BLT experience (caution long post)

[BEASLYBOO]

There are probably more HA rooms that are not used by HA guests and they have to be assigned to someone. It makes more sense to assign an HA room to a family with older children or a couple versus those with young ones. Because of the lower cabinets and stove knobs being on the front of the stove it could be dangerous for a young child to be in an HA villa.

I see your point, however I still think they should forworn or ask people! I, for one would be willing to wait for a another room, or if nothing else was available, time wouldn't be wasted shuffling back and forth to the front desk.

 

[CMOORE185]

I think the OP is being a bit harsh on DVC. A room request is just that, it's a request. Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you don't.

There was nothing wrong with the state of the original room and your lucky DVC allowed you to move room, they didn't have to.

Accept that things could have been better after your initial check in, however the intentions of the staff to help was very clear.

i don't really see that any of the issues raised as being major problems and think it's a moan about nothing.

I trust that the original OP is ALWAYS perfect when they do their work.

There it is, a review like this always gets at least one flamer. Of all DVC resorts I have found BLT to be the worst as far as condition, housekeeping, and CM quality. If it wasn't for location I think this would be the least popular resort. I hope they do a better job with GF.

 

[tjkraz]

I see your point, however I still think they should forworn or ask people! I, for one would be willing to wait for a another room, or if nothing else was available, time wouldn't be wasted shuffling back and forth to the front desk.

IMO, the system works the way it currently does because it's the path of least resistance for CMs.

Look at this specific example. OP was able to get the exact location and view requested...it just happened to be a HA room. The room met 3 of the 4 very specific requests, which is probably better than most guests' experiences.

If every resort forewarned guests that they were getting accessible rooms, 99% would decline. The chain reaction would then be as follows:

1. People with late arrivals always get the least desirable rooms. Many will tell you this already happens--giving members the ability to decline a HA room only worsens the situation.

2. It throws all room requests into a tailspin. Honestly that's my one gripe with this thread--if OP was so adamant that she did not want an accessible room, that should have been the only request made. To be blunt, I think it was pretty bold to march down to the front desk and essentially say "thanks for meeting 3 of my 4 requests but the one you didn't meet was the most important so you need to try again."

OP was apparently lucky enough to get a room that was not HA and still met the other 3 requests. But in most cases when you start switching around pre-assigned rooms, the net result is that far fewer people can be successfully matched with their desired accommodation.

 

[dvcdisney]

I see your point, however I still think they should forworn or ask people! I, for one would be willing to wait for a another room, or if nothing else was available, time wouldn't be wasted shuffling back and forth to the front desk.

That's what I was told when I called to say that we would prefer a room that was not HA. The CM at BCV was nice but when he told us that our room was ready, he did not mention that it was HA. When we got there, we called and asked if there were any other rooms available and that we did not know it was an HA room. They told us that a room will be available the next day. All of us had a hard time with the bathroom and shower. We ended up setting a lot of items on a towel on the floor.

When we came down and checked in for the new room, I asked if it was a HA (now I have to ask each time to avoid this). The CM told me that she would have mentioned that it was an HA room before giving me the Keys. I mentioned that that was why we had to change rooms and she said that the CMs are SUPPOSE to let the guest know that it was an HA room.

I just need to learn to be a lot more vigilant at the check in desk. And all we ever ask for is an upper or top floor room. No views, no specific rooms. I do not want to start requesting a NON-HA room. But I will if I have to. We had a difficult time with it, especially my children.

And I would also be willing to wait for another room.

 

[NJOGRE]

Sounds like my exact experience but i didn't get a new room. I had trash, including dirty diapers in every one of the trash cans in the room. No extra blankets or pillows, and the safe was locked. Took 3 trips to front desk to get it resolved.

Then had the extra blankets and pillows delivered 3 hours after I went down to the front desk to complain at 11 pm. And then on the last night I had maintenance knocking at my door at 10 pm.

The front desk gave me about 5 fastpass vouchers for my problems.

I wrote DVC when I got home and got some points refunded.

All in all I like BLT, however this is the 1st time in all are stays we had issues like this and the Cast members at the front desk didn't really seem to care

 

[disneynutz]

These BLT problems are minor compared to what happened to us at BLT the first time we stayed there.

We didn't get our room until late because they forgot to assign one to us and the only available room wasn't ready. We used Bell Services to help with the luggage and after collecting a nice tip, he offered to go and get us some ice because the machines are only on a couple of floors. Nice extra I thought, until we realized that he wasn't coming back and he took the ice bucket.

It took us 2 days to get a replacement bucket!

Bill

 

[ericamcl]

At BLT, the living room ottoman has a flip-up lid and is used to store pillows and blankets for the sofabed and sleeper chair. I don't know if not finding that was OPs issue but many people don't seem to check there.

when we were at BLT last month we looked there for pillows, etc. and our ottoman was empty

 

[nunzia]

No flames but that is alot of requests. Being able to come up with that exact combination is pretty hard for a room assigner.

I never make more than one. More than likely they went with what room would give you the most requests checked off and they did that they gave you 3 out of 4 which most people would find to be outstanding.

I do think BLT has some issues that need to be addressed and hopefully now that Jim Lewis is gone they will be.

I agree with that. EVERYONE wants the perfect room/view, so just making one request say..no HA seems more reasonable to me. When I'm at VGC I always say I'd love a PP view upper floor but I understand everyone wants that, so whatever is fine. I have always had a nice view.
Now the housekeeping and maintenance issues are another issue and very valid. To me these things are the biggest issues for DVC owners to worry about. There are far too many reports of dirty, malfuntioning and damaged units. If I were Claire Bilby that would be my job one.

 

[disneynutz]

I agree with that. EVERYONE wants the perfect room/view, so just making one request say..no HA seems more reasonable to me. When I'm at VGC I always say I'd love a PP view upper floor but I understand everyone wants that, so whatever is fine. I have always had a nice view.
Now the housekeeping and maintenance issues are another issue and very valid. To me these things are the biggest issues for DVC owners to worry about. There are far too many reports of dirty, malfuntioning and damaged units. If I were Claire Bilby that would be my job one.

I'm interested in your job one comment. Why do you think that Bilby should care about the rooms? How does it effect Disney's business if nothing is done or how does it effect their business if they raise our dues to improve the room conditions?

Bill

 

[nunzia]

I'm interested in your job one comment. Why do you think that Bilby should care about the rooms? How does it effect Disney's business if nothing is done or how does it effect their business if they raise our dues to improve the room conditions?

Bill

Because providing a good product should be the first importance of any manager..CEO..President..whatever..which will lead to happier owners (customers), more sales and larger bottom line. There is always a fine line between keeping the profit up and costs down.
I don't think our dues should need to be raised to maintain our units in a clean and operational manner. Why don't we just lower dues and have incoming guests be responsible for cleaning their own rooms or not provide towels and linens so we don't have to maintain or provide those things? Ridiculous sure..but far too often in my professional life I've seen the constant push to drive down labor costs which leads to poor product (and service is a big part of Disney's product) which leads to guest dis-satisfaction which leads to less income and then less labor allowed and so on. Yes, I know they have our money already and no, I don't want them spending oodles on unnecessary improvements and remodels, but I think most of us bought DVC for a clean useable room and if we aren't getting that then the head of DVC should care. Even though they have our money they don't have the money of the people who who haven't bought yet and if DVC gets a reputation as a shoddy unkempt product then their bottom line will suffer and then they'll notice. Better to make sure things are run properly to begin with. It is much harder to re-establish trust then to not lose it to begin with.
What do you think Ms. Bilby's focus should be..building more and more units for that big boost to the bottom line?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Because providing a good product should be the first importance of any manager..CEO..President..whatever..which will lead to happier owners (customers), more sales and larger bottom line. There is always a fine line between keeping the profit up and costs down.
I don't think our dues should need to be raised to maintain our units in a clean and operational manner. Why don't we just lower dues and have incoming guests be responsible for cleaning their own rooms or not provide towels and linens so we don't have to maintain or provide those things? Ridiculous sure..but far too often in my professional life I've seen the constant push to drive down labor costs which leads to poor product (and service is a big part of Disney's product) which leads to guest dis-satisfaction which leads to less income and then less labor allowed and so on. Yes, I know they have our money already and no, I don't want them spending oodles on unnecessary improvements and remodels, but I think most of us bought DVC for a clean useable room and if we aren't getting that then the head of DVC should care. Even though they have our money they don't have the money of the people who who haven't bought yet and if DVC gets a reputation as a shoddy unkempt product then their bottom line will suffer and then they'll notice. Better to make sure things are run properly to begin with. It is much harder to re-establish trust then to not lose it to begin with.
What do you think Ms. Bilby's focus should be..building more and more units for that big boost to the bottom line?

nunzia for DVC President!..

MG

 

[tjkraz]

Does anyone know for a fact that Disney Vacation Club even has direct control over resort services?

My understanding has always been that Disney Vacation Club essentially contracts with resort housekeeping and maintenance departments for their services. This is necessitated by the split loyalties of most resorts' staff servicing both cash guests and DVC members.

Take a resort like the BoardWalk. Resort-wide, the same Cast Members are cleaning and maintaining both hotel rooms and villas. Front desk staff checks-in both cash guests and DVC members. Both groups utilize the same pools, Community Hall, bell services, etc.

With that sort of split loyalty, I find it hard to believe that BW resort managers report to the head of DVC in any official capacity. This would seem to be particularly true after this summer's executive reorganization which pulled DVC out of the entire Parks and Resorts reporting structure. I cannot conceive of a system where Parks & Resorts falls under Meg Crofton, yet Claire Bilby--who does not answer to Crofton--has direct say in resort operations.

There is certainly some level of communications between DVC and resort managers to help address problems. In a perfect world, DVC would recognize trends, take them to the resorts and solutions would be implemented. But anyone who has worked for a large company knows that things rarely go that smoothly.

I guess my point is if Claire Bilby doesn't have the power to make changes, there's no sense in singling her out as the one who could/should/would affect noticeable improvements over the status quo. Holding Bilby--or even Lewis--responsible for housekeeping problems is sort of like blaming Ronald McDonald for a bad hamburger.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Does anyone know for a fact that Disney Vacation Club even has direct control over resort services?

My understanding has always been that Disney Vacation Club essentially contracts with resort housekeeping and maintenance departments for their services. This is necessitated by the split loyalties of most resorts' staff servicing both cash guests and DVC members.

True, but I would think DVC can contract any level of service with the host resort. DVC may not be willing to pay enough for the level of housekeeping that truly needs to be done.
Translation: Lim Lewis was too el cheapo.

Not sure about the stand alone resorts..??

MG

 

[tjkraz]

True, but I would think DVC can contract any level of service with the host resort. DVC may not be willing to pay enough for the level of housekeeping that truly needs to be done.
Translation: Lim Lewis was too el cheapo.

I doubt that is the case. I cannot see a resort housekeeping department having a different set of rules--different standards--for cash rooms vs. timeshare villas.

Nevertheless, look at the complaints in OP's report: litter on floor, dirty sink, dirty dishes. Those are not the results one would expect if the root cause is Jim Lewis being "el cheapo."

Obviously the room does not meet Disney standards--villa or not. You cannot tell me that a housekeeper serviced the rest of the room but then said "eh, it's just a villa so I'll let those things slide." No housekeeping supervisor inspected the room and concluded "well, that's the quality Lewis is paying for."

This situation is more likely a result of some human error. Could be that the front desk CM put OP in the room before it was properly released as he/she was scrambling to find another villa. Could be that the prior occupant returned to the room after it was serviced.

There are now 3500-5000 DVC villas now at WDW alone. These are rooms which range is size from 350 - 2000 sq ft, are serviced once every 5-7 days and have a near-100% occupancy rate.

In some ways, I really do think we overreact to the 1-2 unfortunate reports which appear on the DIS each week. Even if Disney housekeeping does an exemplary job on 99% of DVC villas (just to pick a number), that still leaves 35-50 rooms that slip through the cracks. And they slip through not necessarily because DVC is cheap but because a (human) housekeeper does a mediocre job or because staff members call off sick or various other human factors like those noted previously.

Realistically we all have to know that 100% quality is simply not obtainable. Cash resorts have the advantage of 85-90% occupancy rates year round. Rooms in need of extra attention can easily be taken out of service. Not true for DVC.

Bottom line: If Claire Bilby is going to be held personally responsible for every dirty spoon reported on the DIS, we might as well brand her tenure a failure right now.

 

[disneynutz]

Because providing a good product should be the first importance of any manager..CEO..President..whatever..which will lead to happier owners (customers), more sales and larger bottom line. There is always a fine line between keeping the profit up and costs down.
I don't think our dues should need to be raised to maintain our units in a clean and operational manner. Why don't we just lower dues and have incoming guests be responsible for cleaning their own rooms or not provide towels and linens so we don't have to maintain or provide those things? Ridiculous sure..but far too often in my professional life I've seen the constant push to drive down labor costs which leads to poor product (and service is a big part of Disney's product) which leads to guest dis-satisfaction which leads to less income and then less labor allowed and so on. Yes, I know they have our money already and no, I don't want them spending oodles on unnecessary improvements and remodels, but I think most of us bought DVC for a clean useable room and if we aren't getting that then the head of DVC should care. Even though they have our money they don't have the money of the people who who haven't bought yet and if DVC gets a reputation as a shoddy unkempt product then their bottom line will suffer and then they'll notice. Better to make sure things are run properly to begin with. It is much harder to re-establish trust then to not lose it to begin with.
What do you think Ms. Bilby's focus should be..building more and more units for that big boost to the bottom line?

The sad reality is, your last sentence is her number one job, building DVC resorts and selling contracts.

As DVC owners our satisfaction isn't very important and we have no leverage to force improvement, good or bad, we have no choice but to continue using our points and paying our dues. As I have posted many times before, why don't they do a better job with resort cleaning and maintenance? Why not bump our dues a little if it's a budget issue and offer a clean room without exception? Either our satisfaction isn't important or there has to be reasons that we are not privy to, or both.

To counter Tim's post, Disney does maintain a difference between DVC rooms and non DVC rooms. Different Mousekeepers, towels, linens, decor and policies. Disney Resorts is under agreement to provide service to the DVC for a set price and in the world of Disney, DVC is considered a business partner to Resorts. Many a time over the years I have been told by DVC Member Satisfaction when having a room problem, "let me call the resort and see what they can do for us", and the impression I get is that DVC has very little power to get things corrected.

Bill

 

[lugnut33]

We just got back from a weeks stay. First night 1 bedroom at AKV Kidani savannah view. Was kind of worried, but it was a beautiful room. Super clean and the view was fantastic.

OK, so far I only made it through the second sentence before I had to ask a question because I don't understand what had you worried about Kidani since it is the highest rated resort on property? In guest surveys nothing else comes close to Kidani.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I doubt that is the case. I cannot see a resort housekeeping department having a different set of rules--different standards--for cash rooms vs. timeshare villas.

Maybe I wasn't clear..
I'm not saying they negotiated a different standard of housekeeping, rather DVC is not willing to pay for enough housekeepers to get the job done correctly. The number may look okay on paper and please the management, but in reality when you try to stretch something to thin quality suffers.

In some ways, I really do think we overreact to the 1-2 unfortunate reports which appear on the DIS each week. Even if Disney housekeeping does an exemplary job on 99% of DVC villas (just to pick a number), that still leaves 35-50 rooms that slip through the cracks. And they slip through not necessarily because DVC is cheap but because a (human) housekeeper does a mediocre job or because staff members call off sick or various other human factors like those noted previously.

I am not exaggerating when I say that 95% of the time our villa is not cleaned to our standards.
It's always "surface clean", but look closer at the carpet and kitchen floor, or many other kitchen appliances.

On our very first DVC stay in September 2002 we stayed at VWL. We walked in extremely excited. The first thing we did was fold down the comforter, and were greeted by a giant urine stain on the underneath side.

MG

 

[tjkraz]

Maybe I wasn't clear..
I'm not saying they negotiated a different standard of housekeeping, rather DVC is not willing to pay for enough housekeepers to get the job done correctly. The number may look okay on paper and please the management, but in reality when you try to stretch something to thin quality suffers.

Perhaps. But if staffing was an issue, I believe the most obvious manifestation would be guests consistently getting into rooms late. And that doesn't appear to be the case.

Most of the stories I hear sound like they are rooted in human error. Perhaps it's due to short staffing but without knowing the percentages of these errors, it's hard to formulate an opinion. Again, when I only see a couple bad reports per week on the DIS, and know there are several thousand DVC villas being occupied each week, the problems don't strike me as being particularly egregious.

I am not exaggerating when I say that 95% of the time our villa is not cleaned to our standards.
It's always "surface clean", but look closer at the carpet and kitchen floor, or many other kitchen appliances.

If that's the case, then I'm not sure we will ever find any common ground on this matter.

A 95% failure rate is not consistent with my experiences, and it doesn't seem to be reflected in the experiences of other members.

I cannot envision the DVC increasing budgets or resorts altering procedures to correct what you judge to be a consistent 95% failure rate over the last 10 years.

 

[nunzia]

Does anyone know for a fact that Disney Vacation Club even has direct control over resort services?

My understanding has always been that Disney Vacation Club essentially contracts with resort housekeeping and maintenance departments for their services. This is necessitated by the split loyalties of most resorts' staff servicing both cash guests and DVC members.

Take a resort like the BoardWalk. Resort-wide, the same Cast Members are cleaning and maintaining both hotel rooms and villas. Front desk staff checks-in both cash guests and DVC members. Both groups utilize the same pools, Community Hall, bell services, etc.

With that sort of split loyalty, I find it hard to believe that BW resort managers report to the head of DVC in any official capacity. This would seem to be particularly true after this summer's executive reorganization which pulled DVC out of the entire Parks and Resorts reporting structure. I cannot conceive of a system where Parks & Resorts falls under Meg Crofton, yet Claire Bilby--who does not answer to Crofton--has direct say in resort operations.

There is certainly some level of communications between DVC and resort managers to help address problems. In a perfect world, DVC would recognize trends, take them to the resorts and solutions would be implemented. But anyone who has worked for a large company knows that things rarely go that smoothly.

I guess my point is if Claire Bilby doesn't have the power to make changes, there's no sense in singling her out as the one who could/should/would affect noticeable improvements over the status quo. Holding Bilby--or even Lewis--responsible for housekeeping problems is sort of like blaming Ronald McDonald for a bad hamburger.

I see your point, but still..the buck does stop with the head of any group. Heck..I'll blame Iger for messy DVC rooms..if it has Disney slapped on it then it should fit the standard. No, you can't blame Ronald McDonald for the bad burger and we can't hold DeeVee Cee for the messy room, but I expect that Ray Kroc should have cared if I got a bad burger. I understand that the resorts handle the housekeeping..esp at VGC that is mainly hotel rooms, not DVC, and I also understand that I get into my room last, after hotel guests, and that's OK too..but are there these same reports about messy hotel rooms? We should at least have the same level of cleaning that the hotel rooms get since the cleaning is done by the same mousekeepers. I'd think Ms. Bilby would have the clout to call the head of whoever oversees housekeeping, or resort heads and tell them that she expects DVC rooms to be held to the same cleanliness requirements as standard hotel rooms.
This is all just for the point of discussion..I read alot here and see many complaints about rooms that were clearly skipped over or had poor attention paid to them. Maybe if I hung out in the hotel rooms area I'd see that there are problems there also. I also have to say that I stay at VGC for my DVC experience and have stayed many times at the hotel before DVC opened and have never had anything but a sparkling clean well maintained room, so this isn't coming from any disgruntled views on my part. I just don't think it's asking too much to have clean and well maintained rooms.
Of course I don't think Ms. Bilby is 'responsible' for every dirty room or spoon..but it ultimately is her job to have DVC perfrom..and as I've said many times, sure they have OUR money, but we talk alot..and people share their experiences..what did they say in Marketing 101?..a satisfied person tells 3 about their positive experience while an unhappy person tells 15? I still say it would be in in their best interest to keep existing owners happy to tell others about their wonderful DVC ownership than to say the opposite.
I can tell you as an ex manager in a Vegas casino that those negative comment cards went all the way to the top and were taken very seriously..I'd hope that Disney cared enough about us to care a little about our stays.

 

[tjkraz]

This is all just for the point of discussion..I read alot here and see many complaints about rooms that were clearly skipped over or had poor attention paid to them. Maybe if I hung out in the hotel rooms area I'd see that there are problems there also.

I'm sure the hotels do have problems. The difference is that in a 1000 room hotel complex at 90% occupancy, the worst 100 rooms can be flagged for additional cleaning and left vacant. Extra cleaning or maintenance can be performed well into the night or first thing in the morning while the staff is still waiting for the day's guests to depart.

In a 400 room timeshare facility at 100% occupancy, every single room needs to be ready to accept guests by 4pm. Villa cleanings are complicated by the large size of the units, the added amenities which require attention (full-size appliances, dozens of pieces of cookware and dishware, etc.), and the dramatically scaled-down cleaning schedule.

I also have to say that I stay at VGC for my DVC experience and have stayed many times at the hotel before DVC opened and have never had anything but a sparkling clean well maintained room, so this isn't coming from any disgruntled views on my part. I just don't think it's asking too much to have clean and well maintained rooms.

The problem from which we all suffer is putting the numbers in any real world context. Do the instances of poor housekeeping amount to 1 in 10? 1 in 100? 1 in 1000?

100% satisfaction is an admirable goal, but it isn't a realistic goal.

I'm certainly in favor of high expectations and high standards, but I feel a significant disconnect from those who claim to get sub-par rooms 80-90% of the time.