Deeply disappointed

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I agree that all those are good reasons for a room to be ready late. I'm not questioning this.
But I also thing that when this happens there should be some form of compensation and that it should handled consistently.
Maybe if it's half hour it should be just an hapology, 1-2 hours a drink at the bar or comping the fees for an activity in the community hall. More than that a dinner. Something like that. And it shouldn't happen that the family making a scene at the front desk gets $200 dining credit and the family who says nothing gets nothing.

At WDW I am in Hakuna Matata mode, I try not to let small things ruin my vacation. But we shouldn't let the service fall below a certain level. So we should still politely complaint when a room is ready after 4pm, otherwise in the long term it will become normal to get the rooms ready whenever.
My point is: writing after 4pm is not a free for all. DVCMC contracts with the resorts when the checkin time is. And the contract should be that the vast majority of rooms are ready at 4pm (which I believe it happens) and when it doesn't happen they should try to make it right.

I haven't said that there shouldn't be compensation. And I completely agree that CONSISTENCY in compensation should be important - and ISN'T. And that compensation should be tied to how late your room is ready - getting the text at 4:15 with your room number is different than not getting a room assigned until 7 (and then, walking into that room and discovering its not cleaned or still occupied!). It should also be done in the form of things that aren't going to cost DVCMC or the other members money (or much money), since all operating cost, including compensation, comes out of our pockets. So, yes, a few free extra Fastpasses, drinks or treats (although drinks aren't great because not everyone drinks and some people shouldn't be tempted), or Disney merch (the merch markup is huge - how about DVC waterbottles and bags and coffee cups filled with treats that can be handed out when something like this happens), or flowers the next morning in your room (again, mark up is huge, and Disney has ample nurseries to provide flowers).


What I have said is that its best to have a plan for AFTER 4 - and my original after 4 comment was in response to someone who said checkin is at 4. That After 4 is what we all signed up for. As I said, we've come from the airport at 11 and had a room ready - but I would never recommend anyone plan kid's naps around the room being ready early. That Disney isn't a hotel, its a timeshare, and that creates certain operational complexities. And those operational complexities are going to cause the occasional late check in. It happening once in a while is to be expected - unless we see it happening more and more - and no effort being made to correct it (and right now, with the labor shortage, we may be seeing it more and more for a bit - and correcting a foundational labor shortage impacting a lot more than Disney that has been the result of an event unlike any we have seen in the last century is not going to happen overnight) an incident here or there doesn't mean the service has fallen.

I suspect - because its human nature - that most of the time people arrive with the hope that the room will be ready when they arrive. They can drop their stuff in the room, get a quick shower if they need to, change into swimsuits somewhere comfortable. Its really best when that happens. And when you have kids that could use a nap - its awesome. But honestly, with DVC it seldom does if you are arriving mid-morning or early afternoon. So you start out a little disappointed - not anyone's fault, just you were hoping. And maybe, in planning for the trip, you came here and posted the question and heard from someone who got the text at 9am as they were boarding their plane to Orlando - so your 12:30 expectation seems more than reasonable. I've been there, knowing checkin isn't technically until "after 4" and standing in a line somewhere in Epcot watching my phone at 2 and 3pm for a room assignment that hasn't arrived yet - because until the room assignment occurs, I don't feel settled - even though we are planning on dinner in the park and not seeing the resort until 7pm anyway. But as you do that, the 4pm number gets stuck in your head as a deadline - and when its missed, then what started out as a personal disappointment (it would have been nice to get into the room early) becomes Disney's fault and then people do let the small thing become a big one. Travel days ARE stressful. Getting rid of the 4pm as a deadline in your brain could actually reduce some of that stress.
 
Just find it strange that in the same thread we have-

1.Complained about rooms not being ready by 4

2. Complained about housekeeping wanting to get rooms ready by starting early

3. Sometimes by the same poster


Seems to me that the reason for #1 is directly related by #2. A three bedroom villa probably takes as much time cleaning as 5 regular rooms when you count the kitchen, living room, washer/dryer.
 
There's been a lot of mention of "AFTER 4PM" vs "BY 4PM" for check in. I agree that people shouldn't expect anything before 4PM. And 4PM isn't guaranteed, but I would interpret the wording ["Check-In is after 4:00 PM (please notify Member Services if you're planning a late arrival), and Check-Out is by 11:00 AM."] to be you should be able to check-in anytime after 4PM, not that the room will be available sometime after 4PM. As others have posted, sometime could mean any time from 4:00-11:59, which doesn't make sense.
 
The thing is we need to be careful about giving DVC a hard time for not having rooms ready at 4pm or we risk them stopping giving out rooms early. The last time we did Aulani the manager was trialling not issuing any DVC rooms before 4pm due to the amount of complaints about rooms not ready exactly at 4pm as he felt giving people rooms early was giving guests expectations not in line with the contract. Loads of DVC guests milling about and we all got our texts bang on 4:05pm. The contract states after 4pm if we get it early sometimes I guess we also have to accept we will sometimes be the ones who get it later.
 


OP: would you clarify which Resort and Room type? Also, was your notification/s in person or via text? Any Update?

personally have been Very lucky in the past with early room ( as early as 1) and only twice in Many visits after 4.
I have been comped …for No wi -fi ( honestly it was an awful situation) with people in/out of the room repeatedly and numerous calls/time as it was part business trip …
After 4, imho does not mean after 5,6 or 7 those numbers could have just as easily been on the contract. Expectations are based off Disney’s overall marketing tactics … they shouldnt have it both ways. Satisfaction appears to be lower but prices are Up, so it’s apparently Acceptable to many..
Hope ur visit was/is much better after the room concern OP
 
The thing is we need to be careful about giving DVC a hard time for not having rooms ready at 4pm or we risk them stopping giving out rooms early. The last time we did Aulani the manager was trialling not issuing any DVC rooms before 4pm due to the amount of complaints about rooms not ready exactly at 4pm as he felt giving people rooms early was giving guests expectations not in line with the contract. Loads of DVC guests milling about and we all got our texts bang on 4:05pm. The contract states after 4pm if we get it early sometimes I guess we also have to accept we will sometimes be the ones who get it later.

With the lack of civility happening in the world, I'm sure some of the complaining was downright abuse. And abused staff doesn't stay - a problem in a labor market where things like front desk jobs are hard to fill and in a place like Hawaii (or Orlando) where you can move down the street and have a job the next afternoon. And the issue with communication and explanations is that to too many people, it becomes an opening for argument. "My room isn't ready, why don't you move me into one that is." "If someone was smoking in that room and it needs a deep clean, I want a different room." "Being short staffed isn't my problem, prioritize my room." Most of it not said that kindly. Customers can be like toddlers, and often "because I said so" is the way to move forward.

As a hotel manager, I'm not sure I'd want tired guests milling around the lobby, but it does shut down the "but THEY got their room, I demand the next available room!" line of argument.
 


The thing is we need to be careful about giving DVC a hard time for not having rooms ready at 4pm or we risk them stopping giving out rooms early. The last time we did Aulani the manager was trialling not issuing any DVC rooms before 4pm due to the amount of complaints about rooms not ready exactly at 4pm as he felt giving people rooms early was giving guests expectations not in line with the contract. Loads of DVC guests milling about and we all got our texts bang on 4:05pm. The contract states after 4pm if we get it early sometimes I guess we also have to accept we will sometimes be the ones who get it later.
I agree and think Disney is doing this. A couple years ago at OKW I had gone up about 5 minutes before 4 to ask and was told It wasn't ready. Exactly at 4:00 I got the text it was ready. The CM basically said what you said, they are starting to not have rooms ready before 4 because people are startping to expect it and complain if it isn’t ready before 4.
 
Absolutely no excuse to not have the villa ready by 4 pm, IMO, and this has been happening for years, well before the current ‘special’ issues. This is part of the reason I tend to avoid split stays, I don’t like being w/out a villa for several hours on ‘move’ day as it is.
I realize that DVC runs at near 100% occupancy, thus sometimes an issue will arise. I’ve personally seen the late to leave guest scenario, perhaps Disney needs to charge folks who aren’t out of their room on time a set amount “If the room/villa is still occupied after 11 a.m. $200 will be charged to the guest account with an additional $200 charged for each additional half hour the room/villa is occupied.” They could also formalize the guest recovery for those checking in “If your villa is not available by 4 pm $100 will be added to your guest account, with an additional $100 added for each half hour you have to wait.” Win/win, the dawdlers who think the check out time is just a ‘suggestion’ that doesn’t apply to them because name your excuse have a set consequence, and Disney gains funds to compensate those impacted by delays. Or maybe check out needs to be 10 a.m..
I do recall a couple of years ago being awakened by a knock on my door at VGF at 8 a.m. by housekeeping on check out day & when I answered they said they were checking to see if we’d left. When they knocked again at 9 a.m., I told them we were leaving at 11 and to not come back, so I think the housekeeping manpower issues are long-standing.
I always find it so weird that there is no way for you to tell them you have checked out of the room other than them knocking in checking. We make an effort to go to the front desk and let them know we are checked out of the room and storing our stuff for day or heading out, but how easy would it be for them to incorporate this into the tv or internet like they do at many other chains?
 
Ok, now this is interesting. The OP created his dis account the exact same time he posted this one and only message. Most new members don’t start out with a post like this. I see the OP sitting back, eating popcorn and watching members go crazy. Nothing to see here.

🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😱
 
I always find it so weird that there is no way for you to tell them you have checked out of the room other than them knocking in checking. We make an effort to go to the front desk and let them know we are checked out of the room and storing our stuff for day or heading out, but how easy would it be for them to incorporate this into the tv or internet like they do at many other chains?
The only issue w/ that is people can check out online/on the TV and not actually physically vacate the villa.
I usually find the housekeeping cart parked somewhere in the hall & tell the housekeeper villa #123 is out of there - of course the fact that we are wheeling our suitcases down the hall is a big clue.
Ok, now this is interesting. The OP created his dis account the exact same time he posted this one and only message. Most new members don’t start out with a post like this. I see the OP sitting back, eating popcorn and watching members go crazy. Nothing to see here.

🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😱
Let’s hope OP got their room right after they posted & are happily in a park, which I wish I was :)
 
We stayed at AOA years ago prepandemic. Didn’t get our room until after 11pm. Not for lack of trying. We still had a great stay, ‘cuz it’s Disney. (and it was a family suite)
 
It seems like Disney is really short housekeepers right now . This happened to me last week at Caribbean Beach resort. Our incoming flight to Orlando was delayed 2.5 hours so we arrived at the hotel at 3, which is check-in time. We "checked in" in-person and the lady behind the desk acted as if we were all set ready to go. When we looked at the room pamphlet, we noticed there wasn't a number. When I went back to ask her which room we were supposed to go to she was like "oh! It's not ready yet. We'll text you when it's ready". Both my wife and I were flabbergasted because the way she acted initially was like our room was ready to go and she didn't mention anything about texting when we talked to her. We had 3 pieces of luggage and groceries and had no idea what to do with them. Luckily their bell service handled it all for us but it was still a giant pain in the butt. Also, during check-in she she asked us if we wanted any housekeeping service at all during our stay, phrasing it in a way such that people normally turn down housekeeping service for their entire stay. We definitely needed/wanted housekeeping - we paid a lot for the room.

Our room was eventually ready around 4 that day but I'm not surprised that people are waiting even longer.
 
I always find it so weird that there is no way for you to tell them you have checked out of the room other than them knocking in checking. We make an effort to go to the front desk and let them know we are checked out of the room and storing our stuff for day or heading out, but how easy would it be for them to incorporate this into the tv or internet like they do at many other chains?
Because I travel all the time for work, I have gotten pretty good about checking out in the elevator with the Hilton ap. I also check in when I wake up the morning I stay. I even pick my room that way I usually pick far away from the elevator. I never even stop at the front desk with their Digital Key. Was great during Covid because I didn't talk with anyone
 
Forgive me if this has been discussed as I didn’t ready 5 pages of responses but I think they need a better system of marking rooms ready for occupancy. Last week we stayed at Saratoga, we arrived Wednesday in a studio, our friends arrived early Thursday morning for a 2 bedroom. They were hanging out with us in our room and we were back and forth at the pool for a long time. Never notice housekeeping other than in the morning. Their room ready text came around 3pm or so, and it was two doors down. That room had been ready for hours, probably at least 5 or 6 hours!! We walked past it no less than 10 times and never saw housekeeping. Of course it’s possible maintenance was doing something that we didn’t see and caused it not to be ready but I still think they have an issue with marking rooms ready once cleaned.
 
I always find it so weird that there is no way for you to tell them you have checked out of the room other than them knocking in checking. We make an effort to go to the front desk and let them know we are checked out of the room and storing our stuff for day or heading out, but how easy would it be for them to incorporate this into the tv or internet like they do at many other chains?

Some of it comes down to what are they going to do with the information.

If DVC sends their carts around and wants the staff to tackle the rooms in order (doing a second pass for rooms that haven't been checked out of), then getting that information doesn't do any good. They aren't going to get to a vacated room any faster than they would moving down the hallways in order. And there are reasons to just tackle the rooms in physical order - its less moving of the cleaning carts, the staff isn't as likely to miss rooms because you have multiple carts hitting rooms randomly. If DVC isn't going to do anything with the information, than it isn't useful to provide a means to collect it.

In fact, my guess is that all of us who make the effort to let them know we are out are wasting our breath - as the front desk smiles and thanks us (and may even look like they are making a note) and does nothing with the information because housekeeping cleans rooms in order, with a second pass after noon.

(Since DVC is a timeshare that operates at pretty much 100% capacity all the time and rooms are only getting touched every few days, the sorts of things that work for "other hotel chains" don't necessarily work for DVC.)
 
(Since DVC is a timeshare that operates at pretty much 100% capacity all the time and rooms are only getting touched every few days, the sorts of things that work for "other hotel chains" don't necessarily work for DVC.)

I agree. Also, since people put in requests for about every reservation, one person's wait might be longer just because the staff is trying to accommodate their request. That usually doesn't happen at "other hotel chains" as well.
 
We always plan for our room not to be ready at 4:00 pm, so we are not putting more pressure on cast members trying their best to make our holiday a great one. Even though we pay a lot (Can dollar to USD) and plan for sometimes 2-3 years, we are still in the privileged percentage of the population that go to WDW and stay in beautiful DVC resorts. Now I will get off my soapbox and say how happy I am that everyone in this thread has been informative and it’s been nice to read.
My advice would be to pack a carry on or personal item that has one change of clothes and a bathing suit and put everything else in bell services. If you Have little ones try and find a quiet shady place by the pool for small naps.
Have a great day everyone.
 
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