Aggressive Housekeeping Checks (and Singing) at Copper Creek

[MICKIMINI]

Sadly times have changed. Right or wrong, Disney has decided it's in everyone's best interest if they disturb each room 1x per day.

The best advice I would give is to make sure the Room Occupied sign is removed whenever you're out of the room or when you wouldn't mind being interrupted. Take it off when you wake up in the morning and only replace before nap time.

That won't be a 100% fix, but it removes the possibility that housekeepers will deliberately bypass the room when it isn't actually occupied, thinking they'll be able to return later at a less intrusive time.

We always put the occupied sign out, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. We take it in when we leave our villa.

We find OKW has the most aggressive room knockers. Last fall, I had to stand in front of a CM to block them going into the master bath (after grabbing the kitchen trash) as DH was taking a shower. BWV seems to have better trained CM's that are more sensitive about invading your privacy, as that is what they are doing.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Worthless security theater. The last time a CM knocked on our door when we had the Room Occupied sign up, I politely but firmly told him that if that sign was up I did not want anyone to knock on the door. He said he would make a note of it and it did not happen again for the rest of our trip.

 

[lowlight]

Sadly times have changed. Right or wrong, Disney has decided it's in everyone's best interest if they disturb each room 1x per day.

The best advice I would give is to make sure the Room Occupied sign is removed whenever you're out of the room or when you wouldn't mind being interrupted. Take it off when you wake up in the morning and only replace before nap time.

That won't be a 100% fix, but it removes the possibility that housekeepers will deliberately bypass the room when it isn't actually occupied, thinking they'll be able to return later at a less intrusive time.

You keep saying this, but it isn't in our interest at all- it's security theater. At best, it appeases Disney's insurance company. You would be astonished if you looked up the TSA breaches that have occurred since 9/11, and that's a government agency we have probably poured billions of dollars into as taxpayers and the training is lengthy. An untrained housekeeper (maybe they had to watch a video during training, at best) that comes in to empty your trash at the same time every day isn't solving complex human trafficking cases or finding a stash of weapons under the bed in suitcases. Let's say it does deter trafficking- the Swan and Dolphin do not do this, nor does any other 3rd party hotel within the WDW bubble that I've stayed at. We would expect to read of cases in these hotels weekly, if it's such a hotbed so as necessitate such rigorous room checks.

I'd agree with you if you said it flatly- it's not going to change, so deal with it and these are ways to try to make it less annoying. Don't pretend for a moment that it is anything other than an ineffective policy that punishes innocent people paying a lot of money to relax and not be bothered on vacation.

 

[tjkraz]

You keep saying this, but it isn't in our interest at all- it's security theater. At best, it appeases Disney's insurance company. You would be astonished if you looked up the TSA breaches that have occurred since 9/11, and that's a government agency we have probably poured billions of dollars into as taxpayers and the training is lengthy. An untrained housekeeper (maybe they had to watch a video during training, at best) that comes in to empty your trash at the same time every day isn't solving complex human trafficking cases or finding a stash of weapons under the bed in suitcases. Let's say it does deter trafficking- the Swan and Dolphin do not do this, nor does any other 3rd party hotel within the WDW bubble that I've stayed at. We would expect to read of cases in these hotels weekly, if it's such a hotbed so as necessitate such rigorous room checks.

I'd agree with you if you said it flatly- it's not going to change, so deal with it and these are ways to try to make it less annoying. Don't pretend for a moment that it is anything other than an ineffective policy that punishes innocent people paying a lot of money to relax and not be bothered on vacation.

1) If I were up to no good, I'd be much more likely to target a hotel with an established policy of not entering guest rooms for 4 days at a stretch vs a hotel that has a policy of entering daily
2) At least they're emptying the trash while they're at it
3) I don't recall any of my trips being adversely impacted by this. Ideally major disruptions (guests being awakened, etc) will remain the outlier
4) I hope we never have to find out what Disney's security procedures will become if something serious does happen
5) It's not going to change

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Unpopular theory:

It also allows them to see which units are being occupied by the people who leave th eunit in such condition that it takes 4+ hours to clean it up at checkout, and help plan for that.

I can't really see that, I mean I get what you're thinking, but there are just days where your room looks like a hot mess lol. Majority of those times I personally use the do not disturb when that is an option because I dislike housekeeping having to see all that. Especially in a theme park environment you're usually rushing to get out, you're usually sweaty and icky at the end of the night and tired and your room might just reflect that panic state. But that's a very different story than housekeeping's responsibilities in cleaning up the room when a guest checks out.

 

[Gr8scott]

We stayed at the Beach Club in June for a week then Disney Vero the week after. At both locations yes the people doing “visual inspections” were aggressive and pushy. I don’t blame the poor CM’s as I know it’s probably not their favorite thing to do and they don’t make the policies. I won’t repeat the details as I already posted in another thread on the same topic, but suffice it to say we felt it more than intrusive to say the least.

My guess is that if we all became nudists with nothing to hide and fully embraced the CM’s to do their visual inspections at their whim we might see another policy change….sigh…then again maybe not. Just spit-balling ideas for improvement…

 

[Nursemanit]

Staying in hotels 1 to 2 weeks a month, I have become used to this. If a hotel had contactless check-in ( no stopping at the desk) I usually see security checks are covered in the agreement for mobile check-in you click through at Hilton or Marriott ( I did not see WDW's)

I think it has more to do with someone putting 7 people in a room that sleeps 4 than any "security need". Your security checks will increase if there is noise or smoking complaints in the area. I can put up with this if the benefit is a better night's sleep or a room that does not stink.

And in general, if they catch people damaging the room - better to charge them than up our MF.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Sadly times have changed. Right or wrong, Disney has decided it's in everyone's best interest if they disturb each room 1x per day.

The best advice I would give is to make sure the Room Occupied sign is removed whenever you're out of the room or when you wouldn't mind being interrupted. Take it off when you wake up in the morning and only replace before nap time.

That won't be a 100% fix, but it removes the possibility that housekeepers will deliberately bypass the room when it isn't actually occupied, thinking they'll be able to return later at a less intrusive time.

For me, the sign on/off door made no difference...Or worked against me. Off all day when out. On in AM & PM & all night. It seemed they waited to knock when it was on door & I was in the room.

Since I skipped nitetime in the parks, I began to think this Chapek's ploy to nudge me into getting dressed & going back to parks to spend more money.

Seriously though, if legit security issues are the reason for this inconvenience, I did wonder if Housekeepers would ever be help responsible if they checked a room & missed something illegal or dangerous & failed to report it. Seems well above what their responsibilities should be.

 

[Lady Hiss]

I get that this policy is probably here to stay, but they could refine it to make it more guest friendly. I’d be happy to see a note or card left in the room stating that they completed the security check that day. Then I might be able to nap, shower or just relax without wondering when/if the knock on the door was coming.

 

[RoseGold]

I used to travel with this doorstop thing that makes a loud alarm when it is hit. Didn’t think I needed it anymore when i was in nice hotels. Maybe it’s time to pull it back out.

They didn’t do the morning wake up for check out day last time I was there, I consider that much worse.

 

[Sammie]

I never understand why people are surprised hotel staff walks in rooms when they don't latch the door. Not sure how you even sleep with it not latched.

 

[RoseGold]

I never understand why people are surprised hotel staff walks in rooms when they don't latch the door. Not sure how you even sleep with it not latched.

There are some rooms where it is a lever lock on the lock, so they can override. I believe BW and Poly had old fashioned manual locks.

 

[psc85]

Unpopular theory:

It also allows them to see which units are being occupied by the people who leave th eunit in such condition that it takes 4+ hours to clean it up at checkout, and help plan for that.

Having worked Front Office and with Housekeeping at a DVC resort, this theory is most likely 100% spot on!!!! At this point, the rest of it is just security theater.

 

[CarolMN]

We've NEVER experienced a knock on our door on check out day. We mostly stay at BWV, but have stayed at BLT, Poly, VGF, CCV, VB & AKV once or twice each.

We almost always check out mid-week. I wonder if the knocks happen mostly on Sundays or Fridays which are the most popular check out days. Seems housekeeping would be under more pressure to get rooms ready on those days and wants to start as early as they can. Just a thought.

 

[DannyV]

Just got back from a week at Boulder Ridge yesterday. Whenever we had the sign on the door, they would call the room and ask when a good time to come was. Weird that the same resort has such different experiences. Trash everyday and Towels on day 4 and 8. Refilled our coffee pouches 4 times.

 

[EYL]

Just got back from a week at Boulder Ridge yesterday. Whenever we had the sign on the door, they would call the room and ask when a good time to come was. Weird that the same resort has such different experiences. Trash everyday and Towels on day 4 and 8. Refilled our coffee pouches 4 times.

They would call when we stayed at RIV last year also. The problem was, they never come during the timeframe we requested. We would either want to be around when people enter, or put our valuables away. When we tell them that we will be in our room for the next hour or for lunch, between noon at 1pm, we'd wait until way afterwards to no avail. Thinking that they won't show up, they'd then enter unexpectedly and then we'd have to double check things... I fully understand the check and welcome it, but it can be planned better.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Just got back from a week at Boulder Ridge yesterday. Whenever we had the sign on the door, they would call the room and ask when a good time to come was. Weird that the same resort has such different experiences. Trash everyday and Towels on day 4 and 8. Refilled our coffee pouches 4 times.

This just demonstrates how useless these “checks” are from a security point of view. Politely calling a fanatical terrorist to ask him when is a good time to come to his room to see if he has happened to leave any of his weapons out in plain sight will not generally work, for obvious reasons.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We've NEVER experienced a knock on our door on check out day. We mostly stay at BWV, but have stayed at BLT, Poly, VGF, CCV, VB & AKV once or twice each.

We almost always check out mid-week. I wonder if the knocks happen mostly on Sundays or Fridays which are the most popular check out days. Seems housekeeping would be under more pressure to get rooms ready on those days and wants to start as early as they can. Just a thought.

You may be correct about the knocks being more likely on Sundays or Fridays. We had never gotten the knock on our door on check out day until this latest visit. But we had never checked out on a Friday or Sunday before. Like you, we tend to go mid-week to mid-week. But on our last trip, when we got the knock for the first time, we checked out on a Friday-for the first time.

 

[Murron]

Just out of curiosity, I would love to know what the official "security" protocol is and what training/certification/etc. was given to housekeeping staff to implement and report "security" checks. Probably just a "see something, say something" which, as others have said, is all theater.

 

[Sammie]

There are some rooms where it is a lever lock on the lock, so they can override. I believe BW and Poly had old fashioned manual locks.

They do that in case of an emergency but not as standard procedure.