Caution: A of A overzealous housekeeping

[vakamalua]

We stayed at A of A for one night before our Fantasy cruise last week. Our large bags were picked up at 8:45 am for the cruise. We then went to breakfast leaving our carry-on bag in the room and items in the safe. When we returned 15 minutes BEFORE the 11:00 check-out time, our key had been deactivated. When we tracked down the housekeeper, we discovered that he had turned over our room more than an hour before check-out time and had taken our carry-on bag with him; it was still in his possession! We retrieved everything but reported him to the manager. A good reminder to always leave valuables in the safe...

 

[Baliezer]

Wow! I would have been furious. Good thing you reported him.

 

[DebbieB]

We stayed at A of A for one night before our Fantasy cruise last week. Our large bags were picked up at 8:45 am for the cruise. We then went to breakfast leaving our carry-on bag in the room and items in the safe. When we returned 15 minutes BEFORE the 11:00 check-out time, our key had been deactivated. When we tracked down the housekeeper, we discovered that he had turned over our room more than an hour before check-out time and had taken our carry-on bag with him; it was still in his possession! We retrieved everything but reported him to the manager. A good reminder to always leave valuables in the safe...

Did you put the privacy sign on the door?

 

[Srbright]

Did you put the privacy sign on the door?

Why should they have to put the privacy sign on the door for a room they had a legal right to until 11 am AND still contained their possessions? Cleaning the room I understand but actually removing their belongings?

Stacy

 

[goofy4tink]

Why should they have to put the privacy sign on the door for a room they had a legal right to until 11 am AND still contained their possessions? Cleaning the room I understand but actually removing their belongings?

Stacy

Should they 'have to'? No, absolutely not. BUT...I put my privacy sign out no matter what on the day of departure!! No matter where I'm staying. Yes, you have the right to be in a room right up until checkout time, but stuff happens. I don't want any chances of that happening, or of housekeeping continually knocking on my door...which they do at WDW. They start knocking at 8am...and come back every 15-20 mins to see if you're gone yet!!! Drives me nuts. Now I just hang out my 'privacy please' hanger and no one bothers me.

 

[shoney]

Why should they have to put the privacy sign on the door for a room they had a legal right to until 11 am AND still contained their possessions? Cleaning the room I understand but actually removing their belongings?

Stacy

they should never clean a room on check out day before someone checks out.

I wouldn't want to check into a room that someone occupied AFTER it was cleaned! That's gross!

 

[gwynne]

Did you put the privacy sign on the door?

That was my first thought. Maybe OP shouldn't have to do this, but the privacy sign is an easy fix that avoids misunderstandings.

 

[DebbieB]

they should never clean a room on check out day before someone checks out.

I wouldn't want to check into a room that someone occupied AFTER it was cleaned! That's gross!

Disney does not have a formal checkout process. You just leave. Housekeeping keeps checking the room to see if you have left. If you have the sign out, they know you are still there. If they waited until 11:00 to start cleaning rooms, they would never get them all cleaned by 3:00 or 4:00. In the OP's case, maybe they thought the bag was forgotten. They should have a notification system for checkout.

 

[shoney]

Disney does not have a formal checkout process. You just leave. Housekeeping keeps checking the room to see if you have left. If you have the sign out, they know you are still there. If they waited until 11:00 to start cleaning rooms, they would never get them all cleaned by 3:00 or 4:00. In the OP's case, maybe they thought the bag was forgotten. They should have a notification system for checkout.

Most hotels/resorts do not have formal check out anymore.
I agree they should have some sort of way to notify housekeeping that rooms are ready to be cleaned.

A room should never be cleaned before the occupants leave for good. If they did think they were gone, it was a mistake and a flaw in the system. Not the fault of the OP, if it was before check out time.


We do usually put out the sign on check out day wherever we are, because housekeeping does start knocking early.

 

[squirrel4569]

A similar thing happened to my mom at Pop back in 2010. Her flight wasn't until 3 so she went to breakfast with us at CRT and then went back to Pop to get her stuff and get on ME and go home. She came back and her room was cleaned and all of her stuff was gone. She was able to track it down with the help of the front desk but she was rather upset that they had taken that liberty. I don't think she bothered with the privacy sign because she didn't think they would clean the room until after checkout.

Personally I put the privacy sign up all the time. They deliver new towels and toiletries everyday via a bag on the door and will come to change the linens if you request it. I used to travel for work and have had things stolen by housekeepers (not at Disney) so I'm a bit paranoid about it. It drives my wife crazy but I'd rather not have my things disappear. Even something like this situation where nothing was taken but it was a huge hassle is something I'd rather avoid.

 

[bumbershoot]

That was my first thought. Maybe OP shouldn't have to do this, but the privacy sign is an easy fix that avoids misunderstandings.

Disney does not have a formal checkout process. You just leave. Housekeeping keeps checking the room to see if you have left. If you have the sign out, they know you are still there.

Yep. The housekeeper probably saw them leaving and just assumed.

 

[hockeymom3]

Yep. The housekeeper probably saw them leaving and just assumed.

Assuming he saw them leave and decided to check the room, as soon as he opened door and saw bags he then should have assumed they weren't gone and shut the door.

 

[TDC Nala]

You absolutely need to put the privacy sign on the door. If you don't have it on there they may show up to clean at any time. They will not wait until after 11. I know I definitely have to put it up on a check-out day because if I do not, they will show up and start knocking on the door before 9 AM. And I find that to be true no matter which resort I am staying at.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Especially true with express check out..... You get your bill under the door early am, and you just leave...... No stopping at the front desk saying you're leaving.... Maybe to stop this they should have a tab like the do not disturb sign that says "checked out"...

 

[2Tiggies]

I agree with the Do Not Disturb sign being on the door. I guess they can't win: for guests who need early check in it's seen as a feather in Disney's cap when a room is ready early; for those, like us, who arrange a late check out, it puts added pressure on Mousekeeping to turn those rooms in time. We leave our sign on our door permanently and actually just remove it every second or third day when we want the room serviced so it's become habit to have to try remember to take it off, rather than to put it on. We returned to our room around 1.30 am last September having been out since RD and removed the sign for the room to be cleaned. It was clean and none of our things were touched but we came back to a door hinged open with the catch stopping it from closing. Going by the time that our room had been cleaned on previous days that stay, it had probably been like that for well over 12 hours

 

[vakamalua]

Privacy sign or not, PRIOR to check-out time, housekeeping should not assume that a guest has not checked out if they open the door and find personal belongings in the room and items locked in the safe. My real concern was that the housekeeper removed our belongings and was in possession of them for over an hour before we returned to the room without notifying the front desk. The front desk asks for a cell phone number at check-in and could have called us to check on our status.

When we talked to the manager, she was very upset and agreed that the housekeeper had violated protocol.

 

[fla4fun]

I would also recommend that no matter what hotel you are staying in, that you leave the privacy sign on the door until you are ready to take the last of your belongings out of the room. Most hotels these days don't require a trip to the front desk to check out, and the housekeeper has no way of knowing if the one carry on bag in the room is there because you are coming back, or because you forgot it. Why take the chance? Leaving the sign up is a clear indication that you have NOT checked out. Assuming that you had the privacy sign on the door the previous night (I certainly do) it doesn't require any effort on your part to leave it there until you leave the room for the last time.

I agree that keeping a potentially "forgotten" bag with them was a poor choice on the part of the housekeeper though. Anything like that which is legitimately left behind should immediately be reported and collected for lost and found. If you had left the bag behind and called in a panic from the airport, no one would have known that the bag was trailing the housekeeper on their rounds - and that is unacceptable.