Granny
The room report site already allows free text comments to be included. So they wouldn't even need to modify the site.true. it would be nice though if there were a few data fields that prompted for info such as room view, distance from elevators, HC accessible or not, etc.
otherwise most people might not think to include that type of info. The reports themselves only stay up for 4 months. That's just not very long. So the database doesn't build, it disappears. wow, really? that's not good. can't there be a field to indicate the date that the room was reviewed? that way you'd know how old the info was.

well, Doc, don't know if you want to discuss the ideas in this thread w/ the powers that be... maybe some of them could be implemented in the future?

[WebmasterDoc]

Originally posted by disneyberry

well, Doc, don't know if you want to discuss the ideas in this thread w/ the powers that be... maybe some of them could be implemented in the future?

I'll be happy to see what I can do, however, unless the reports are used more, I have no "ammunition" to ask for any enhancements. Not much reason to spend time and resources upgrading a feature that gets so little use.

The 120 day limit is merely for the reasons I outlined above- the reports become very dated beyond that time- except for notes indicating view or other info.

If we see an increase in utilization- especially for reports about view, location within the resort, etc- there may be interest in expanding the feature.

Let's all see what we can do! :)

[disneyberry]

btw, if you wanted to enter a room report w/ view info, but your last trip was 1 or 2 years ago, what happens?

has anyone tried this? does the report show up?