An open letter to Disney about mandatory room checks.

[snappy]

I get it. I always feel a conversation with managements the best place to begin if anyone has a specific concern that needs to be discussed. I refuse to get my bloomers in a bunch over something that has not happened to me, however given that there are stories of intrusions that are iMO over the top rude and unnecessary, I understand that some folks need to be assured their needs are respected.

I'll tell you that visit by housekeeping while we were resting was kind of nerve wracking, WE were just resting, but dang, it was an anniversary trip, and while the entire family was with us, our suite was separate from the rest of my crew.

Sorry about any hyperbole above. I was startled, and that never happened during previous trips.

Maybe my posts come off differently, I am not as much anxious about the policy as trying to figure an effective work around. I love staying at Disney. I have to come up with workarounds almost daily between my current work and family responsibilities. It’s what I do.

Thanks for your posts.

 

[Lilsia]

On a different (I *think* can't exactly remember now) thread I mentioned I've never been disturbed by a knock when I had my DND sign up. We've stayed at a variety of places too (Hilton, Hampton, Best Western, Motel 8, Embassy Suites, Marriott, Clarion Inn, Holiday Inn, etc just to name some and then there are non-branded hotels we've stayed at too). We did have a knock on our door 5 years ago when we were at a Sandals in St. Lucia but that was because they were asking if we wanted a restock of our mini fridge (that came included with the room) but we didn't have our sign up. That particular place also came with turn down service every night and we were not disturbed at all if that particular night we kept the sign up.

I could certaintly understand a mix up in room numbers written down causing a knock and I wouldn't think much of it. I think I probably would be a bit annoyed though probably laugh about it too if I had what you described and it was multiple people stopping by. I'm all for great customer service but a phone call/message would be fine by me rather than a visit supervisor and a manager coming in. Disney was great with those messages on the phone while we were there during Irma.

You're right it's not unique to Disney but of all the stays I've had, all the stays my husband has had for business, etc we've not been disturbed once by a knock with a DND sign up. So for someone like me I suppose I may be more sensitive than someone like you who has experienced this elsewhere and multiple times. I'm going to count myself lucky I suppose and go knock on wood now lol.

I've not stayed onsite before last September so I don't have any previous Disney-owned hotel experience to go off of but I do know from reading the Boards every now and then people have had issues with someone coming to their room for xyz.

This has been our experience also. I travel quit a bit all around the country and other parts of the world, plus we have been staying on WDW property for over 20 years. When the DND sign is up, we NEVER have anyone knock on our door, even when we requested something. DND means just that, I do not want to be disturbed. I would completely understand in a case of an emergency and that would not bother us at all. So to those who keep saying that this is the same as it always has been, that is not true. Hotels honored the sign and left you in peace. If the DND sign was just some random thing and they knocked anyway, why would Disney even bother changing the sign then? I think there can be a compromise. Leave and honor the DND signs but tell quests that if housekeeping or the room check person is not able to get into the room by a certain time, then they will call you and set up a time. That way if someone wants to sleep in, or is sick, or has a baby napping in the afternoon then they can enjoy their peace.

 

[snappy]

So to those who keep saying that this is the same as it always has been, that is not true. Hotels honored the sign and left you in peace. If the DND sign was just some random thing and they knocked anyway, why would Disney even bother changing the sign then?

Nicely stated. I agree.

 

[Nancyg56]

Sorry about any hyperbole above. I was startled, and that never happened during previous trips.

Maybe my posts come off differently, I am not as much anxious about the policy as trying to figure an effective work around. I love staying at Disney. I have to come up with workarounds almost daily between my current work and family responsibilities. It’s what I do.

Thanks for your posts.

Oh gosh, no worries! I was just chatting with you, and never intended to make it seem as if I was taking any offense. I also feel that being proactive is important if you have any concerns, with this policy or any others that may impact a trip. With the changes in our family dynamic this trip, and the fact that my DGD is old enough to come and go without an escort, I think the latch will be a friend. The thought of someone walking in on her while she is in the shower is not pleasant, and I will plan to avoid that if at all possible.

 

[dansdad]

So to those who keep saying that this is the same as it always has been, that is not true.

Maybe not true for you, but definitely true for me.

Hotels honored the sign and left you in peace.

Not always/everywhere in my experience.

 

[Lynne M]

I think I didn't say that as clearly as I should have - I wasn't saying that staff visits are a common thing in hotels when the do not disturb sign was up. The clue was in my last paragraph:

The only reason I can think that some people are believing this is all a result of the room check policy is that they keep the do not disturb sign up on previous stays, and are just now seeing what it's like when you *don't* have a DND sign up at a hotel.

Yes, I've seen plenty of reports of early knocks by housekeeping on check out days when guests have had the DND sign out, but the rest of the incidents I described were without a DND sign. I've really never used the sign much at hotels, personally, the occasional knock by a staff member doesn't bother me much.

Anyway, the larger point I was trying to get at is that I'm seeing some assumptions now that every visit by a staff member must have something to do with security checks, and that such visits didn't happen before the room checks started. I'm sure they happened much less frequently for guests that used the Do Not Disturb sign, but they did happen.

 

[mister morrow]

i really don't understand why some people in this thread are fuming mad about a new disney policy that is just making your experience safer. if you don't like the new protocol, stay somewhere else! personally, i am all for disney taking some preventative measures; i have witnessed my friends survive an extremely fatal school shooting in florida, ever since then, i've been paranoid.

disney is a huge place where things like this are necessary.

if you have nothing to hide, i really dont understand what the big deal is-- because after all, you are staying on someone else's property lmao

 

[snappy]

Maybe not true for you, but definitely true for me.



Not always/everywhere in my experience.

As I said, YRMV

 

[snappy]

i really don't understand why some people in this thread are fuming mad about a new disney policy that is just making your experience safer. if you don't like the new protocol, stay somewhere else! personally, i am all for disney taking some preventative measures; i have witnessed my friends survive an extremely fatal school shooting in florida, ever since then, i've been paranoid.

disney is a huge place where things like this are necessary.

if you have nothing to hide, i really dont understand what the big deal is-- because after all, you are staying on someone else's property lmao

Sorry for your friends’ experience with the tragic school shooting and your paranoia. My brother and daughter live in NYC. I worry about these types of attacks as well. Way too common.

 

[darrengs]

i really don't understand why some people in this thread are fuming mad about a new disney policy that is just making your experience safer. if you don't like the new protocol, stay somewhere else! personally, i am all for disney taking some preventative measures; i have witnessed my friends survive an extremely fatal school shooting in florida, ever since then, i've been paranoid.

disney is a huge place where things like this are necessary.

if you have nothing to hide, i really dont understand what the big deal is-- because after all, you are staying on someone else's property lmao

I don’t understand how some people feel a policy that has cast members entering rooms where minors could be dressing in the name of safety is making an experience safer. I guess that people are allowed to have different opinions on the topic.

 

[Lilsia]

i really don't understand why some people in this thread are fuming mad about a new disney policy that is just making your experience safer. if you don't like the new protocol, stay somewhere else! personally, i am all for disney taking some preventative measures; i have witnessed my friends survive an extremely fatal school shooting in florida, ever since then, i've been paranoid.

disney is a huge place where things like this are necessary.

if you have nothing to hide, i really dont understand what the big deal is-- because after all, you are staying on someone else's property lmao

I think this is where we disagree. The man who shot up Vegas had people in his room, he had room service and maid service. It made NO difference. If people are intent on doing evil, no quick room check will stop them.

 

[mister morrow]

Sorry for your friends’ experience with the tragic school shooting and your paranoia. My brother and daughter live in NYC. I worry about these types of attacks as well. Way too common.

thank you for your condolences
i hope one day, this madness will stop once and for all.

 

[mister morrow]

I don’t understand how some people feel a policy that has cast members entering rooms where minors could be dressing in the name of safety is making an experience safer. I guess that people are allowed to have different opinions on the topic.

i completely respect your opinion by all means.

i am a minor and would definitely dislike it if someone came into my room unnoticed. i really didnt read through a lot of this thread, but did the policy say anything about barging into rooms unnoticed?

 

[coast2coastmickey]

I think this is where we disagree. The man who shot up Vegas had people in his room, he had room service and maid service. It made NO difference. If people are intent on doing evil, no quick room check will stop them.

This. “Something bad happened, so let’s do something that didn’t stop it from happening in the first place.”

Nobody rational is arguing that hotels don’t have a right, as business owners, to enter the rooms they own.

In a rental situation, a landlord typically gives advance notice of entry (24 hours), unless there’s an emergency. Disney guests aren’t apparently granted that same courtesy (sorry, small letters in terms and conditions aren’t sufficient from a customer service standpoint).

If this were any other hotel chain, there probably wouldn’t be uproar. But Disney touts itself as an experience above all others. I honestly think that some charismatic corporate safety employee convinced enough executives, and that’s why we’re here.

Sadly, I’d argue that it had led to failed mission fulfillment on the part of Disney. I’m seeing the same thing in my employer. “Let’s go overboard on random compliance requirements to the detriment of customer satisfaction, and now, sales.”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This has been our experience also. I travel quit a bit all around the country and other parts of the world, plus we have been staying on WDW property for over 20 years. When the DND sign is up, we NEVER have anyone knock on our door, even when we requested something. DND means just that, I do not want to be disturbed. I would completely understand in a case of an emergency and that would not bother us at all. So to those who keep saying that this is the same as it always has been, that is not true. Hotels honored the sign and left you in peace. If the DND sign was just some random thing and they knocked anyway, why would Disney even bother changing the sign then? I think there can be a compromise. Leave and honor the DND signs but tell quests that if housekeeping or the room check person is not able to get into the room by a certain time, then they will call you and set up a time. That way if someone wants to sleep in, or is sick, or has a baby napping in the afternoon then they can enjoy their peace.

My husband just got back last night, well really 1am this morning, from a business trip to CA (it was about an hour or so away from LA).

He stayed at Hampton Monday night through Wednesday night before moving to Embassy Suites for Thursday night and checking out Friday. The only reason he had to move was because the equipment he was testing..wasn't ready yet to be tested and he moved to be closer to the testing site and also the Ontario,CA airport which he chose to fly out of instead of LAX like he had before. It was an annoying thing as his company spent a decent chunk of money to send him out there to sit until things were finally ready Friday. Anywho, Tuesday (edited: spelling) he was in the hotel room all day long doing work on his computer since he couldn't go out and inspect the equipment. He had his DND sign up..and was not disturbed..the whole day. Hilton-branded hotels do have a different policy for security checks than Disney but I do think it's reasonable for people to be perturbed (edited: spelling) at Disney for how they are handling it. Am I fuming mad? Nope. Am I storming the gates? Nope. Am I annoyed? Yup. Perhaps moreso annoyed because Disney is opting to do something that is distinctively different than other hotel companies in the worst way.

I don't have any trip planned in the near future (years down the road yes) so I'm not personally impacted by Disney's specific policy at the present moment. But I do empathize with how people must feel. I'm by nature a private traveler and the last thing I really want is to have someone knock on my door to take a quick peek of my room. I'm the type of person who tidys up for the housekeeper when I have housekeeping, I'm the person who uses DND frequently. I guess I consider myself low-maintenence as I don't need a room cleaned everyday. I'm also concerned because I sincerely hope other hotel brands do not take Disney's procedure and utilize it. I guess I might feel different if Disney improved over time and it became less disrupting or stressful worrying about a disturbance.

 

[BK2014]

I guess I might feel different if Disney improved over time and it became less disrupting or stressful worrying about a disturbance.

Based on the responses from the thread dedicated to actual experiences with room checks, it seems that the number of negative experiences have dropped over time. While that is not proof of anything based on a such a small self-reporting sample, anecdotally it seems that things might be improving over time with regards to training and consistency. It also seems like some resorts have higher number of negative experiences than others.

As for it becoming less stressful worrying about it, it seems that a lot of the stress of worrying about it stems from people internalizing the negative reports and assuming that their experiences will be similar. In general, people seem to be more willing to accept the negative reports as reflective of the majority of people's experiences with this policy, and treat the positive reports as luck. We can't know for sure which experience is happening most often, but these boards often serve as a magnifying glass for the negative experiences that people encounter while at WDW.

 

[disneyseniors]

A clarification: the Occupied sign is not a Do Not Disturb sign. It's not meant to stop staff from knocking on the door. It's just a heads-up to the staff that the guest is in the room.

As for early knocks, multiple staff visits a day, etc. I've seen this mentioned multiple times since the room check policy started as if it's something new. That kind of thing has gone on at hotels since there have been hotels - it's not new, and it's not unique to Disney resorts.

I've been visiting these boards daily for over 10 years, and I can't remember a time when there haven't been complaints about early housekeeping visits on check-out day, and yes, even if the do not disturb sign was up. It's come up regularly on the DVC boards for as long as I can remember. It's happened to me at Disney resorts and other hotels a number of times. Same goes for other visits by staff. I remember one GF stay with my mother many years ago that was just a comedy of multiple staff visits. The housekeeper stopping by to drop off more towels. Ten minutes later, a supervisor checking to see if we were satisfied with the way our room was cleaned. Twenty minutes after that, another manager asking to inspect the cleaning job.

At other hotels, I've had early wakeups by housekeeping. I've had maintenance wake me out of a sound sleep asking to check the a/c, because someone had put the wrong room number on a work order. I've had multiple housekeeping visits...first to clean, then for towels, later in the day, then to replace the glasses. Room service coming by to pick up the tray...when someone had already done that an hour before.

The only reason I can think that some people are believing this is all a result of the room check policy is that they keep the do not disturb sign up on previous stays, and are just now seeing what it's like when you *don't* have a DND sign up at a hotel. Don't get me wrong, some of the visits nowadays are specifically for room checks. But not every visit by staff is a security check.

As I have explained before, we were at POFQ and came in very sore and tired due to medical problems. Our room was not cleaned at that time. I went to the front desk and explained this and asked for a RO sign for our door so we could get much needed rest. The lady at the desk told me she would call housekeeping right now and have them deliver the sign, and they would be told NOT to knock on our door until the sign was off. THAT is what happened, much to my surprise. When we woke up and were ready to start the evening, the sign was hanging on our door and NO One disturbed us. I was very impressed.
The next day, same thing. I just couldn't make the walk to the front desk, so I called. I was assured they would inform housekeeping to not disturb us until after 4pm. My husband was asleep and I have trouble falling asleep so was laying down when a knock came on our door. The housekeeper wanted to come in and I was in my gown, so I told her through the door of my phone call and to come back after 4pm. She became very rude and told me they couldn't do that. I again told her to come back after 4. About 15 minutes later security came to the door. My husband told him we had to get dressed and to come back in 15 minutes. He was trying to work with them, but neither of us had recovered from the am in the park. I was upset and said we would leave after 4pm as we had asked, and that is what we did. He did not come back while we were there,and our room was made up when we got back a couple of hours later.
So, the sign up or down matters at times, and does not matter at times. THIS is the problem, there is no one set of rules for everyone to use and it is very frustrating. I hope this is resolved soon, as it is ridiculous for people on vacation to have to put up with this IMO.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don’t understand how some people feel a policy that has cast members entering rooms where minors could be dressing in the name of safety is making an experience safer. I guess that people are allowed to have different opinions on the topic.

20,000+ rooms, 117 room nights - genuinely curious how many times this has happened?

 

[Lilsia]

20,000+ rooms, 117 room nights - genuinely curious how many times this has happened?

Doesn't matter, even if it happens once, that is one too many times.

 

[BK2014]

I don’t understand how some people feel a policy that has cast members entering rooms where minors could be dressing in the name of safety is making an experience safer. I guess that people are allowed to have different opinions on the topic.

I still have yet to see any reports of castmembers forcing open a door that is properly secured with the security latch. Use the latch and there will be no unannounced entry. Insistent knocking, maybe, but not entry.