An open letter to Disney about mandatory room checks.

[_auroraborealis_]

The following is from the Terms and Conditions we signed when we became DVC Members:

Under Housekeeping - End of Page 15

"3. Access to Units and Vacation Homes. The owners’ association at each DVC Resort, and its agents, including the management company for the DVC Resort, its employees and designees, have the right to enter and access each Unit and each Vacation Home whenever necessary, including to inspect, maintain, repair, protect, or operate the Unit or Vacation Home; to determine compliance with the governing documents for the DVC Resort; or for health, safety, security or any other purpose."

I assume they determine whether they are in compliance.

Yep. It is a non-voting association. Daily trash and room checks are not a contract violation.

 

[Allison]

In today’s world we need that feeling of safety. Ask a woman staying alone at Disney how safe she now feels. Ask how safe do you feel allowing your kids to now stay, even for a short time, alone while you go to get something to eat for the family.

So you are asking me? I am a woman staying alone at Disney and I feel perfectly safe. I haven't given this procedure a second thought. Housekeeping is in my room anyway. No big deal to me.

I would feel perfectly safe leaving kids.

What are you building up in your mind that someone is going to do?

 

[DisneyArkie]

You’re right DisneyArkie, I am staying at someone’s else home. But the last time I stayed stayed there I felt safe. Now when they say Welcome Home, I won’t feel that way. My friend prior to this didn’t force themselves into what I considered my space. I could come and go and feel my belongings were safe. Now, who knows who is going to be inside my space. A magnitude higher number of people have access to my belongings than before. I don’t know these people. How do you trust so many people with access to your stuff?

I tell you if you have ever been robbed you won’t ever trust strangers with your belongings the same way ever again. It’s one thing to have a relationship with a HouseKeeper who you feel comfortable with and therefore give a tip at the end of your stay. But it’s quite a different feeling you will know several additional people you have never seen before will be forced upon you and you are powerless to protect yourself or your belongings from an intrusion that may not be safe to yourself or your stuff.

In today’s world we need that feeling of safety. Ask a woman staying alone at Disney how safe she now feels. Ask how safe do you feel allowing your kids to now stay, even for a short time, alone while you go to get something to eat for the family.

It is this basic feeling of trust which this new policy has broken. I’m glad you still feel gleefully able to accept this new policy. The rest of us who still use locks on our doors don’t hand out keys to a significant number of people. Examine that and you might begin to understand my viewpoint.

I do not trust anyone, I just know what to expect in hotels. They have always entered the rooms. That hasn’t changed...

 

[Lynne M]

In today’s world we need that feeling of safety. Ask a woman staying alone at Disney how safe she now feels. Ask how safe do you feel allowing your kids to now stay, even for a short time, alone while you go to get something to eat for the family.

I often travel solo, and I feel as safe in a Disney resort as I ever did. If I'm in the room, I latch the door bar. I've never had anyone walk in on me in a hotel room in the many, many hotel stays I've had in my lifetime, in the US and overseas. Because I always use the door bar or chain.

It's worth another reminder that there's not a lot new about this policy. Disney (and every other hotel) has always had the right to enter their rooms when they feel it's necessary. And they have entered rooms in the past, routinely. I'm certain that Disney resort rooms have been entered when women were traveling alone. I'm certain that Disney resort rooms have been entered when parents have left kids in the room to go get something to eat. That is not new. The only thing that's new and different is that they're announcing in advance that an employee will enter each room once a day. That could be housekeeping, it could be a separate check.

A do not disturb sign has never meant that the hotel staff is barred from entering a room. It's a request to the staff to avoid disturbing you if possible.

Again, it all boils down to this. If you don't like a hotel's policies, you choose another hotel for your travels. If your timeshare makes a policy change that means you'll no longer enjoy your stays there, you sell that timeshare. It's unfortunate to have to give up a favorite place to stay, but an anxious vacation is not a good one. Stay somewhere that doesn't make you anxious.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. I guess I should have gone to law school. The 4th amendment point was apparently not accurate based on the research I had done. No wonder Disney blew me off. But the other points I made I believe are good ones. But whether or not I was right or wrong on the 4th I still believe that Disney should not be intruding on our space. It just feels so darned violating. It feels the same when my home was robbed 20 years ago. Someone broke down my back door and stole our stuff. In the Disney case they are stealing my private time or walking into my space with impunity while on vacation. It feels awful and I really don’t think it is the right thing to do to their guests. So, cutting through the legal crap it simply comes down to that. I feel violated and there apparently is nothing I can do about it.

Sorry for the book I wrote before. Sometimes people have to hit ya over the head so you end up with a teaching point. I don’t regret, however, sharing this. Hopefully, you have a better understanding why I did it. Maybe others will feel empowered to share their feelings with Disney.

Cheers folks.

I do think anyone who feels strongly about the policy shares their feelings, in an intelligent manner, with Disney. (not saying you didn't, even if you were off base on their being within their legal rights)

But just like you have issues, those who don't are not any more wrong than you are. We've had 2 stays, 3rd will begin next Saturday, and on none of them have our privacy been invaded. There is a way for these procedures to be done and for privacy to be kept.

 

[AngiTN]

You’re right DisneyArkie, I am staying at someone’s else home. But the last time I stayed stayed there I felt safe. Now when they say Welcome Home, I won’t feel that way. My friend prior to this didn’t force themselves into what I considered my space. I could come and go and feel my belongings were safe. Now, who knows who is going to be inside my space. A magnitude higher number of people have access to my belongings than before. I don’t know these people. How do you trust so many people with access to your stuff?

I tell you if you have ever been robbed you won’t ever trust strangers with your belongings the same way ever again. It’s one thing to have a relationship with a HouseKeeper who you feel comfortable with and therefore give a tip at the end of your stay. But it’s quite a different feeling you will know several additional people you have never seen before will be forced upon you and you are powerless to protect yourself or your belongings from an intrusion that may not be safe to yourself or your stuff.

In today’s world we need that feeling of safety. Ask a woman staying alone at Disney how safe she now feels. Ask how safe do you feel allowing your kids to now stay, even for a short time, alone while you go to get something to eat for the family.

It is this basic feeling of trust which this new policy has broken. I’m glad you still feel gleefully able to accept this new policy. The rest of us who still use locks on our doors don’t hand out keys to a significant number of people. Examine that and you might begin to understand my viewpoint.

We have been broken in to, things taken.
We go to Disney and never lock our things up, leave our belongings out in the open, never turn down housekeeping. I can't fathom losing my trust in others off 1 break in. Those at Disney didn't break in my home (I live hundreds of miles away), why should I distrust them?
I have stayed alone at Disney, and will continue to do so. Disney is not dangerous, now or then.
I would allow DGD to remain in the room alone and not worry about her safety

 

[pattyw]

I do think anyone who feels strongly about the policy shares their feelings, in an intelligent manner, with Disney. (not saying you didn't, even if you were off base on their being within their legal rights)

But just like you have issues, those who don't are not any more wrong than you are. We've had 2 stays, 3rd will begin next Saturday, and on none of them have our privacy been invaded. There is a way for these procedures to be done and for privacy to be kept.

That's good news about your recent stays! Come back and tell us about you're 3rd!
I guess the way this policy is carried out is just the way Disney rolls lately- no consistency! Seems like it's either no problem or a nightmare!

 

[gillep]

You’re right DisneyArkie, I am staying at someone’s else home. But the last time I stayed stayed there I felt safe. Now when they say Welcome Home, I won’t feel that way. My friend prior to this didn’t force themselves into what I considered my space. I could come and go and feel my belongings were safe. Now, who knows who is going to be inside my space. A magnitude higher number of people have access to my belongings than before. I don’t know these people. How do you trust so many people with access to your stuff?

I tell you if you have ever been robbed you won’t ever trust strangers with your belongings the same way ever again. It’s one thing to have a relationship with a HouseKeeper who you feel comfortable with and therefore give a tip at the end of your stay. But it’s quite a different feeling you will know several additional people you have never seen before will be forced upon you and you are powerless to protect yourself or your belongings from an intrusion that may not be safe to yourself or your stuff.

In today’s world we need that feeling of safety. Ask a woman staying alone at Disney how safe she now feels. Ask how safe do you feel allowing your kids to now stay, even for a short time, alone while you go to get something to eat for the family.

It is this basic feeling of trust which this new policy has broken. I’m glad you still feel gleefully able to accept this new policy. The rest of us who still use locks on our doors don’t hand out keys to a significant number of people. Examine that and you might begin to understand my viewpoint.

I respect your opinion and it is absolutely valid, but I disagree. I travel a lot and I have always assumed that the hotel staff could enter my room (their property) at any time, this was always true for Disney too, they are just now being much more transparent with that, and are acting on that right.

I am a woman in my early 30s, and although I usually travel to Disney with my husband, I have also traveled there alone. Additionally, my husband does the RunDisney events so he leaves our room at 0 dark hundred and is gone for many hours, I do not wake up with him and therefore do not throw the privacy latch when he leaves, I feel no less safe now than I did before this policy.

I also do not lock up my belongings in my room when I travel, although I do try to keep them out of the line of sight, and I do not plan on changing that.

I have stayed once while this policy was in effect and had no issues, I will be there again next week (using my DVC points), I have zero concerns for my safety or privacy.

 

[StageTek]

It just feels so darned violating. It feels the same when my home was robbed 20 years ago. Someone broke down my back door and stole our stuff. In the Disney case they are stealing my private time or walking into my space with impunity while on vacation.

Our house, too, was robbed. It was a horrible feeling. And very, very different (to me) than someone knocking on my hotel room door and asking to check my room. I'm so sorry that you feel the same personal violation as you did when you found out your house was robbed. It helps me understand why you wrote what you did.

Sorry for the book I wrote before. Sometimes people have to hit ya over the head so you end up with a teaching point.

Not usually. No one "hit you over the head" when reminding you about the 4th amendment and you got the lesson. Most of the time people respond to a simple, well researched short lesson than a long, emotional one.

Fortunately there is something you can do about it. As "Hopefully" mentioned you can get away from Disney and choose an off-site hotel that doesn't make you feel violated.

 

[AngiTN]

That's good news about your recent stays! Come back and tell us about you're 3rd!
I guess the way this policy is carried out is just the way Disney rolls lately- no consistency! Seems like it's either no problem or a nightmare!

The way I'm seeing it is they are rolling out a policy with little to no rules and/or instructions attached to it. Sort of letting the CM affected "fend for themselves" so to speak, to figure it out. Then, when someone comes to their senses and realizes that is not working well at all, either from guest feedback or CM feedback, or some combo of both, they sit down and make a formal policy with more formal guidelines, or at least some sort of guidelines. And things smooth out to a new normal. The 2nd step should come first but for whatever reason, never seems to any more. The guest have to go through a guinea pig period that is painful to all. And there's just no reason for it. At least that's how I see it. I may be totally off base.

 

[pattyw]

The way I'm seeing it is they are rolling out a policy with little to no rules and/or instructions attached to it. Sort of letting the CM affected "fend for themselves" so to speak, to figure it out. Then, when someone comes to their senses and realizes that is not working well at all, either from guest feedback or CM feedback, or some combo of both, they sit down and make a formal policy with more formal guidelines, or at least some sort of guidelines. And things smooth out to a new normal. The 2nd step should come first but for whatever reason, never seems to any more. The guest have to go through a guinea pig period that is painful to all. And there's just no reason for it. At least that's how I see it. I may be totally off base.

To me, you are 100% on base From years of experience at Disney and what DS currently in DCP sees- a lot about Disney makes you

 

[sjrec]

In all this, I can’t determine if the OP has experienced the room checks on one of his stays?
I respect your point of view, and if it upsets that much you certainly should share your concerns with management.
We have a stay in 10 days so I will see first hand what all the fuss is about. We are DVC members so will have a daily check? I just can’t get fussed over this.

 

[RmeDad]

I am not personally concerned, but for those worried about their privacy, is this a legitimate use while the room is occupied?

 

[Summer2018]

Ten years ago, maintenance walked in on me napping in my birthday suit in the middle of the day while my family was swimming at the pool at ASMusic. I was mortified to say the least. That was a rough week for me. I had major surgery two months prior, and I was allowed to go to WDW by my doctor as long as I took a long afternoon nap daily. It never worked out. The A/C was leaking on the rug, so I had to try to sleep with an industrial fan blowing to dry the carpet. Maintenance people kept coming to deal with it without notice or a phone call. After being woken up and surprised the first time (I don't know who was more shocked), I napped in pajamas. But still...they disturbed me daily and never actually repaired the A/C. Housekeeping was hit or miss. Usually miss.

I really LOVE WDW. It is my Mothership. I don't like staying off-site. I like to live in the bubble, even though living in the bubble can be annoying and inconvenient at times. Being irritated in WDW is still better than being anywhere else to me. So, even before these room checks started, I've never rested completely comfortably in a WDW hotel. There's always someone that wants to enter my room to do whatever at the most inconvenient time possible, whether I like it or not. I have to accept that if I want to continue staying at WDW hotels.

So, I bought a new bathrobe. I think they will like it.

 

[maxiesmom]

I am not personally concerned, but for those worried about their privacy, is this a legitimate use while the room is occupied?
View attachment 316234

Only if you remove it if someone from Disney wants in your room. And if you pay for any damage it may cause.

 

[bear_mom]

Honest question: how many other hotels have this policy and just don’t make it publicly known? We travel frequently, sometimes we use the DND sign and others not, depends on our mood and the current condition of the room. But we are typically gone from our room most of the day so I have no way of knowing if they did a room check or not if we declined housekeeping.

 

[oceanmarina]

If nothing else you got your message, as a long term DVC owner, that you are not happy with this new policy and procedure. The louder message would be to sell and tell them why. I just wonder; does it state anywhere in your contract with them what their uninvited entry rules are, and are they in compliance. Is there anything you can do via your DVC ownership?

I had/have my next three trips booked offsite, letting them know why. That means not only my daily room rate, but the money I spend at the food court, now my parking money and more dining will happen offsite rather than on property. My last stay (Easter) at offsite hotel was with a legit DND sign, a paper in my suite telling me to use it and they won't come in ... and a much nicer stay than my last at Disney. (no Disney, it's not industry standard)

I will just say I don't think this has anything to do with Las Vegas (most Disney rooms offer nothing like that kind of vantage point) and rather to do with another situation that has Disney the focus of some investigations. Sadly I think rather than invest in a long term security procedure - we got ........... this. So likely your solutions won't help.

I also was under the impression that these room checks were a direct result of las Vegas, so what is the other possible reason for them?

 

[KrazeeK120]

I also was under the impression that these room checks were a direct result of las Vegas, so what is the other possible reason for them?

The theory I heard was because of human trafficking. I don’t think the “real” reason has ever been given, but that makes a lot more sense to me than a response to the Vegas incident. I’m sure they’ll never reveal the actual motive, but I presume it came from their legal department for one reason or another.

 

[SplashMtnCrew]

We are currently traveling home from our week long stay. I have no idea if any security checks were done, we never encountered it this past week. I might have the solution for the OP. We stayed in a cabin at Ft. Wilderness Campground for the first time and have all intentions of purchasing a travel trailer this month to take to WDW from here on out. Not because of security checks, that issue never came up in our decision and has no bearing on it at all. OP, maybe consider selling your DVC and using those funds to purchase an RV. I guarantee you that NOBODY is just walking in randomly into someone's motor home. We've made many adjustments to our WDW touring over the years as Disney has made changes along the way. And purchasing a motor home is another of the changes we are making as our style of touring has changed. All the best to you OP and thanks for an interesting topic.

 

[goofy4tink]

There are several reasons, besides the Vegas shooting, that Disney feels the need for these checks. There have been many cases of children being kidnapped and kept in rooms at Disney, human traffickers have used Disney rooms. Then, there is the issue of someone becoming ill in a room, or worse. That's happened many times as well.
So, all of you that feel the need to use door stops or such to prevent someone from entering your room, you had best hope you never have an emergency and call for help. Drastic? Sure. I've been at WDW about three times since they started this policy. I've been at OKW, Polynesian, All Star Movies and Music. Only one time did I have someone come to my room while I was there. It was midday at OKW, I hadn't hung the 'room occupied' sign out They knocked gently, I answered the door, the CM said he would be just a minute, he emptied two trash cans and was gone within 2 mins. I never saw anyone at the Polynesian or Music. At Movies, I did forgo housekeeping. I had a visit, on my first day, from a CM that wasn't a housekeeper. He asked if everything was okay, I said it was, and off he went. Never had trash emptied, but someone may have entered my room. No idea if they did or didn't.
It's just not a big deal for me.