DVC Owners--What are WE going to do about the shabby housekeeping?

[50 years Too!]

As most of the above have mentioned, it does no good mentioning it on these boards. The situation must be addressed at the time of the problem. We have had clean rooms for 8 years when checking in and we do tip when we are there. Most of the time when we leave a tip during our stay, a lot of extra care goes into the room.

Guess the guests staying before me only left jelly and cherrios, not a tip.

 

[JimMIA]

Put yourself in the shoes of management at BCV. Which situation would be more unsettling to you. First, a guest calls you immediately about the condition of their villa the day they arrive. Second, a guest mentions to the desk on the day they check out about the condition of their villa the day they arrived. If I were in management and these 2 situations happened, I would certainly look into the first one. The 2nd I would probably just let go. JMO

And we should be okay that management "just lets it go"?

Simzac's point is very well taken.

We see a lot of rant threads here where someone is shocked -- SHOCKED! , mind you -- at the deplorable condition of a room they check into!!! Then they go merrily about their vacation, never mentioning the problem to DVC management. Most of the time the very first action they take is a rant on the DISboards. Sometimes, they "mention" it to the CM when they check out.

Frankly, if it was really a problem, I would have done something about it at the time I noticed the problem. If it's not a big enough problem to mention at the time, it's not big enough for management (or DIS readers) to be much concerned with after the fact.

If you want something done...if you want some of these problems to get better...take some action at the time. If we don't -- WE are the ones who are "just letting it go."

 

[lenshanem]

It is not all of BCV. We just got back a few days ago and our room was spotless and in great shape. Actually, surprised what good shape it was in given BCV keeps a 100% occupancy.

We had a fantastic stay at BCV, which was a good thing since we were kinda having WDW burnout. Welcome homes by every CM we passed.

 

[bobbiwoz]

It is not all of BCV. We just got back a few days ago and our room was spotless and in great shape. Actually, surprised what good shape it was in given BCV keeps a 100% occupancy.

We had a fantastic stay at BCV, which was a good thing since we were kinda having WDW burnout. Welcome homes by every CM we passed.

Nice to read that! Glad you had such a great time!!!

Bobbi

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Okay, I have an idea.

We know, technically, mousekeeping isn't a tipped position. So let's work with DVC to make it a tipped position. THEN.... the mousekeepers who clean the room between stays leaves an envelope with their name on it. Then it is the arriving guests who place a tip in the envelope and put the envelope in a locked mailbox found in each building. Likewise, with the 4th day or 8th day... the MK leaves an envelope. This way tips relate to actual job done.

Think it would work?

 

[wildernessDad]

Mousekeeping is the biggest part of our dues if memory serves me correctly. It needs to be done right. It's a black eye to DVC when members bring others and they see dirt in the villa.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I think we should do something. I really never complain about housekeeping, I normally just take care of things myself if it is minor.

But we just stayed another weekend with my niece's family at her timeshare and this place was in the woods! A duplex cabin in a Pine forest and was probably the closest to camping I will ever come.

It had pine walls and floors and it was SPOTLESS!! I mean I went in there with my nose all turned up thinking how I was going to stay there for 2 nights and every inch of that 1 bedroom loft cabin complete with kitchen was SPOTLESS! No dirty corners, no cobwebs, no mold, no dust on top of the kitchen cabinets (could see from the loft) no dust on the fake plant and the furniture and bedding were completely clean. I kept commenting on how clean our unit was!

I was totally impressed! My kids wore their socks and they didnt turn black.

The kitchen was fully stocked and all the dishes were spotless too. The pots and pans the cookie sheet etc. All looked new.

They pay $700 a year in dues for their 2 bedroom Presidential week and while most will tell you that Silverleaf Resorts is pretty much scraping the bottom of the timeshare barrel, their housekeeping is top notch and they just added a 6 million indoor waterpark. And they allow pets in all units!

This was our second stay in 3 months and if Silverleaf can do it, then DVC can too!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Liferbabe, if this is a typical timeshare, everyone checks out on the same day. So they can beef up the number of housekeepers they need on that day to do lots of cleaning. Unfortunately, DVC has people checking in and out every day of the week. I would think that would make it more difficult to do the cleaning they need.

 

[50 years Too!]

Liferbabe, if this is a typical timeshare, everyone checks out on the same day. So they can beef up the number of housekeepers they need on that day to do lots of cleaning. Unfortunately, DVC has people checking in and out every day of the week. I would think that would make it more difficult to do the cleaning they need.

But Deb, hotels do too, and they seem to be able to clean properly.
At least the ones I've stayed in, and their rates aren't as high as the rentals on the villas.

I think the studios are usually cleaner than the units with the kitchens.
Maybe that's why some of you haven't experienced this problem?

And again, I don't want you to think I'm extra picky, because I'm not. If a piece of furniture is nicked or there is some wear and tear I'm okay with that.

Some of you can say all you want that it is OUR responsibility to make sure it is cleaned properly--but why? Do you say that when you go to a dirty restaurant?
I'm not wanting to start a fight, I'm just upset about why it can't be done right in the first place.

Deb

 

[gmboy95]

We are going on our 20th something trip on Saturday and i have never had an issue with the housekeeping. has it been perfect no, but if we ask for something it is immediately addressed. I beleive DVC is as good as the day I bought it, in fact it is better. There are more options, and the service IMO is excellent

 

[Luigi's Girl]

I would report it to the front desk and write a letter to complain. Luckily we have not had any issues.

I also like the comment by one poster about saying something positive. We don't do that enough these days, it is easy to complain about poor service, we should also speak up when we recieve great service. I will try to remember names and make sure to write or comment when we are treated well.

E

When we checked into our 2 bedroom villa this past November it was spotless! I immediately called Housekeeping to let them know how extremely pleased we were with the way the room looked. They were so shocked and excited to have heard that from me so I guess it's not a practice that many guests follow. We have actually been very lucky on all of our stays at the BCV and VWL. I'm spoiled I guess because we have always had clean and pleasant looking rooms. For me that happens to be a big deal because I happen to be one of those people some call a "germaphobe"! Go figure!

 

[jekjones1558]

Liferbabe,
What was the name of this resort? We are looking for a pet friendly timeshare.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Some of you can say all you want that it is OUR responsibility to make sure it is cleaned properly--but why? Do you say that when you go to a dirty restaurant?
I'm not wanting to start a fight, I'm just upset about why it can't be done right in the first place.

Deb

Should the job be done right the first time? Yes. But that isn't reality. Your title asks "what are WE going to do about the shabby housekeeping?" While I understand why you didn't pursue the housekeeping issue with management earlier, we all need to recognize that the only way management is going to recognize a wider problem is if every member who encounters a problem reports it immediately and asks for a reclean to correct it. When the management for housekeeping sees that his or her people are having to go back to reclean units, it will be easier to spot the larger problem and correct it.

 

[dzorn]

Liferbabe, if this is a typical timeshare, everyone checks out on the same day. So they can beef up the number of housekeepers they need on that day to do lots of cleaning. Unfortunately, DVC has people checking in and out every day of the week. I would think that would make it more difficult to do the cleaning they need.

Yes but I doubt that considering how early reservation are made ahead of time that at 31 days out they could adjust the scheduals. I know it may change somewhat, but how many people change less that 31 days out.

Denise in MI

 

[rinkwide]

I swear to you, if a member checked in and found a dead body someone on these boards would chastise the corpse for not reporting it's own murder.

 

[50 years Too!]

I swear to you, if a member checked in and found a dead body someone on these boards would chastise the corpse for not reporting it's own murder.

 

[50 years Too!]

When we checked into our 2 bedroom villa this past November it was spotless! I immediately called Housekeeping to let them know how extremely pleased we were with the way the room looked. They were so shocked and excited to have heard that from me so I guess it's not a practice that many guests follow. We have actually been very lucky on all of our stays at the BCV and VWL. I'm spoiled I guess because we have always had clean and pleasant looking rooms. For me that happens to be a big deal because I happen to be one of those people some call a "germaphobe"! Go figure!

You know, I once called to order another towel pack after we checked in last March at BWV. (BTW, I've never felt this way about any other villa we've stayed in).
The initial tone from the person who answered the phone when I said "Hello I'm in Rm XXX was defensive. After I explained why I was calling and they realized I hadn't called to complain their voice immediately changed to friendly.
Makes me think they might get more of those "my room isn't clean" calls than are reported on these boards.

Deb

 

[LIFERBABE]

Liferbabe,
What was the name of this resort? We are looking for a pet friendly timeshare.

The resort is Silverleaf Resorts. They are an older timeshare (started in the 70's) and you can purchase on the resale market for a fraction of the developer cost, so dont look for it to hold value.

But we just got a puppy and are looking for something closer to home and while not DVC, they are trying to please their membership and have some new resorts coming. They do not have studios, their 2 beds are a 1 bedroom with full Kitchen lockoff.

Their Orlando resort is called Breeze. The pet fee is $55 for the length of stay. They also have resorts in Texas, Branson, Il, and MN.

When I say clean, I mean CLEAN! I am allergic to pets and we have to wash ours twice a week and I could not tell that unit had pets in it, but the people in the cabin next to us had 3 dogs! They didnt bark or anything, they just had them outside with them.

Their check in days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and they have Free Bonus time during the week so they are always checking in and out.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Yes but I doubt that considering how early reservation are made ahead of time that at 31 days out they could adjust the scheduals. I know it may change somewhat, but how many people change less that 31 days out.

Denise in MI

With lots of timeshares, you only have people checking in on Sat or Sun. So, if they double the staff on Sat, they can do more cleaning than they need to do on Mon-Fri. But DVC has people checking in and out every day of the week. With so many resorts in town, it has to be difficult to stay fully staffed. I work in a hospital and I know our housekeeping staff is always hiring because they are down about 10% or more of their staff. And what you hire isn't always what you want to have on staff. And the good ones only hire on in Housekeeping to be able to put in for the better paying jobs in the other areas.

 

[karrit2000]

I usually stay in the Studios and believe me a lot of the studios at OKW should be hosed down between guests. Actually the last one I stayed in seemed to have been and that was after they delivered our luggage. They powerwashed so hard the carpet was soaked halfway into the unit and half the clothes in my mother's suitcase were drenched. This is true. The room was disgusting. One of the chairs had a shredded cushion and there was gunk all over the nightstand. I'm done with keeping my mouth shut after that one.