Deeply disappointed

[we"reofftoneverland]

This was our exact scenario 1/19 at Boulder Ridge and there was no compensation offered. We never thought to ask for it and it wasn’t offered. It certainly doesn’t reflect well on DVC in my opinion. Ww have never had these issues at other hotels ..... just DVC.

This is a good point. Now that I think about it, we have never had to wait for a room at any other hotel ever. Seriously, never. And we travel a lot.

 

[jlb727]

This happened to us at BCV this past January. We had to wait until almost 8 pm to get into our 2 bedroom. No explanation was given at the front desk beyond “it isn’t ready yet.” We got an apology and that’s it. We sat on the beach and then decided to ride the skyliner back and forth to CBR.

 

[bianca]

This happened to us at BCV this past January. We had to wait until almost 8 pm to get into our 2 bedroom. No explanation was given at the front desk beyond “it isn’t ready yet.” We got an apology and that’s it. We sat on the beach and then decided to ride the skyliner back and forth to CBR.

This is just sad. This happens literally at no other hotel .... anywhere..... ever! I have seen people defending DVC on these boards countless times about this whole “after 4 policy”. It makes absolutely no sense and why people find it acceptable is beyond me.

 

[Nice Work Pal]

We checked into Saratoga Springs dvc villa on the 14th. I’m used to getting an alert our rooms ready around 1:30…didn’t get the alert until 4:30. They’re severely understaffed. It’s Disney’s own fault.

 

[bianca]

Yes, this happened to us this past June. Room wasn't ready at 7:45 pm when we arrived at CCV. We were planning on grabbing something to eat and have some drinks at Geyser Point anyway so we didn't mind too much. They gave us a $100.00 credit for the inconvenience. Our room was ready about 15 minutes later.

7:45 pm is absolutely ridiculous! At that point, you should be refunded one nights’ points. If there were some policy in place that gave points back if the room was ready after 6 pm, you can bet that Disney would clean up their act and get rooms ready on time!

 

[Eastern]

Did you make a special request about the room? They may be trying to honor that.

Mine was regular room, not DVC, but I requested near elevator and they gave me room as far as possible from the elevator.

 

[igrsod]

Honestly, if this ever happens to me, I would be working out the price per hour and asking for that back. It is expensive to stay in those rooms. We are expected to be out on time, they should be expected to be ready by 4pm. That is reasonable. It it's not ready, Disney should be giving some sort of compensation. That way they would be more apt to be more organized in getting rooms cleaned on time.

 

[sethschroeder]

It certainly doesn’t reflect well on DVC in my opinion.

Lets remember DVC hires Disney to manage the resorts so this is squarely on Disney. Although DVC should be more vocal possibly on getting what we pay for.

 

[sleepydog25]

First, it's a terribly tough situation to face, no doubt, and compensation of some sort should be offered. Absolutely. Second, however, is there are any number of issues that can complicate the readiness of the rooms that are beyond Disney's control: there may be a non-working toilet that has to be replaced; there may be damage from the prior occupant that must be repaired; there may be mold discovered in the bathroom that needs extra cleaning/disinfecting/painting or even drywall repaired then painted. Third, guests are often the cause of the delay--they may have checked out late, and Disney is very reluctant to toss anyone out--sometimes guests simply refuse to go until their room is ready elsewhere, and while you may think it's easy to just push them out of a room at 1100, it simply isn't. Sometimes, guests have trashed the room so badly that it requires a major cleaning. Finally, I've been to plenty of other non-Disney hotels and had to wait for my room to be ready. It's the nature of the business.

Keep in mind that Disney--unlike many other chains--has particular cleaning protocols that often go above and beyond what you might find elsewhere, and the occupancy rate at Disney hotels traditionally exceed those of other chains, especially DVC resorts. For the record, it takes a minimum of four hours to clean a GV, so imagine if the prior occupants don't actually leave the room until 1130, and then they left a huge mess behind. Sure, it doesn't take as much time to clean a 2BR, for example, but it's also not a 30-minute, hour, or usually eve a 2-hour task, either. The beds have to be stripped, new linens put on the beds (couches/pull-downs included), dishes must be washed, items must be resupplied, tubs/showers cleaned, all surfaces disinfected, rooms swept/vacuumed, steam-mopped, trash emptied, and new towels and toiletries put into place just to name a few things.

Is it acceptable to not get your room past the officially listed time? Of course not. Are the rooms always in pristine shape? Again, no, as there is always the human element. I guess that's my point of this lengthy post. While it's easy to rail against the corporation Disney, keep in mind that it's actual people who are working long hours to ready your rooms, deliver the extra silverware to you, clean the common areas, and trying to make the experience special, and sometimes the system simply fails. Be calm, let management know, and definitely ask if there is some compensation for the long wait.

 

[Tigger's ally]

This happens literally at no other hotel .... anywhere..... ever!

I travel for a living and I just want to say that in the past year, I have had this happen multiple times at other hotels. It most certainly does happen. Marriott and Hilton both. Check in for them is 3 p.m. and I have not gotten my room till later in Chicago (Naperville), KC and San Antonio. Both Chicago and KC actually gave me credits to use at the restaurant or Bar which I just went to the bar, got a drink and worked on my laptop. San Antonio didn't even have enough staff to have the bar and restaurant open. I did receive double points for my stay but that was it. I think many are not aware of the problems across the entire country. Restaurants have closed or not re-opened because they just simply cannot get enough staff. I actually met the housekeeper in San Antonio right outside my room when I finally got in and I talked briefly with her. She was working 12+ hours every day. I tipped her even though I had not got in my room yet. You could tell she was stressed and tired.

 

[TreeFalls]

This happened to us when we rented points at CCV in 2019. We arrived at 9:30am so we were exhausted from getting on a 5:30am flight. I knew we couldn't rely on our room being ready when we got there, but we didn't get in until about 6pm. I inquired every hour starting at about 3pm. There was no apology or compensation (which I didn't expect).

I think it is fair to expect compensation. It's actually not compensation so much as a refund for something you paid for that you didn't receive as promised. I don't think it has to be a large amount, but a gift card for dinner doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

This is why I always make my dinner reservations for the first night close to the resort where I'm staying. My personal experience has been that it's very rare to get my room at 4PM or before. Most times it's well past the 4PM time frame.

I'm guessing we haven't heard back from OP because they are finally in their room and having a good time, at least I hope that is what's happening.

 

[loves to dive]

This happens literally at no other hotel .... anywhere..... ever!

Untrue, I've had it happen at Hilton on Jekyll Island. We had a room booked with a beach view, in a dog friendly hotel. We were paying $400/night and had our little yorkie with us. We had to wait until 6pm for our room to be ready and I actually had put early check in on my requests. We walked down to the beach for a while and ended up sitting in the lobby with a very antsy little dog.

I've had it happen at a Four Seasons in Atlanta, again $400 a night. Didn't get our room until 5:30.

 

[scbruno]

They must be having an employee shortage in Orlando. Last two stays in Disney we had to wait for our room.at two different DVC resorts. We stay every other year at HHI and just got back and no issues what so ever and house keeping was great. We never have an issue in HHI however we always seem to get in our room late or put all the way on the far side of the resort when is Disney. Nice try we requested to be near the hospitality house... Its not like it use to be for us long time members for sure. Late 90's early 2k they could nor do enough for you....

 

[zackiedawg]

This isn't necessarily something new for a DVC or Disney Hotel - in my last 70 or so Disney trips, I've had this happen maybe 6 times. It's happened at different resorts, for different room types, and has been quite random. Each time, I've inquired when the checkin time passed, and was offered some form of compensation (once an upgrade of the room, once full-day Fast Passes, and most of the time, $100 or compensation for dinner/meal. The most recent occasion for me was in June 2019 at Wilderness Lodge (Boulder Ridge) - checked in around 3:00pm, and decided I'd wait it out in the DVC building lobby as I had just driven in and wanted to relax and then change before heading out to any parks. At 4:15pm, still no text, so went back over to the desk to notify, was given $100 credit, apologies, a few calls, then told it would happen very soon. Walked back over to the Boulder Ridge lobby and got the text by the time I arrived there.

For my stay in Feb 2020 at OKW, I checked in at 2pm, was told I could wait for the room, or check if another was available - I had wanted close to HH (but not in the preferred category), and was going to wait for building 68, but they had a room available in the first standard building on Peninsular Road, so I took it and was able to go right to the room. My most recent stay at Saratoga Springs, I checked in around 2:45pm, and they had my requested Congress Park 1-bedroom available - was in the room before 3pm unpacking with a view of Disney Springs.

I also generally don't plan or schedule parks on checkin day. I do an earlier dinner, close to the resort I'm in, and if I have the time, I pop over to DHS, and if not, just wander Disney Springs (now with the park reservations required, I don't bother to make any - pre-pandemic, I would often squeeze in DHS on the first day, as it's my least favorite park and I'm good with just a few hours there).

I've had it happen to me in other places too with probably the same level of rarity - Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Tampa all had hotel stays where my checkin time was not met.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My most recent trip this happened to us. We arrived at 5 fully expecting our rooms (we had two studios) to be ready. At 6 we were told one of our rooms was ready, and about a half hour later the other was. We had requested rooms next to or near each other and these were on different floors. It was still a great trip, though between the check in, the monorail station being closed and the construction everything we’ve decided to stay elsewhere this next teip.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

This happened to us at the Contemporary many years ago. We got the room about 6pm. We were so tired from traveling. I did ask the front desk for a two hour later departure and they said yes.

 

[crisi]

This is a good point. Now that I think about it, we have never had to wait for a room at any other hotel ever. Seriously, never. And we travel a lot.

DVC isn't a hotel, its a timeshare.
Check In is AFTER 4 on paperwork.
This is one of the huge reasons you shouldn't buy a timeshare without understanding what you are getting and if it will work for you. Its rare that you don't get in before 4, but it happens. We always have a backup plan ready to go - especially when we had little kids. I think last trip it was after 5 before we got our reservation information - but we were in Epcot, and didn't care too much.

 

[Minniesgal]

My family and I just checked in at 10:am and went to Epcot to begin what was hoped to be a great trip. We are celebrating my parent 50 anniversary. We get back at 4:30 to head to our room when we are told it is not ready! Check in is 4:00. But it’s not ready. Now it is 5:30. And.... “it is not ready!” I am sorry but as a dvc member who is welcomed home I am beyond lvivid. Having to try to explain to my kids and my parents that we cannot yet change out of sweaty clothes and go to dinner or to even rest at the pool is tough. When this trip was planned 3 years ago .... I’m sorry. Dvc was great. Right now when I see “regular guests get their room but we are still sitting in the lobby I fail to see how we are home. Very dissatisfied with the current issues.

DVC check in has never been at 4pm, it is after 4pm, basically they start to check in at 4pm but your room is not guaranteed by 4. Often you get your room before 4pm but sometimes it is later. The rooms are a lot bigger than standard rooms the 2 and 3 bedroom villas take longer to clean but check out is the same at 11am so they have more to do.

 

[denman007]

This happen to our group of 25 2 years ago where I was sole planner. It was complete kaos as they lost luggage, mixed up the ressies, etc. Some room became available but had the wrong luggage. Some of us had to track down our luggage ourselves.

This affected evening FPs that we had planned for months and a dinner ressie.

I was sooo mad. I spoke to several managers as it dragged on past 6pm which they were not very helpful.

I said if you don't make this right, I will dispute the first 2 nights charges on every room...(and win). They ended up comping us $100 per room and gave us all pretty much unlimited FPs for the week.

I think everyone knows how hard it is to organize a trip for 20+ people.

They could also give you a curiosity call/text if it's going to be late so you can plan accordingly.

The CM's at the parks that can handle special situations with FPs were amazing!