Bad Day at Blackrock ... and OKW **UPDATED on page 9**

[Tamar]

I worked at a Holiday Inn with 240 rooms about 20 years ago. Each morning, we looked at arrivals for the day, and those with requests were assigned a room that was either vacant or would be vacated that met those requests (if possible). We had a board with 240 slots, and little plastic triangle flags. Once we'd assigned a room, we put a little triangle flag in the slot, and wrote the room number on the check in ticket. It wasn't perfect, but we rarely had people complain about the location of their room. You would think with computers this would be even easier.....

PS, we had lake view rooms, corner rooms, poolside rooms, smoking rooms, etc. Even one room with a waterbed.

 

[crisi]

I worked at a Holiday Inn with 240 rooms about 20 years ago. Each morning, we looked at arrivals for the day, and those with requests were assigned a room that was either vacant or would be vacated that met those requests (if possible). We had a board with 240 slots, and little plastic triangle flags. Once we'd assigned a room, we put a little triangle flag in the slot, and wrote the room number on the check in ticket. It wasn't perfect, but we rarely had people complain about the location of their room. You would think with computers this would be even easier.....

PS, we had lake view rooms, corner rooms, poolside rooms, smoking rooms, etc. Even one room with a waterbed.

That's pretty much how I understand DVC worked - with the added touch of rooms being allocated in the order the reservation was made - until about two and a half years ago. Then they stopped and started doing "something" different. Sometimes its room ready. Sometimes they pre-assign rooms, but if you get their early and whine the pre-assigned rooms get moved around during the day. They said they did this because it enables people to get into their rooms earlier - after all if a room is clean at 10am and you check in at 11 and are assigned a room that isn't clean until 4:30, while the 10am room is held for someone who won't check in until 6:00pm you have one unhappy person and one unused room. Back then there were a lot more complaints about "I didn't get into my room until 4:00 (or even later)" but few on "I ended up in a smoking room." So its possible that there is some truth to this. Personally, I believe the time spent assigning rooms by a room assigner was pretty much a full time job and they decided to cut headcount - and make an "improvement" a lot of people HAD asked for at the same time.

It does seem that there should be some way for Disney to make it more likely for people to get what they asked for based on booking date or other criteria (members, home resort ownership, whatever) while remaining flexible enough not to make it a logistical nightmare. But the more room types there are, the more of a nightmare it becomes and the closer you come to the three room B&B logistics problem.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

Personally, it seems that s/ns seems to be a big issue. So make all romms n/s.

As far as h/nh, it seems like some mods could be done, like adding some cabinets. We stayed in a handicap cabin at FW. The only pain was we rolled up towels along the shower to keep the bathroom floor from flooding. We have an ADA shower at work and I brought one of those swimming pool noodles to keep the curtain in. Perhaps DVC could have like a removable or "crushable" strip that could be used for non-handicap parties.

 

[llp479]

At least we can make requests. Good friends of ours who have been cruising on the Disney cruises instead of staying at the resort are going to WDW in November. They made ressies at the Poly. They couldn't even request non-smoking. They were told by CSR that they needed to fax their request to the resort 3 days prior to arriving. Yes, you read right FAX!

They were shocked! They were so used to being able to request specific cabins on the cruise, non-smoking, etc, and having those requests be met, that they couldn't even request something as simple as no smoking.

 

[crisi]

Personally, it seems that s/ns seems to be a big issue. So make all romms n/s.

As far as h/nh, it seems like some mods could be done, like adding some cabinets. We stayed in a handicap cabin at FW. The only pain was we rolled up towels along the shower to keep the bathroom floor from flooding. We have an ADA shower at work and I brought one of those swimming pool noodles to keep the curtain in. Perhaps DVC could have like a removable or "crushable" strip that could be used for non-handicap parties.

I, too, think the handicapped rooms could be a lot more acceptable to a lot of people with some minor modifications. A shelf or two in the bathroom for toiletries, a way to secure the shower curtain (or a removeable strip).

It would still be difficult for people with small kids in a HA studio, but I think a lot more people would be able to cope.

 

[joepoe]

I think joepoe meant that the leftover undesirable rooms from the night before were the "dregs", not the people in the rooms!

Yes, thanks! LOL The other kind of "dregs" are in th bottom of my DVC coffee pot!

 

[thelobstershanty]

Personally, it seems that s/ns seems to be a big issue. So make all romms n/s.

That does not seem to be very fair to all the members that bought into a timeshare with the understanding that both smoking and non smoking villas would be available, for their use. I also think this would make an ever growing problem accelerate. Seems to me, the big problems with people getting smoking optional rooms, when requesting N/S, all started when DVC greatly decreased the number of smoking rooms at the resorts. It does not seem as though there are enough smoking optional villas now, to meet the demand. If all DVC resorts were N/S, this would only result in more people smoking in N/S villas. Especially since, many throw a fit over people smoking on balconys of a non smoking unit. Even though, it is alllowed in all WDW DVC resorts and told to guests when they check in, and are then brought up ashtrays from houskeeping.
BTW, I am not a smoker, but someone that can see it from both sides.

 

[dianeschlicht]

That does not seem to be very fair to all the members that bought into a timeshare with the understanding that both smoking and non smoking villas would be available, for their use. I also think this would make an ever growing problem accelerate. Seems to me, the big problems with people getting smoking optional rooms, when requesting N/S, all started when DVC greatly decreased the number of smoking rooms at the resorts. It does not seem as though there are enough smoking optional villas now, to meet the demand. If all DVC resorts were N/S, this would only result in more people smoking in N/S villas. Especially since, many throw a fit over people smoking on balconys of a non smoking unit. Even though, it is alllowed in all WDW DVC resorts and told to guests when they check in, and are then brought up ashtrays from houskeeping.
BTW, I am not a smoker, but someone that can see it from both sides.

This is one point I agree with you on, Dee. I think the more they cut back on smoking buildings and smoking rooms, the more people will abuse the non-snoking ones. I am very allergic and asthmatic, so I want a guaranteed room that has not been smoked in. Unfortunately, when the front desk hands out ashtrays for people staying in NS villas, they end up using them inside instead of outside. As I see it, there are two ways to go here. Determine the percentage of guests who usually request a smoking villa, and make sure the inventory matches that percentage or else ban smoking inside all villas and make all smokers go outside to smoke. That would mean NO indoor moveable ashtrays, and all balconys would be equiped with a stationary one. Now, that last solution might make it a bit more uncomfortable for folks like me, because we might not be able to use our balcony if someone nearby is smoking on theirs, but it would be worth it to me to know the indoor areas were being preserved.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

The problem with specific rooms is that you loose flexibility for maintenance and bookings

For maintenance, lets say you book room 2212. The morning you are scheduled to arrive, the people in that room call maintenance right at checkout. There has been a "plumbing problem" with their last trip to the bathroom. Its going to take DVC a day to get the mess cleaned up, a new toilet installed, etc. You get there and what are they going to do with you? How happy are you going to be?

For booking flexibility, lets take a big three room bed and breakfast (trust me, it scales) with the Blue Room, the Pink Room, and the Green Room.

Couple one books the Blue room from the first to the seventh
Couple two books the pink room from the first to the third
Couple three books the green room from the third to the seventh
Couple four calls, they'd like to stay at your b&b for a week between the first and the seventh. Do you have a room for them? Only if they are willing to move and you want to do a full cleaning.

I really dislike this whole arguement. The first situation you are describing is a situation which would be extremely rare. I would feel much better knowing my requests are met and only if some emergency situation comes up will I not be getting them, rather than I may not get them just because of the time of day I check in.

In the second situation, some problems would occur, BUT at DVC couple number 4 can then choose to move during their stay or change their choice of resort or time of travel. In this scenario you have 3 couples getting EXACTLY what they want and the 4th has options to get exactly what they want. Instead of currently where all 4 could possibly arrive and get none of their requests met at all, resulting in potentially 4 upset DVC members

the whole arguement that its too difficult to come up with a better reservation system is just insane to me, this is their industry, their job.

 

[crisi]

Yes, the first example is extremely rare, but its an example. I wonder how often housekeeping gets into a room and finds it unoccupyable? I think they tag rooms as unoccupiable less often than they should (non smoking rooms that should be cleaned and aired after having been used by a smoker seems to be a frequent case) and I'd rather they do it more often than less often.

And we will have to disagree on the second. I don't find it acceptable to have to move multiple times during a trip because a bunch of people have booked a night here and a night there in specific rooms and by the time I am calling (I don't make last minute trips, but if I did), I'll have to move every night during my trip to string along a vacation. It also makes it very hard for DVC to turn over unused rooms to CRO at 60 days - if we members aren't willing to move around, I can't imagine cash guests would be understanding. And we can say "screw cash guests" but we will pay a price for that in non member fee revenue.

 

[Tamar]

Okay, I just had a little epiphany (I think). Has anyone ever gotten to check in and been told "well I see you requested a 1 bedroom, but we can't meet that request, all we have left is studios"? I suspect that is not a common occurance, so however they monitor those room requirements, they should be able to take it one step further (like to n/s or h/a).

 

[OneMoreTry]

My preference is that they stick with ONE policy so I know what I'm up against. If it's room ready, I'll get there early. If it's designated rooms, I'll get there later. I don't even care if it's different from resort to resort. Just so I know the policy for the resort I'll be arriving at.

If room ready really represents majority opinion, then this a conflict between majority opinion AND what is really fair:

With a room ready system, a greater number of people are happy. They get in early, get a choice of rooms and can reserve late and still get a great room.

BUT

The fairest system would be to give preference to those that reserve early. (I think that group is disproportionately represented here -- by most of us.) Even though most people may prefer the other system, I think they would understand the fairness of and accept this system.

 

[sheryl0521]

Okay, I just had a little epiphany (I think). Has anyone ever gotten to check in and been told "well I see you requested a 1 bedroom, but we can't meet that request, all we have left is studios"? I suspect that is not a common occurance, so however they monitor those room requirements, they should be able to take it one step further (like to n/s or h/a).

If this ever happened, I would sell immediately!
If I book a 1-bedroom, I would only take an upgrade not a downsize.
The size of a room is not a request, it is what you pay for with your points.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just returned from BCV and I haven't read this entirely, but I want to pass along a situation I observed one day as we returned to our room. A bell services CM was wheeling the luggage from the Villas toward the lobby accompanied by a not-too-pleased family. The man said, "Is that why we ended up with a smoking villa? I find it hard to believe we were the very last people to check in today," (Sunday @ 6:00) to which the CM replied that they were. When they got to the main building, what really struck me as odd is that they turned left, away from the lobby/check-in,to what I thought were Beach Club rooms. I silently said a prayer of thanks that when we checked in at 7:45 the evening before, we didn't get the very last room. It did make me wonder though if anyone who's checked into the Villas either at BC or WL been so displeased they ended up at the hotel instead.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just returned from BCV and I haven't read this entirely, but I want to pass along a situation I observed one day as we returned to our room. A bell services CM was wheeling the luggage from the Villas toward the lobby accompanied by a not-too-pleased family. The man said, "Is that why we ended up with a smoking villa? I find it hard to believe we were the very last people to check in today," (Sunday @ 6:00) to which the CM replied that they were. When they got to the main building, what really struck me as odd is that they turned left, away from the lobby/check-in,to what I thought were Beach Club rooms. I silently said a prayer of thanks that when we checked in at 7:45 the evening before, we didn't get the very last room. It did make me wonder though if anyone who's checked into the Villas either at BC or WL been so displeased they ended up at the hotel instead.
One irony here-we were on the third floor and just below us, there was a woman on the balcony frequently smoking. Second floor smoking room? I don't think so.

 

[OneMoreTry]

If this ever happened, I would sell immediately!
If I book a 1-bedroom, I would only take an upgrade not a downsize.
The size of a room is not a request, it is what you pay for with your points.

I think Tamar's [well taken] point is that if they can keep up with requests for room types, they should be able to keep up with NS, etc.

I think the problem with this is that ADDING a condition like 1BR + NS increases the difficulty of meeting requests exponentially.

 

[jarestel]

I think the problem with this is that ADDING a condition like 1BR + NS increases the difficulty of meeting requests exponentially.

As my boss says when handing out assignments that contain a certain degree of difficulty... "Just think of this as an opportunity to shine"!

 

[OneMoreTry]

As my boss says when handing out assignments that contain a certain degree of difficulty... "Just think of this as an opportunity to shine"!

My point here is about the "degree" of difficulty.

It would take more than a motivational course and a cute saying to do this. Without SHINING software and a really good algorithm, I believe even the greatest CMs would shine until the Webmasters arrive in the late evening and then the situation would be quite "unshiny." In the end, there would be unmet requests.

If DVC is to make a commitment to this they would need to invest in the software.

I would rather have them work on online booking and point management.

 

[thelobstershanty]

This is one point I agree with you on, Dee.

That is nice that you agree with my opionion. But I am not Dee, as I posted before when you asked me this.
I do agree with your opionions about the smoking and n/s villas. I feel the same way.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

My point here is about the "degree" of difficulty.

It would take more than a motivational course and a cute saying to do this. Without SHINING software and a really good algorithm, I believe even the greatest CMs would shine until the Webmasters arrive in the late evening and then the situation would be quite "unshiny." In the end, there would be unmet requests.

If DVC is to make a commitment to this they would need to invest in the software.

I would rather have them work on online booking an point management.

nahh, tons of places do this, we arent talking about revolutionizing the industry here.