Deeply disappointed

[dvc lover 1970]

This has happened to us many times over the years.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We checked in yesterday and our 1 bedroom at VGF was ready by 11:30. I was totally expecting to have to wait until 4 so was pleasantly surprised.

 

[lundve]

Just did split stay in July

1st four nights Riviera studio - room ready text at 11:00 AM about 90 minutes before we even arrived on property.

2nd four nights SSR 1 bedroom - on property and even physically checked out of Riviera by calling front desk at 8:30AM - room ready text at 3:45pm. I thought we’d get something quicker if I went to desk at SSR, but nothing was available. She was able to tell me what building and I did note that my assigned room wasn’t even in my requested section. I didn’t fuss though - knowing it was only a request. However, it was a superb location from a quiet/view/bus stop/pool standpoint and I’m glad we stuck it out and waited for it to be ready.

 

[SueM in MN]

We checked In at OKW on June 4. Because we drove (our first trip driving) we had requested 3pm check in. We realized it was just a request and might not be honored. Plus, our Villa was an accessible one with a roll in shower, which sometimes causes delays since there are not that many.

We didn’t actually get into our room until almost 6 pm. We found out later that the guests still had their unpacked clothes all over the room when Housekeeping came to clean the room after 11! Housekeeping did not actually find the room empty until well after 2pm.
Those guests had also reported a cracked toilet seat that needed replacement to be fixed after checkout. Engineering came to replace it (a short, easy job), but found the entire toilet was cracked (a much bigger job and they had to find a toilet), which meant Housekeeping started even later.
Because of our villa type, they didn’t have another they could just move us to, so we waited.

 

[Carol_]

We checked In at OKW on June 4. Because we drove (our first trip driving) we had requested 3pm check in. We realized it was just a request and might not be honored. Plus, our Villa was an accessible one with a roll in shower, which sometimes causes delays since there are not that many.

We didn’t actually get into our room until almost 6 pm. We found out later that the guests still had their unpacked clothes all over the room when Housekeeping came to clean the room after 11! Housekeeping did not actually find the room empty until well after 2pm.
Those guests had also reported a cracked toilet seat that needed replacement to be fixed after checkout. Engineering came to replace it (a short, easy job), but found the entire toilet was cracked (a much bigger job and they had to find a toilet), which meant Housekeeping started even later.
Because of our villa type, they didn’t have another they could just move us to, so we waited.

I’m impressed it got fixed so quickly.
We’ve been checked in early exactly once, and by only one or two hours.

 

[SueM in MN]

I’m impressed it got fixed so quickly.
We’ve been checked in early exactly once, and by only one or two hours.

Considering what they all had to get done, it was pretty impressive.

 

[crazymomof4]

So sorry this happened to you. Not a great start. Hoping for you that this is the worst of it and from here on out everything is "magical". I'd definitely be asking for a little compensation, since others here have said it's pretty standard practice for WDW resorts to issue something in cases like this.

After reading this, I'm going to make a note to pack basic toiletries (for freshening up) in our carry on bags, just in case we face this. We usually put swimsuits in our carry-ons because we always make our arrival day, a resort pool day.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Housekeeping did not actually find the room empty until well after 2pm.

This is one reason why I'd NEVER be good at hospitality management. If it were up to me, those guests would have found their stuff in big garbage bags at Bell Services right around 11:30...

 

[ain0004]

8:30pmish this past November. 2 bedroom Kadani village. Standard view. No not making it up. I could complain all day. But we were in Disney and made the best of it

 

[bianca]

8:30pmish this past November. 2 bedroom Kadani village. Standard view. No not making it up. I could complain all day. But we were in Disney and made the best of it

8:30 ...... you should have been refunded some points. Here is what I really don’t understand. We have lots of DVC visits under our belt. On NUMEROUS occasions, we have needed something like toilet paper or dishwasher detergent in the afternoon and have gone in search of housekeeping, whether it be an actual Mousekeeper or just their cart. I can NEVER find a cart in the middle of the afternoon and in fact, have seen them closing down shop in the early afternoon. What is happening during this time gap between when Mousekeeping is apparently done cleaning and the time the room is released?

Don't even get me started on their knocking on your door at 8:00 am with their little quarter on the day of check-out. Most of the time, they don’t even take “no“ for an answer and keep trying to get in about every 45 minutes.

 

[igrsod]

I keep seeing those arguing that check in is after 4... so you room doesn't need to be ready.
I don't see your point. When I see check in is after 4... check in means INTO my room. So after 4 one should reasonably assume they will get their room... not before 4.
Check in, doesn't mean let us know you've arrived after 4 and we will get you a room at some point that evening. Check in means CHECK IN to your room. I understand that it might not be ready at the crack of 4 as unforeseen things can happen. But anything after an hour or so does deserve more than a smile and I'm so sorry. We pay quite a bit per hour to enjoy these rooms, they should be ready by 4. We also need to be good about being out by 11. We are always out by 8-9 on check out day.... so as to be considerate to the next party coming in.

 

[RamblinWreck]

We had something like this happen at the Grand Floridian in late June.

It was especially tough because we had been hoping for an early check in to hopefully let our little ones nap.

Ultimately they credited us $150 so that was a nice gesture at least!

 

[RamblinWreck]

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.

Check in “after 4:00 PM” means that YOU can check in any time after 4:00 PM. Not that they will have it ready sometime 4:00 PM or later.

If it’s not ready by 4:00, that’s a big failure.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I keep seeing those arguing that check in is after 4... so you room doesn't need to be ready.
I don't see your point. When I see check in is after 4... check in means INTO my room. So after 4 one should reasonably assume they will get their room... not before 4.
Check in, doesn't mean let us know you've arrived after 4 and we will get you a room at some point that evening. Check in means CHECK IN to your room. I understand that it might not be ready at the crack of 4 as unforeseen things can happen. But anything after an hour or so does deserve more than a smile and I'm so sorry. We pay quite a bit per hour to enjoy these rooms, they should be ready by 4. We also need to be good about being out by 11. We are always out by 8-9 on check out day.... so as to be considerate to the next party coming in.

Agreed!

There’s nothing about “after 4:00 PM” that gives them even a few minutes of wiggle room.

It’s literally saying that you can check in any time after 4:00 because the room will be ready by 4:00.

Obviously sometimes something will happen. But if you don’t have the room ready by 4:00 for check in, you’ve failed.

I wonder if this problem is more common now because of virtual check ins. In the past, you could just give the rooms that were available to the people who showed up first. And then the people who arrived later in the evening would never even know that their room wasn’t ready until 4 hours past when it was supposed to be.

Now everyone is checking in virtually and there’s no way for a manager to know who actually is present and needs their room sooner.

 

[tjkraz]

This is one reason why I'd NEVER be good at hospitality management. If it were up to me, those guests would have found their stuff in big garbage bags at Bell Services right around 11:30...

Nice idea but it would be illegal. Hospitality laws are designed to protect guests from unscrupulous hoteliers who may try to forcibly evict in in dire circumstances (illness, hurricane approaching, etc.) Unfortunately it's a two way street.

I keep seeing those arguing that check in is after 4... so you room doesn't need to be ready.
I don't see your point. When I see check in is after 4... check in means INTO my room. So after 4 one should reasonably assume they will get their room... not before 4.
Check in, doesn't mean let us know you've arrived after 4 and we will get you a room at some point that evening. Check in means CHECK IN to your room. I understand that it might not be ready at the crack of 4 as unforeseen things can happen. But anything after an hour or so does deserve more than a smile and I'm so sorry. We pay quite a bit per hour to enjoy these rooms, they should be ready by 4. We also need to be good about being out by 11. We are always out by 8-9 on check out day.... so as to be considerate to the next party coming in.

Here's the problem. Timeshares are quite a bit different from hotels. Most hotels hover around 50% average occupancy and even Disney runs about 90% during the best of times. If a guest is late departing, member of the party is ill, maintenance problem in the room...hotels typically have dozens of vacancies on a given night to help accommodate. They take damaged rooms out of service and can still house everyone.

Timeshares run near 100% occupancy. (And if they didn't it would mean less availability for owners.) They have a 5-hour window of time from 11am to 4pm to clean every single room that is being vacated. That includes rooms where someone has smoked. That includes addressing maintenance problems. That includes guests who depart late, leave a room in particularly poor condition. The list is endless.

You could argue "that's Disney's problem." And technically that's true. But there are limits to how quickly Disney can respond to guests who don't leave on time and repair problems discovered in a room. Screaming at a front desk clerk--or calmly but sternly expressing expectations--isn't going to solve the problem.

Could Disney fine guests for damage or late departures? Yes, they could. But think about the implications of that move. Should a guest be billed for a broken toilet seat? What about a broken TV? What if Disney sent you a bill for a broken TV or a missing remote control, and you never even used the TV during your stay? What if your child fell ill on the last day of your trip and you were 30 minutes late leaving? In 20 years as a DVC member you've never left late, but in this one instance you discover your credit card has been charged $250 for a late departure.

However much Disney could potentially earn by charging these miscellaneous fees, they'd incur higher overhead with more detailed room inspections (to prove damage), staff to manage the fees, staff to manage all of the complaints and challenges which arise from the fees.

At the end of the day, does it make DVC a better program? Does it make anyone feel better about their DVC ownership?

 

[RamblinWreck]

Check-in time is NOT "by 4pm."

If it was “by 4:00 PM”, that would literally mean they were expecting you to check in prior to 4:00 PM and that you wouldn’t be allowed to check in later.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Nice idea but it would be illegal. Hospitality laws are designed to protect guests from unscrupulous hoteliers who may try to forcibly evict in in dire circumstances (illness, hurricane approaching, etc.) Unfortunately it's a two way street.

I never said it would be legal, and yet another reason why I'd never be good at it.

 

[Sandisw]

Nice idea but it would be illegal. Hospitality laws are designed to protect guests from unscrupulous hoteliers who may try to forcibly evict in in dire circumstances (illness, hurricane approaching, etc.) Unfortunately it's a two way street.



Here's the problem. Timeshares are quite a bit different from hotels. Most hotels hover around 50% average occupancy and even Disney runs about 90% during the best of times. If a guest is late departing, member of the party is ill, maintenance problem in the room...hotels typically have dozens of vacancies on a given night to help accommodate. They take damaged rooms out of service and can still house everyone.

Timeshares run near 100% occupancy. (And if they didn't it would mean less availability for owners.) They have a 5-hour window of time from 11am to 4pm to clean every single room that is being vacated. That includes rooms where someone has smoked. That includes addressing maintenance problems. That includes guests who depart late, leave a room in particularly poor condition. The list is endless.

You could argue "that's Disney's problem." And technically that's true. But there are limits to how quickly Disney can respond to guests who don't leave on time and repair problems discovered in a room. Screaming at a front desk clerk--or calmly but sternly expressing expectations--isn't going to solve the problem.

Could Disney fine guests for damage or late departures? Yes, they could. But think about the implications of that move. Should a guest be billed for a broken toilet seat? What about a broken TV? What if Disney sent you a bill for a broken TV or a missing remote control, and you never even used the TV during your stay? What if your child fell ill on the last day of your trip and you were 30 minutes late leaving? In 20 years as a DVC member you've never left late, but in this one instance you discover your credit card has been charged $250 for a late departure.

However much Disney could potentially earn by charging these miscellaneous fees, they'd incur higher overhead with more detailed room inspections (to prove damage), staff to manage the fees, staff to manage all of the complaints and challenges which arise from the fees.

At the end of the day, does it make DVC a better program? Does it make anyone feel better about their DVC ownership?

I do agree that sometimes things happen. But I also think this is one of those things that something should happen for owners who have to wait beyond 4:30 pm for a room.

FPs were great for this. But, if you get to 4:45 to 5:00 or beyond, GC should be given to the guest for the inconvenience. Build it into the dues if need be. Make it consistent as well so we don’t get into the squeaky wheel situation.

 

[Heather07438]

We stayed in a DVC 1BR for cash in 2019.

Room was not ready until 6pm and all we got was a shrug.

I disagree with interpretations of ‘after 4’ to mean it’s understood rooms can come anytime that evening.

I read it like them saying ‘don’t get upset if the room isn’t ready before 4pm and start bothering us early.’

 

[DonMacGregor]

From this discussion, you'd think people are trashing WDW hotel rooms on a pace equal to The Who. Are that many guests channeling Keith Moon?