AKV Condo Meeting Discussion

[Girlstar30]

Jambo 1BR have only the huge Jacuzzi tub/shower, so it sounds like they're replacing it with a walk-in shower, no tub. I don't know what they expect people to do with small kids who don't like/won't tolerate a shower - get a 2BR?!!

In Kidani 1BR since there's already a shower as well as a tub in the primary, they can replace the Jacuzzi tub with a soaking tub and leave the shower where it is.

I hate the current tub in the Jambo 1BR - can't get in and out of it safely because the rim is just too tall and wide. If they replace it with a walk-in shower, I might consider booking Jambo again - but probably not, because I imagine the bathroom will still be across the hall from the bedroom, not ensuite, and I hate having to be modestly clothed when moving from bedroom to bath if someone is in the living room!

She told me the current bath tub will be a shower with glass doors so thats how I took it too

 

[CarolynFH]

She told me the current bath tub will be a shower with glass doors so thats how I took it too

Since it's Jambo and they're working on KIdani now, I guess we'll have to wait for those photos to come out, months from now! The existing tub and surround is pretty large and would make a really nice walk-in shower, but I don't think there's room for both a tub and a separate shower.

 

[DebbieB]

We stayed in a BWV one bedroom last Nov following a refurb and they didn’t eliminate the tub although I have no idea if it was jetted prior to the refurb or not. Would find it hard to believe they wouldn’t replace the jetted tub with a regular version.

It was jetted before. I can’t believe they would remove the tubs from 1 bedroom and larger. Many people like to soak after a day of walking.

 

[eandt]

It was jetted before. I can’t believe they would remove the tubs from 1 bedroom and larger. Many people like to soak after a day of walking.

Ok so BWV replaced with a non jetted which I would suspect will be the case at AKV Also has a walk in shower Admittedly not sure of the AKV one bedroom floor plan

 

[Cfabar1]

It’s because the majority of owners don’t really understand what is DVC and what is hotel.

It’s like the complaints at VGF about the Perch.

What are the complaints about the Perch that they have? That it makes the lobby, what exactly?

 

[typeamom72]

We just ate at the Mara to see if the complaint was true, the food was delicious, my favorite Flatbread and chicken strips qs on property so far. AKL has unique/more exotic food items like the chicken strips are BBQ jerk and the Flatbread was a really good tomato roasted one, if people want basic food this is not the hotel.

I def feel that saying it was consistently bad was completely ridiculous, not sure what people are expecting but we will def eat here again

We love Mara, and - as a family with vegan and vegetarian eaters - we appreciate the options for them! Plus, you can buy a cheap bottle of wine for your room if you’re too lazy to go to one of the nice restaurants.

 

[Cfabar1]

I've only been in a Kidani 1 BR... I imagine that it will be in the one bathroom a Shower/Tub combination, and in the other bathroom they would have the tub (probably without jets) and then the shower as separate entities. I'm actually very fond of the Kidani master bath layout.

If I attend the meeting next year, my question will be why do they continue to choose to remove amenities and unique features in refurbishments. At VGF for example we removed the paneling on the fridges and the TVs in the bathrooms. I imagine our jetted will be removed as well at the next refurb.

 

[TinkB278]

We just ate at the Mara to see if the complaint was true, the food was delicious, my favorite Flatbread and chicken strips qs on property so far. AKL has unique/more exotic food items like the chicken strips are BBQ jerk and the Flatbread was a really good tomato roasted one, if people want basic food this is not the hotel.

I def feel that saying it was consistently bad was completely ridiculous, not sure what people are expecting but we will def eat here again

Mara is my favorite resort QS. I can’t believe someone complained.

 

[eticketplease]

Ah someone else was upset because he got turned away when he wanted to go shopping at the gift store in May and wasnt staying there.

He thought that owners should be able to go on property even when not staying there to go shopping. He was upset that he pays a lot and owns there and was turned away

Not that it matters to me but I’m actually surprised they were turned away. It’s unlikely that they were trying to park for free/convenience like at the monorail resorts.

 

[Girlstar30]

Mara is my favorite resort QS. I can’t believe someone complained.

Agreed! We said it was our new favorite!

 

[Girlstar30]

Not that it matters to me but I’m actually surprised they were turned away. It’s unlikely that they were trying to park for free/convenience like at the monorail resorts.

As an owner I would be upset tbh too if I was literally going there to spend money. They said they have had a lot of issues with people staying and using the pool when saying theyre just going shopping so I get that as well!

 

[eticketplease]

Wait, no tub at all? I wonder how we will bathe the little kids.

This would only be in the larger units for the master. It will remain a standard tub/shower combo in the studios and the 2nd 3rd bathrooms in the 1 & 2 bedrooms.

 

[eticketplease]

RIV has not had a hards good refurb…these tubs may go when they do.

8+ more years to enjoy them

 

[Cfabar1]

Maybe a good follow up question in future years is how they determine what to put in the units refurb process. Is there any surveying or feedback from members?

Who are the members that are saying the Kidani units need to have the tubs removed from their master bathrooms?

I can understand members complaining about the peekaboo windows in say BWV or VB and them filling those in, but to me it sounds like they are just trying to lessen housekeeping expenses by having one less surface to clean and maintain. Which is, I suspect why the jetted tubs were removed. One more mechanical issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[Girlstar30]

**UPDATE: On Friday, some lucky guests checking into Kidani will actually get to stay in the new rooms! The first rooms will be used for guests staying!

Housekeeping is working all day today and tomorrow to have them ready for guests staying starting Friday! Put in those room requests, Im going to still try to take a peek!**

 

[OPDman]

I remember now that housekeeping came up again and that and walking seemed to be the topics of concern.

Someone told them that they did the calculations of the cost of housekeeping at Riviera and found it was significantly lower and asked why was housekeeping costing so much more at akv and that housekeeping prices should be the same across the board.

It was explained to him that each resort has different room types and a different number of rooms that require more or less housekeepers and it cannot be the same cost across the board because Riviera had less spacious rooms like the duo studios that require less work etc

I raised the housekeeping question. As background, once you removed the impact of continued points sales at the Riviera, housekeeping costs rose much less dramatically at that resort than at Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the overall year over year change was 9.5% as I recall. I was asking about why rates at AK were so much higher, in that the reasons given for the housekeeping increases were the same, inflation and wage growth. It was a question of year over year percentage change vs. overall costs.

The resorts don’t change year over year. The room configurations and numbers never change once a resort sells out, which is why I removed the point increases, due to sales, in Rivieras costs from my calculations. If anything, the Riviera increase should be greater as you bring more rooms online at DVC expense. AK is a known housekeeping entity, the room numbers and types did not change.

I would note that in a post meeting conversation with Ms. Hill, the DVC treasurer, for AK, there has been a slight reduction in length of stay at the resort, resulting in more frequent cleanings, adding to the upward pressure of costs in addition to wages and inflation. That to me is a better explanation for the cost increase than comparative room type.

Hope this helps!

 

[Girlstar30]

I raised the housekeeping question. As background, once you removed the impact of continued points sales at the Riviera, housekeeping costs rose much less dramatically at that resort than at Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the overall year over year change was 9.5% as I recall. I was asking about why rates at AK were so much higher, in that the reasons given for the housekeeping increases were the same, inflation and wage growth. It was a question of year over year percentage change vs. overall costs.

The resorts don’t change year over year. The room configurations and numbers never change once a resort sells out, which is why I removed the point increases, due to sales, in Rivieras costs from my calculations. If anything, the Riviera increase should be greater as you bring more rooms online at DVC expense. AK is a known housekeeping entity, the room numbers and types did not change.

I would note that in a post meeting conversation with Ms. Hill, the DVC treasurer, for AK, there has been a slight reduction in length of stay at the resort, resulting in more frequent cleanings, adding to the upward pressure of costs in addition to wages and inflation. That to me is a better explanation for the cost increase than comparative room type.

Hope this helps!

Thanks! Trying to report as accurate as possible

 

[OPDman]

Thanks! Trying to report as accurate as possible

Thank YOU! I appreciate you staring the conversation and doing a complete meeting report!

 

[Girlstar30]

Thank YOU! I appreciate you staring the conversation and doing a complete meeting report!

Thank you for your kindness! Im not as numbers/percentage saavy as others on the board, i dont retain that info well, so im glad you filled in the blanks!

 

[OPDman]

FYI. I also asked about increases in front desk fees. I was told by Ms. Hill that the category of Admin and Front Desk also includes the recouping of credit card usage fees. When a member charges their annual dues with a credit card, we all pay the resulting transaction fees in our dues. I did verify that fees for loan payments with credit card are paid by Disney.

This cost may be something worthy of shifting to individual members. She did not give me any real world numbers, but she cited the expense as one reason for increases in that category. (Note: When I questioned the Board at the Poly meeting today about the documentation for the elements of Administration and Front Desk charges in our paperwork, they acknowledged that the paperwork neglected to include credit card transaction fees as a cost. They stated they will change the reports to include them in the future. I found the omission interesting.)

Also, I found out that we also pay transaction fees for members using a Disney branded Visa card, thinking they may be exempt. No such luck. Finally, I learned that the fee charged is approximately 2.1% of the charged amount, due to volume discount we receive.

Hope this helps!