Aggressive DVC Housekeeping Checkout Day

[Sammie]

I make a lot of excuses for Disney and DVC in particular, and I've accepted a lot of it and worked around some of it with Owner's Locker. The TP, no robes, rooms not ready, prewashing gross dishes, no daily housekeeping, the sad views, no room service, the toiletries, the mattresses, the linens. I can live with all that. Well, except the website, that's an embarrassment.

But banging on my door to force me up and ruin my last day on my expensive vacation was gross. There are a half-dozen solutions in this thread, like $20 in hang tags, but DVC just doesn't care. This thread is right. I am actually going to have to put a Post-it on my door that says I am leaving at 10:30, that's crazy. I wouldn't even consider this at any other hotel, I'd be furious someone entered my room at 8:55AM. But we all accept this as par for the course with DVC.

You truly must have some of the worst DVC luck, we have never experienced any of this in our over 22 years of owning. We rent timeshares all over the country and much of what you are upset about is standard for time shares. If I don't like the TP, I bring my own. Never have I gotten a robe at another timeshare. Never had dishes not clean at DVC. Never had houskeeping at all during the entire stay at other timeshares. I don't find the views sad, Do all the resorts have great views, no, but they offer more like location. Most have really good views. The only exception is BCV and it makes up for those views with other amenties. As to the mattresses, we liked it so much we bought one like it. Linens are similar to industry standard.
I really think you are expecting a hotel experience in a timeshare and that is not going to happen. Our room has never been entered as we keep the lock on every time we are in the room.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Next, we will get complaints about room not ready until after 6pm. Can't have it both ways.

Actually, you can have it both ways. Checkout is at 11 and check in is at 4. These are the terms we agreed to when we signed our contracts.

 

[FionaP]

Is this just a DVC thing? This has literally NEVER happened to me at any other Disney resort. And I've had a LOT of stays.

I have seen this at both DVC and non- DVC resorts since the reopen in July 2020. We were staying in one of the garden cottages at the Boardwalk (deluxe concierge level room) for 5 nights. Never had any housekeeping services with the exception of getting trash and towels one day (at 8 pm after calling 3 times throughout the day). However, the day we were checking out they were banging on the door at 8am! I don’t blame the housekeeping staff this due to limited staff, insufficient training, and poor management!

 

[RoseGold]

You truly must have some of the worst DVC luck, we have never experienced any of this in our over 22 years of owning. We rent timeshares all over the country and much of what you are upset about is standard for time shares. If I don't like the TP, I bring my own. Never have I gotten a robe at another timeshare. Never had dishes not clean at DVC. Never had houskeeping at all during the entire stay at other timeshares. I don't find the views sad, Do all the resorts have great views, no, but they offer more like location. Most have really good views. The only exception is BCV and it makes up for those views with other amenties. As to the mattresses, we liked it so much we bought one like it. Linens are similar to industry standard.
I really think you are expecting a hotel experience in a timeshare and that is not going to happen. Our room has never been entered as we keep the lock on every time we are in the room.

These are rooms that Disney can and does rent out for $800/night+. So, yea, I expect better than some mediocre timeshare experience. Most timeshares I would never set foot in, not to mention buy. And I own several DVC contracts.

I bought DVC knowing the limitations and knowing that this is not the standards of a "luxury" hotel. As I stated, I can live with most of these (except the embarrassing website). And most of them save me dues money, like the sad TP. As this thread has shown, DVC is consistently waking people up on their last night of vacation. IMO, that's gross. It's not the magical level of Disney service they used to advertise and even run management school about. I don't expect magic, but I do expect basic courtesy. This is a terrible way to leave your expensive vacation, hustled out with someone banging on your door hours early. I've never had it happen at any other hotel, and I've been in many. Somehow they all figured out how to do this, when Disney can't. I would be unhappy if this were an airport chain hotel, but it's worse in such expensive rooms obviously tied to an expensive vacation.

 

[New Mouse]

These are rooms that Disney can and does rent out for $800/night+. So, yea, I expect better than some mediocre timeshare experience. Most timeshares I would never set foot in, not to mention buy. And I own several DVC contracts.

I bought DVC knowing the limitations and knowing that this is not the standards of a "luxury" hotel. As I stated, I can live with most of these (except the embarrassing website). And most of them save me dues money, like the sad TP. As this thread has shown, DVC is consistently waking people up on their last night of vacation. IMO, that's gross. It's not the magical level of Disney service they used to advertise and even run management school about. I don't expect magic, but I do expect basic courtesy. This is a terrible way to leave your expensive vacation, hustled out with someone banging on your door hours early. I've never had it happen at any other hotel, and I've been in many. Somehow they all figured out how to do this, when Disney can't. I would be unhappy if this were an airport chain hotel, but it's worse in such expensive rooms obviously tied to an expensive vacation.

For $800 a night rooms they really need to get a second bed or sofa beds as well. Disney is king when it comes to premium pricing for poor quality.

 

[tjkraz]

I've never had it happen at any other hotel, and I've been in many. Somehow they all figured out how to do this, when Disney can't. I would be unhappy if this were an airport chain hotel, but it's worse in such expensive rooms obviously tied to an expensive vacation.

It's all about the occupancy level. At this point I can't tell if you're not understanding the difference or choosing to ignore it. But occupancy levels are THE critical difference between a hotel and timeshare.

Average hotel occupancy rate in the US is 65%. That means a 200-room hotel has--on average--70 rooms sitting vacant each night. This means 2 things:

- Each morning the hotel already has 70 rooms sitting empty, waiting for new arrivals
- There is little-to-no pressure to clean rooms that are being vacated because SEVENTY of them will not be needed that night for new arrivals

In the case of DVC, particularly resorts like Poly, VGF and Beach Club, every single room being vacated must be flipped by 4pm. It's a world of difference between how a hotel operates. Occupancy is EVERYTHING to this discussion.

 

[BeachClub2014]

It's all about the occupancy level. At this point I can't tell if you're not understanding the difference or choosing to ignore it. But occupancy levels are THE critical difference between a hotel and timeshare.

Average hotel occupancy rate in the US is 65%. That means a 200-room hotel has--on average--70 rooms sitting vacant each night. This means 2 things:

- Each morning the hotel already has 70 rooms sitting empty, waiting for new arrivals
- There is little-to-no pressure to clean rooms that are being vacated because SEVENTY of them will not be needed that night for new arrivals

In the case of DVC, particularly resorts like Poly, VGF and Beach Club, every single room being vacated must be flipped by 4pm. It's a world of difference between how a hotel operates. Occupancy is EVERYTHING to this discussion.

The occupancy issue is certainly one to consider, and I think it safe to assume that DVC management knows this as well. Given the occupancy rate is so high for the DVC rooms, management has the responsibility to operate the resort to meet the need. If checkout is at 11:00, then cleaning begins at 11:00. Disturbing guests while in their rooms doesn't seem like an appropriate management response to high occupancy and the need to flip rooms by 4:00.

 

[tjkraz]

The occupancy issue is certainly one to consider, and I think it safe to assume that DVC management knows this as well. Given the occupancy rate is so high for the DVC rooms, management has the responsibility to operate the resort to meet the need. If checkout is at 11:00, then cleaning begins at 11:00. Disturbing guests while in their rooms doesn't seem like an appropriate management response to high occupancy and the need to flip rooms by 4:00.

In a perfect world. a percentage of guests are departing the resort early and use the new MDE check-out feature to log their departure. But every day is different. The resorts don't stubbornly knock on every door to roust guests from their sleep. They're simply looking for rooms which might have been vacated early without notice. Some days the process is more successful than others. Despite the complaints here, my own experiences and those shared by others suggest that this is a procedure which only impacts a small portion of DVC guests.

And to be clear, I'm not forgiving any bad behavior. Belligerent housekeepers, knocking with "occupied" sign on door, housekeepers aggressively entering rooms are all things that should not happen and should be reported.

Staffing heavy from 11-4 sounds like a great plan. Until you can't find workers willing to accept those shifts. I don't mean to sound glib but Disney management has considered / attempted every option being thrown out here.

 

[RoseGold]

It's all about the occupancy level. At this point I can't tell if you're not understanding the difference or choosing to ignore it. But occupancy levels are THE critical difference between a hotel and timeshare.

You think all hotels have low occupancy because of averages? Sure, the airport hotel has some empty rooms. But I've been to plenty of completely sold out hotels mid-conference or difficult to book resorts or checking out in Vegas on Friday, or that particular suite or whatever, and I've still never had someone enter my room at 8:55AM.

DVC has solutions here, like a "CHECKED OUT" hangtag, but they don't care. DVC knows exactly who is coming in and out. They already know the occupancy, which you seem to think is such a surprise.

You can tell by this thread, this is intentional, and it's invasive. I'd be stunned if you would tolerate this in any $800/night hotel room. You'd be at the Caesar's desk complaining like the rest of us, for a cheaper room than Disney. This isn't deluxe standard, it isn't even airport hotel standard.

I have rented out some rooms for friends and clients, and I have some warnings, like the TP and no daily housekeeping. I am actually going to add a freaking post-it on your incredibly expensive room on this incredibly expensive vacation. Embarrassing.

 

[tjkraz]

You think all hotels have low occupancy because of averages? Sure, the airport hotel has some empty rooms. But I've been to plenty of completely sold out hotels mid-conference or difficult to book resorts or checking out in Vegas on Friday, or that particular suite or whatever, and I've still never had someone enter my room at 8:55AM.

Averages are averages. Periods of high occupancy driven by conventions are other activities are offset by much slower periods. Employees are more tolerant of shorter shifts and split shifts on exceptionally busy days when it's balanced with regular 8+ hour shifts.

DVC is a sustained 100% occupancy year round.

I would also propose that the arrival and departure habits of a business traveler are much different than vacationers. I've traveled regularly for work and it's not uncommon to have an early morning departure (flight) or an exceptionally late arrival. My Disney travels are quite different, as I suspect is the case for most people.

DVC has solutions here, like a "CHECKED OUT" hangtag, but they don't care.

Which is no different than a "checked out" button on the app.

If housekeepers are knocking on doors where the "room occupied" sign is still out, I have a problem with that. But if there's no sign on the door and the guest is scheduled to depart, I don't see an issue with seeing if they've left.

You can tell by this thread, this is intentional, and it's invasive. I'd be stunned if you would tolerate this in any $800/night hotel room. You'd be at the Caesar's desk complaining like the rest of us, for a cheaper room than Disney. This isn't deluxe standard, it isn't even airport hotel standard.

As always, I have to weigh comments posted here with my first-hand experiences as a 20 year DVC member. We've had 7 or 8 DVC resort stays over just the past 2.5 years. There was one door knock, and it was handled calmly and professionally. We put the "occupied" sign on the door when we're in the room and remove it when gone. Trash is emptied while we're out. I've never felt rushed to vacate our room, although I'm sympathetic to the CM's need to perform their duties and the desire of incoming guests to get into their room.

I'm at a loss to explain why our experiences are seemingly so different.

 

[BeachClub2014]

In a perfect world. a percentage of guests are departing the resort early and use the new MDE check-out feature to log their departure. But every day is different. The resorts don't stubbornly knock on every door to roust guests from their sleep. They're simply looking for rooms which might have been vacated early without notice. Some days the process is more successful than others. Despite the complaints here, my own experiences and those shared by others suggest that this is a procedure which only impacts a small portion of DVC guests.

And to be clear, I'm not forgiving any bad behavior. Belligerent housekeepers, knocking with "occupied" sign on door, housekeepers aggressively entering rooms are all things that should not happen and should be reported.

Staffing heavy from 11-4 sounds like a great plan. Until you can't find workers willing to accept those shifts. I don't mean to sound glib but Disney management has considered / attempted every option being thrown out here.

I do understand where you're coming from; I just don't give DVC management the same pass that you are suggesting. This is the business model that they intentionally created, and need to either change or make it work. This problem has existed for years. The inability to effectively recruit, hire, retain, and schedule employees should not result in many housekeepers banging on doors before 11:00.

 

[RoseGold]

I've never felt rushed to vacate our room, although I'm sympathetic to the CM's need to perform their duties and the desire of incoming guests to get into their room.

I'm at a loss to explain why our experiences are seemingly so different.

Great! I'm glad in a deluxe hotel you were not hustled out of your room with someone banging on your door. Seems pretty basic to me and a baseline of a normal experience for an $800+ hotel room.

Like many people on this thread, I found it unpleasant and aggressive. If you don't mind, I guess this problem doesn't matter to you at all. Great for you. I don't understand why you are defending this level of customer experience, as I would bet most people find this unpleasant and outside the standard expectations, even in lesser rooms.

 

[71 Truck]

This is a post I made back in April of this year.


My wife and I were at the Poly for one night. We were staying in the DVC building, we are members.
This morning while we were still in the room we had this happen.
My wife was in the shower and I was in the restroom ( DVC rooms have a split bathroom, shower sink/bathtub toilet) when I heard housekeeping knocking.
Being unable to answer I just let them knock knowing I checked that the dead bolt was on from last night.
All of a sudden I heard the door open and the top latch kept the door from opening all the way, then I heard the housekeeper say "I'm sorry I will come back later".
I did not think housekeeping had the authority or the ability to override the dead bolt. I thought that was only reserved for management and security to check on guest that were not checked out or were not responding to repeated attempts to contact the guest in the room, and this happened at 9am this morning so it was not even close to check out time.
So has anyone else had this happen to them.

 

[CapnNemo]

I just put up a sticky note the night before that says:

"I am a huge whiner, so please don't knock before 11am or I will complain online about how you doing your crappy job trying to keep your family from starving interrupted my privileged lifestyle."

It works every time.

 

[RoseGold]

I just put up a sticky note the night before that says:

"I am a huge whiner, so please don't knock before 11am or I will complain online about how you doing your crappy job trying to keep your family from starving interrupted my privileged lifestyle."

It works every time.

I mean, you could say that for anyone working anywhere at WDW or at any other $800/night hotel anywhere. So we should stop going to WDW and staying at hotels and being so "privileged"? Or it's OK if employees pound on my door hours before I am supposed to leave, as long as they are low paid?

 

[CapnNemo]

I mean, you could say that for anyone working anywhere at WDW or at any other $800/night hotel anywhere. So we should stop going to WDW and staying at hotels and being so "privileged"? Or it's OK if employees pound on my door hours before I am supposed to leave, as long as they are low paid?

They are just trying to stay alive and get their job done. Give them a break. Maybe they get bonuses for getting things done early, maybe they get paid by how many rooms they get cleaned. Who know, who cares, cut them some slack.

 

[RoseGold]

They are just trying to stay alive and get their job done. Give them a break. Maybe they get bonuses for getting things done early, maybe they get paid by how many rooms they get cleaned. Who know, who cares, cut them some slack.

Right. Those are policies set by management and impact me. So yes, I care about those policies. No one is saying that one particular housekeeper would want to do this. As this thread has beaten to death, DVC has many solutions. Only on my most recent trip was I even able to check out online, and even that doesn't seem to work.

I care about DVC's policies as a user of them and as an owner of many DVC contracts.

Like when MS calls took hours on hold, they fixed it by staffing for a known problem. It's how businesses operate. Like many people on this thread, I think this is a problem that DVC needs to handle.

 

[lowlight]

I just put up a sticky note the night before that says:

"I am a huge whiner, so please don't knock before 11am or I will complain online about how you doing your crappy job trying to keep your family from starving interrupted my privileged lifestyle."

It works every time.

I don’t think any of the hostility should be directed towards housekeeping, but that’s different than saying nobody has a right to complain.

 

[Genie+]

They are just trying to stay alive and get their job done. Give them a break. Maybe they get bonuses for getting things done early, maybe they get paid by how many rooms they get cleaned. Who know, who cares, cut them some slack.

The majority of conversation here highlighted that it’s out of housekeepers’ control and the onus lies with management. Sure some are feeding their starving children too but more importantly they work in the dept that balances the needs of guests and staff.

If I go to McD’s for coffee every morning and it was cold 4 times over the last 2 weeks, it likely has little to do with who handed it to me as that may differ. The person who can fix this is the manager. Something in the system has broken and they are in the best position to find and rectify the issue.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I just put up a sticky note the night before that says:

"I am a huge whiner, so please don't knock before 11am or I will complain online about how you doing your crappy job trying to keep your family from starving interrupted my privileged lifestyle."

It works every time.

That is an interesting perspective. So as owners we shouldn't have a reasonable expectation of privacy in our rooms until checkout time?

I haven't seen anyone attacking the housekeepers, but may have missed it. I have seen a lot of people upset that DVC management has seemingly either created this situation or allowed it to continue.