Call room assigners to confirm requests?

[bumbershoot]

The front desk said that I should call the resort directly.

Literally no way to do that.

Everyone on the resorts board talks about faxing requests to the resort three days in advance.

I've ONLY seen it discussed for the Port Orleans resorts. I know there's some TA who says they can do it, but as far as I have known only PO has room assigners that can be contacted by fax anymore.

Its been a fairly regular message in Disney Files over the years.

I've never seen it.

And that's hardly an official way to tell us rules.

 

[ErinC]

I feel certain that I read about it on the wilderness lodge thread on the resorts board. I know that many WL guests fax their requests.

 

[DenLo]

Earlier the month we were traveling with family and staying in a studio plus a 2BR. We had MS indicate Traveling With on the resevations and requested a high floor. We confirmed our request later with MS. And at the check in desk they also read back our requests. Our rooms were on the 9th floor and had only the 1BR lock off between the studio and the dedicated two bedroom. That is very close together IMO. We were happy with the results.

 

[CarolMN]

I make my requests through MS. We get them more than 50% of the time. When I do online check-in, I completely skip the section on requests. (The options usually don't make sense for the DVC resorts, anyway and there is no "free-form" space to be specific).

I think the assigners do the best they can for us. We have to remember that a room that meets our requests must be vacant for it to be assigned to us. Since DVC resorts carry such a high occupancy, my guess is that it can be a challenge just to get everyone in a room. Couple that with the fact that many guests just want a room when they arrive. So if a room that is perfect for us is available early in the day, it might just go to the family standing at the front desk who wants a room asap because the kids need a nap.

I really do not think it helps to call or fax requests. Just imagine the mess if everyone did that. (That's probably why we've been asked to funnel requests through MS as some of those requests can probably be part of an automated process). If I were a room assigner, I would likely just recycle any fax requests - if I had to consider them, I'd never get my job done!

 

[crisi]

I feel certain that I read about it on the wilderness lodge thread on the resorts board. I know that many WL guests fax their requests.

I found a reference to it over on one of the other DVC sites, DVC stopped paying attention to faxes in 2004.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I found a reference to it over on one of the other DVC sites, DVC stopped paying attention to faxes in 2004.

As is right and proper. Faxes are archaic. Might as well send a cuneiform tablet via pony.

 

[ErinC]

I found a reference to it over on one of the other DVC sites, DVC stopped paying attention to faxes in 2004.

My response was to bumbershoot who said it was only on the Port Orleans thread. I assure you the thread is from 2016, not 2004.
Again, I've never faxed, because I don't have a need to. Since WL is a shared resort, these may be regular hotel guests doing so. Someone asked the question and offered what I had read. The sarcastic comments are unnecessary.

 

[crisi]

My response was to bumbershoot who said it was only on the Port Orleans thread. I assure you the thread is from 2016, not 2004.
Again, I've never faxed, because I don't have a need to. Since WL is a shared resort, these may be regular hotel guests doing so. Someone asked the question and offered what I had read. The sarcastic comments are unnecessary.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to be sarcastic at all. Just informative that DVC stopped paying attention to faxes in 2004. I have no idea what the cash resorts do, since we've owned since 2002.

 

[ParrotBill]

I get my requests more than 75% of the time. Here's how:
I make the request to MS on the phone
I make it general enough - BWV: Facing Leisure Pool, first floor. SS: Grandstand, building 5000 or 6000 first floor.
I make travel arrangements to arrive early in the day, not late, while there is still flexibility to make changs
If I get a room ready message before I arrive, I check my room against a map, and if not to my liking, I go to the desk and do not go to the room (important!)
If I arrive before getting a room ready message, I go to the desk and ask if they can check if my request was accomodated and if not, can they possibly improve it, as I am willing to wait later for it
I ask politely if they could improve my location closer to my request, if I am willing to wait longer for it

 

[LBarLRanch]

You can check your requests online at my reservations. We must be in the minority as we have pretty much always gotten our requests. Ours have always been made by a phone call to member services.

 

[disneynutz]

I was told a few years ago by a operations CM at WL that faxes go into the trash. Things may have changed but I doubt it. As far as I know requests aren't visible online other than maybe the online check in requests.

Bill

 

[hayesdvc]

You can check your requests online at my reservations. We must be in the minority as we have pretty much always gotten our requests. Ours have always been made by a phone call to member services.

Can you explain the steps to see your requests online? Thanks

 

[Anal Annie]

Can you explain the steps to see your requests online? Thanks

Yes - I've never seen or heard of this one before...please do explain where we can see them!!

 

[Danniyell]

I have many times asked for a high floor or specific rooms for our stay - we usually get them - it may be that because we are coming over from the UK and we stay for 3 weeks at a time - the requests are easier to fulfil as they can block that room out for that longer period of time?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

My understanding is that there are the standard requests - ie the ones you can select when you do online check-in and will be the requests you can see online - near elevator, near transportation etc or at OKW the neighborhoods - it varies by resort and some are very generic). Then, when you get more specific or ask for something that is more than a check-box it has to go into a notes section on the reservation. I've found it's hit or miss if the front desk sees that when you're there so even if you're told they aren't they might be. I've had more than one MS CM tell me they are adding it to the notes section and that they hoped the resort would notice it.

In general I try not to get too specific - learned that back in cash days at WL when we ended up no where near what we requested because I had asked for a specific room - which was already assigned to someone else. The front desk told me that without more info they didn't know why I wanted that room and since it wasn't available they just assigned where they could fit us in. Personally I don't think cash reservations get any more attention than DVC and in general our own DVC room requests are met fairly frequently. I sent a kudos to the BWV room assignor for our Feb trip - they did a fabulous job keeping us close together and in exactly the area I requested. The biggest issue is when we try and request something that is a very popular request in a small room category. Someone has to stay in the other rooms too.

As far as fax requests - the last time I officially saw it from DVC was quite a few years a back - maybe 2009 or so? - and do think it was in the Disney Files which is an official publication and seems like as good of way as any to communicate that info IMO. They weren't using the website much at that time and email was just as hit and miss as it still is. But a quick search shows it was communicated several years prior to that too. That Touring Plans has now come up with a fax service is confusing but then they are referring to the hotel side and must have worked something out with Disney. I was surprised to hear about it though and am a bit doubtful about how long it will last. I mean really? Faxing in requests?! Then the assignor has to match up that fax to a reservation? Talk about a time sucker. I wouldn't do it just for that reason. Maybe back in the day when a reservation wasn't much more than a name and date of arrival but now one would assume it contains all kinds of info they can access.

 

[disneynutz]

CM's aren't paid by the number of requests that they match, they are low paid people who just want to put in their shift and go home.

The easier your request the greater the chance that they may find a match when they are working the 100 plus check ins for the day.

Bill

 

[Granny]

I have many times asked for a high floor or specific rooms for our stay - we usually get them - it may be that because we are coming over from the UK and we stay for 3 weeks at a time - the requests are easier to fulfil as they can block that room out for that longer period of time?

Personally, I think they try hard to get your request filled when your stay is that long. It's one thing to "settle" for a villa that doesn't meet your request for a 4-5 night stay, 21 nights is a whole different matter. We stayed 14 nights one time and they gave us exactly what we asked for (a general area). It might have been luck, but the CM noticed the length of our stay at check in and I got the impression she was trying to match our request as well as possible.

 

[disneynutz]

Personally, I think they try hard to get your request filled when your stay is that long. It's one thing to "settle" for a villa that doesn't meet your request for a 4-5 night stay, 21 nights is a whole different matter. We stayed 14 nights one time and they gave us exactly what we asked for (a general area). It might have been luck, but the CM noticed the length of our stay at check in and I got the impression she was trying to match our request as well as possible.

If we don't get our request for longer stays, we put in a request to be moved when a requested room becomes available.

Bill

 

[AnnaKat]

If we don't get our request for longer stays, we put in a request to be moved when a requested room becomes available.

Bill

They do seem to want to meet requests on longer stays. They will also move you when a requested room becomes available.
We did not get one of the 4 rooms we requested on our last trip. As we were staying 17 nights, I knew it could cause them major problems if they assigned us to a lock-off value studio @ Jambo. That left 8 dedicated studios out of the 18 total.
I gave MS the 4 room #s for the savanna view dedicated ones( they quit allowing you to request " savanna " view, years ago. ) So we had a 50-50 chance. Plus, I tried to up our odds by separating out the first day of our stay. SO we had opportunity for one of our requests IF it were to open that day( we usually arrive @ 7:30 pm when all/most rooms would already be checked into.).

We got a nice pool view instead, but they would have moved us a few days later. We decided not to move, as it would have been on Thanksgiving Day.
We have ALWAYS gotten our request--short or long stay--before, for the value studio, so we can't complain.
But if we NEVER put in the requests, with our usual late check-in time, we probably would NOT have.

I also always call MS to verify that our requests are entered correctly.

 

[jekjones1558]

On our last big family trip we booked a GV, a 2 bedroom and 2 - 1 bedrooms, all BW view, for 1 week. We requested high floor and were designated "travel with." I was amazed that we got 5th floor and the rooms were all together except for a couple of studios in between. And these were during Food and Wine in October! I don't know how the room assigner pulled that off. DH and I never request for ourselves because we know we will be in 2049, the only BW view 1 bedroom HA room. Requests we have made for rooms for family/friends who travel with us have usually been met. I think that because we book BW view rooms for them and only request "high floor" it makes it a little easier for the room assigner.