DVC temporary policy rooms now between 4pm and 6pm?

[Nappy1380]

The policy has always been check-in begins at 4PM, at least for many years. Most of the time we manage to get in early, but getting a room within an hour of check-in start doesn't seem too bad. But I understand the frustration as it approaches 2+ hours.

This is incorrect. The policy is that you should not expect your room before 4PM, but should expect them to be available at 4PM. Straight from the mouse himself - https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/index.php/faq/online-check-in/room-readiness/

Q.

Does Online Check-In guarantee that my room is ready when I arrive at my Disney Resort hotel?

A.

No. Rooms and campsites are available at the standard check-in time of 4:00 PM for Disney Deluxe Villas and 3:00 PM for the other Disney Resort hotels. However, while we do not guarantee early availability, we will try to accommodate early check-in upon request.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I guess it's a matter of interpretation of the wording. It was made very clear to us by the front desk that check-in times begin at 4PM - both on our last trip and the one previously (one at BC, one at AKL). As far as we've been told, check-in time is 4PM (which corresponds to what I read on your link). Anything before 4PM is considered early and prior to check-in time, which is what it says ("do not guarantee early availability", which would be prior to 4PM). Maybe 3:59 is 'early' and 4:01 is 'late'!

Either way, I think most have gotten used to the rooms being ready a little earlier. But our DVC rooms, especially if we have a 1BR or 2BR, are usually being prepared well into the afternoon. But 5:30/6:00 is really a problem, if that were us. That really messes with any first-day plans that might require showering or unpacking.

 

[sndral]

I agree. The person who gets the room at 2pm is happy but then the person who requested a view, and now doesn't get it, is upset. But I think getting into a room should trump room location requests (just my opinion).

I do think DVC in general does an amazing job of honoring requests and getting most people in their rooms by close to 4pm. We had one trip that was 530pm and it was annoying. But we've also had probably 10 trips where we were in 2pm or earlier. For me the good has outweighed the bad.

I fly cross country & never arrive early - airline schedules + the time change = early evening arrival if I’m lucky & @ AKV (where OP was staying & one of my home resorts) view matters a great deal to me & I don’t think someone who can arrive early should trump a pre assigned view request, otherwise I’d always end up w/ leftovers. Back in my pre-DVC cash stay days front desk CMs seemed to have a lot more leeway w/ rearranging room assignments & I rarely had my requests met.
Moreover, it’s not a simple thing to reassign the villa I was slotted to get to someone else. For example say you are there & staying for 5 days & want your room right now, I’m in the air somewhere on my way to a 10 day stay, my villa is ready & yours is not, they can’t just give you the villa slotted for me because whomever was slotted to get your villa after you leave in 5 days would have to be moved too to accommodate my 10 day stay, multiply this by several villas switched per day & you have a mess.
Part of the issue at AKV Jambo IMO is that they have far more cash rooms than DVC villas & those cash rooms are supposed to check in 1 hr. earlier than DVC villas, so if they are short housekeeping staff (a seemingly frequent issue) I suspect that they just put DVC last on the to be cleaned list in order to get the cash guests checked in on time.
I’ve spent time on my check out days after check out time waiting in AKV Jambo’s lobby for my DME bus & it was common to overhear folks chatting about a member in their party still up in the room - I don’t know whether they got late check out or just ignored the check out time, but perhaps there needs to be a monetary cost for late check out to spur folks to get out on time.

 

[tjkraz]

Forget semantics about arrival times. Staffing is the issue.

If there is a belief that Disney Resort managers are incompetent or they're deliberately trying to cut costs, I'll just tap-out of the discussion. It's pretty well established that staffing is an issue virtually everywhere right now. Disney has housekeeping jobs posted for $17 per hour and I've read reports of them offering sign-on bonuses up to $6000 for some positions.

Are members willing to pay higher dues--now and forever--to eradicate this problem? If Disney raises housekeeping pay by 20%, it would cost owners an additional $.30-.40 per point, per year. More if the higher pay trickles into other positions.

What's the solution?

 

[JenboJambo]

Before the pandemic this was the norm too. I remember how disappointed I was in 2018 when I had one day in a poly bungalow and it wasn’t ready till 6…. You know how much that bungalow costs if you break it down by hour? And they are never full! When I stayed as a cash guest my rooms were ALWAYS ready before 4. Being DVC has made me manage my expectations (or not have them at all). That being said, I still love being a DVC member and part of this awesome community.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Forget semantics about arrival times. Staffing is the issue.

If there is a belief that Disney Resort managers are incompetent or they're deliberately trying to cut costs, I'll just tap-out of the discussion. It's pretty well established that staffing is an issue virtually everywhere right now. Disney has housekeeping jobs posted for $17 per hour and I've read reports of them offering sign-on bonuses up to $6000 for some positions.

Are members willing to pay higher dues--now and forever--to eradicate this problem? If Disney raises housekeeping pay by 20%, it would cost owners an additional $.30-.40 per point, per year. More if the higher pay trickles into other positions.

What's the solution?

Apparently to be a bunch of Karens and complain about it on a Disney forum

 

[bumbershoot]

Rooms and campsites are available at the standard check-in time of 4:00 PM for Disney Deluxe Villas and 3:00 PM for the other Disney Resort hotels.

Nah.
If you did online checkin, you saw this.



Begins is the key word.

Do they do anything about no-shows? Would they even know if you do an online checkin? Is there a point where they give your room away if you do not show up?

You can call them and you can redo online checkin to show a later arrival time. I've arrived at POR at 2am, and my room from the day before was there waiting for us. We had let them know of our late arrival.

I think that if you don't show up, don't do online checkin, never call them, and don't go to the front desk, you stand a chance of them giving it away, but at least for that first full day (~4pm to 11?am) the room is yours.

 

[lowlight]

Apparently to be a bunch of Karens and complain about it on a Disney forum

That's a pretty disrespectful way to talk about people who have issues that may not affect you. It's great that you aren't bothered by it, you are probably a happier person for that. With that said, for some people not having a room ready at the anticipated time isn't a minor inconvenience. If you're one of the rare people who have never complained about anything in your life, I envy you sir.

 

[sethschroeder]

Disney is just short staffed like the rest of the country right now.

Sorry don't buy it. They are stealing staff from DVC then since DVC resorts have paid for staffing pretty much since July of 2020.

There is no reason they are short staffed and don't give Disney that out.

Chapek even said they were easily getting people return to their jobs when they asked. Any shortage is on them in general as well not being proactive with bringing CMs back.

 

[Sandisw]

I have not seen any updated language that it is changing officially. But, this topic gets discussed a lot.

if you look at the actual FAQ posted, it does say rooms are available beginning at 4:00 pm. I think that is enough to say that most of us should expect something around that time.

But, I am one who thinks that come 4 pm, any clean rooms should be assigned to any guest who has arrived at that point.

 

[tgropp]

Coming soon from Disney…..We have listened to our DVC member feedback and we are now proud to introduce to our valued customers that for an extra $49.00, you will be guaranteed an checkin time before 4 P.M. Sincerely, Bob Chapek

 

[Brett Wyman]

Sorry don't buy it. They are stealing staff from DVC then since DVC resorts have paid for staffing pretty much since July of 2020.

There is no reason they are short staffed and don't give Disney that out.

Chapek even said they were easily getting people return to their jobs when they asked. Any shortage is on them in general as well not being proactive with bringing CMs back.

With all due respect that’s just an ignorant statement. There are labor shortages everywhere right now affecting all levels of employment. Everything isn’t a conspiracy. Sometimes it just it what it is.

 

[tjkraz]

Before the pandemic this was the norm too.

I would never call it "the norm." Not even close. We've been members for 18+ years...easily 50+ resort check-ins...and we've gotten our room assignment late exactly once. Many others will share similar success.

I remember how disappointed I was in 2018 when I had one day in a poly bungalow and it wasn’t ready till 6…. You know how much that bungalow costs if you break it down by hour? And they are never full!

Agree that is very disappointing and I would have been equally upset. But I'm also not sure that we can claim they are "never full" if your room wasn't provided until 2 hours late.

When I stayed as a cash guest my rooms were ALWAYS ready before 4. Being DVC has made me manage my expectations (or not have them at all). That being said, I still love being a DVC member and part of this awesome community.

Cash is very different because of the lower occupancy. Disney will usually make some mention of occupancy levels during its quarterly shareholder reports. During even the best quarters, they usually report it "around 90%". (Industry wide average hotel occupancy is about 50%)

Anyway, 10% vacancies means that a resort like Art of Animation has almost 200 empty rooms from the night before while Contemporary has 65 empty. Those rooms are available to be assigned to early arrivals while newly-vacated rooms are still being cleaned. Meanwhile, it also means that not every room at a cash resort even needs to be cleaned by 3 or 4pm. Many are unneeded, allowing crews to continue working into the evening hours if necessary.

DVC essentially operates at 100% occupancy. If there are no points reservations available--which is the case if everyone is using these points we paid thousands of dollars for--there are no vacancies. From 11am to 4pm (or somewhere thereabouts), every vacated room has to be serviced.

 

[sethschroeder]

With all due respect that’s just an ignorant statement. There are labor shortages everywhere right now affecting all levels of employment. Everything isn’t a conspiracy. Sometimes it just it what it is.

So you are saying they just happened to be able to bring back tons of staff at All Stars, CBR, Pop, AOA, and others yet cant replace the few people who have quit from housekeeping for DVC?

Or is it more likely that DVC staffing was taken and spread out across all of WDW resorts because they were having issues hiring staff for their cash hotels they opened?

DVC should have easily had first pick regarding housekeeping in Orlando as it was the only location operating at 100% capacity while other hotels saw huge reductions in stays.

There is no reason for a shortage except for workers being moved away from DVC.

 

[accm]

We were at Kidani a few weeks ago, and our room wasn’t ready until after 4:30. I was annoyed, since we hung around the lobby, with two kids, hoping our room would be ready when our groceries were delivered. When at 4 I was told they were still cleaning our room, we decided to just head to the parks. What annoys me is that when my groceries were delivered about 20 minutes later to bell services, Disney turned around and charged me to accept it.
This thread reminds me I should bring up my experience to someone. Because if check in starts at 4, and I’m there before 4, at 4 I should have a room.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Are members willing to pay higher dues--now and forever--to eradicate this problem? If Disney raises housekeeping pay by 20%, it would cost owners an additional $.30-.40 per point, per year. More if the higher pay trickles into other positions.

Speaking for myself, I would be willing to pay an extra $.30/point if that meant that our rooms would be guaranteed by 3pm (what they USED to be before they moved it to 4pm) rather then pushing 6pm or later. That would be worth it to me. But I would NOT be willing to pay it just to have our rooms still not ready. Remember the ink is barely dry on the cost increases we absorbed for housekeeping to get significant raises (which I was also in favor of).

But bottom line is if the staffing level is not sufficient to meet the level of service, then the staffing level needs to be adjusted. If the cost for meeting the service level is unreasonable, then Disney needs to look at the efficiency of their housekeeping services and look at outsourcing to someone who can do it better or change to another vendor if they are already doing that or bring it in house if they can do it better. But to be clear: We owners are paying for a service. It is incumbent upon Disney to determine the most efficient and cost effective way of providing that service to the expected level to us and we are expected to pay any reasonable costs within that structure.

Sorry don't buy it. They are stealing staff from DVC then since DVC resorts have paid for staffing pretty much since July of 2020.

There is no reason they are short staffed and don't give Disney that out.

Chapek even said they were easily getting people return to their jobs when they asked. Any shortage is on them in general as well not being proactive with bringing CMs back.

This. Again, I was completely understanding in 2020 and 2021. We are now 2 years out. Not being able to find staff is no longer a valid excuse. It's been worn out. We not only pay for housekeeping, but this last year I don't think we even got a discount back for closures like we did in 2020. We are paying our full housekeeping bill. What we paid in 2019 and they were able to do the job then. If they are shorting us people but charging us the same amount, that's a problem.

If they are not shorting us people and we have the same staff as we did in 2019, then this is all related to the increased protocols. Which is fine.... Be honest with us and tell us because of COVID, costs for housekeeping are going to go up by 25 cents. We are reasonable people. We understand that covid protocols cost more. Give us some votes in 2023 on whether we want to keep the increased cleaning. I kinda like remotes being cleaned (although I don't need a baggie, but whatever). OR maybe we vote to go back to 2019 levels. Either way, the rooms should be ready on time and the costs associated with making that happen are the costs. If Disney is not being good stewards of our money and finding the most cost effective means of meeting the objective, that too is a problem. If they are doing their best to keep the costs reasonable, then it is what it is. Get the job done.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Coming soon from Disney…..We have listened to our DVC member feedback and we are now proud to introduce to our valued customers that for an extra $49.00, you will be guaranteed an checkin time before 4 P.M. Sincerely, Bob Chapek

Okay, but if it's not ready, you owe me my $49 back plus a $50 penalty. I'm a betting man - I will take it. Either way, it's a win.

 

[accm]

And ya, a 6pm check in time is completely unreasonable, especially for a location that attracts and caters to young children. I haven’t seen a single hotel with such a late checkin time

 

[tjkraz]

So you are saying they just happened to be able to bring back tons of staff at All Stars, CBR, Pop, AOA, and others yet cant replace the few people who have quit from housekeeping for DVC?

Or is it more likely that DVC staffing was taken and spread out across all of WDW resorts because they were having issues hiring staff for their cash hotels they opened?

There may have been a time in summer 2020 when DVC resorts were fully staffed thanks to a surplus of layoff recalls. But people leave. I don't have any insight on how Disney juggles work assignments for its labor pool, but new hires would be sent to the area with the greatest need.

If the likes of SSR or OKW drops to 90% or 80% of optimal workforce, they aren't going to get any new hires if other resorts are at 70%.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I would never call it "the norm." Not even close. We've been members for 18+ years...easily 50+ resort check-ins...and we've gotten our room assignment late exactly once. Many others will share similar success.

And that's why I bring it up. In all the years I have been visiting Disney - both cash and over 10 years of DVC, I can count the number of times my room has been late on one hand. I won't say it never happened - one time we had a really late check in. But 95% of the time pre-covid, they were EARLY. Not AFTER 4pm. Not AT 4pm. Usually BEFORE 3pm and sometimes before Noon.

Which is why I question this so much. SOMETHING has changed. I will buy increased COVID protocols... but then tell us that and staff accordingly.