Followup housekeeping poll #5 Please participate!

[twinboysmom]

I am surprised by these results. I don't do anything with the dishes because I don't use them but would clean them or at least put them in the dishwasher. I would clean up at spills or stains because this is a problem in the resorts, in my opinion. I am not by any means destructful to the property but I am not going to strip the bed. I pay my dues for mousekeeping, leave them a tip, but I am on vacation.

 

[rentayenta]

Are we supposed to be/required to do all the things on that list?

 

[rentayenta]

I read over the the list a couple of times and there are some things I do like run the dishwasher and gather the towels but as far as stripping beds, we are not guests in the traditional sense, I am paying (good money) to be there. It's not like I am in a friends home. I pay my dues and services need to be provided. I also tip.

 

[joandegennaro]

Since I've only stayed in a studio a few were N/A to my situation. No couch or dishwasher. I empty out all our food and drinks but I leave either with the items or place in the garbage for mousekeeping to deal with. I empty my recycling (those large paper bags are great for this) and garbage daily into the garbage closet. I even do it on trash and towel day so that mousekeeping only has to deal with replacing things like toilet paper and towels (I don't use the other supplies while there so no need to replenish what isn't used) but on departure day I leave the garbages as very often it is all a rush to get out the door. Pool towels are returned daily after we have returned to the room with towels and gotten dressed someone (usually me) always heads down to pool to return them. I think most DVCers consider a DVC stay much like they would their home and are mindful of how they treat it, but many people may also live with the clutter and stains in their own homes and therefore treat it as they would their own homes. We can't account for everyones good or lack of housekeeping habits.

 

[rentayenta]

Since I've only stayed in a studio a few were N/A to my situation. No couch or dishwasher. I empty out all our food and drinks but I leave either with the items or place in the garbage for mousekeeping to deal with. I empty my recycling (those large paper bags are great for this) and garbage daily into the garbage closet. I even do it on trash and towel day so that mousekeeping only has to deal with replacing things like toilet paper and towels (I don't use the other supplies while there so no need to replenish what isn't used) but on departure day I leave the garbages as very often it is all a rush to get out the door. Pool towels are returned daily after we have returned to the room with towels and gotten dressed someone (usually me) always heads down to pool to return them. I think most DVCers consider a DVC stay much like they would their home and are mindful of how they treat it, but many people may also live with the clutter and stains in their own homes and therefore treat it as they would their own homes. We can't account for everyones good or lack of housekeeping habits.

Bold is mine. Interesting, never thought about it like. I am an excellent housekeeper, a few DISers have been to my home and will concur. Having said that, I am not going to strip the beds or empty the trash upon my final departure. That doesn't mean my home is cluttered or stained, in fact quite the opposite. I am very respectful of other people's property/things/etc but what are we paying dues for and why I am tipping Mousekeeping if I am going to do their entire job? DVC is not my friend or family, I am paying good money to stay there. I am paying for services.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Having an option for people to select if they do none of these things might be more helpful although it's interesting to see what people do more of.

I did check the remove food item although we bag it but don't remove from the room and will leave items that housekeeping may take. In fact I guess we got too zealous in tossing one time and when we asked if housekeeping would have taken it we got an emphatic yes! Oops.

 

[La2kw]

I check for missing items as well as cleanliness when I arrive and deal with it while I am there. That way, I am sure it gets done. I also call maintenance to fix things that are needed as soon as we check in. They always get to these things right away. I haven't had a unit that is properly ready for check in in quite a few years now, it's very pathetic.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Bold is mine. Interesting, never thought about it like. I am an excellent housekeeper, a few DISers have been to my home and will concur. Having said that, I am not going to strip the beds or empty the trash upon my final departure. That doesn't mean my home is cluttered or stained, in fact quite the opposite. I am very respectful of other people's property/things/etc but what are we paying dues for and why I am tipping Mousekeeping if I am going to do their entire job? DVC is not my friend or family, I am paying good money to stay there. I am paying for services.

We're all paying for the services of Housekeeping. But, we all want to be able to get into the villa when we arrive. None of us want to wait until after 4 or going on 6PM to get into a villa. So if we strip the beds or do other things on this list, it helps our fellow members get into the villas sooner rather than later. Cleaning a villa for the next guest takes a lot longer than cleaning a hotel room for the next guest.

 

[rentayenta]

We're all paying for the services of Housekeeping. But, we all want to be able to get into the villa when we arrive. None of us want to wait until after 4 or going on 6PM to get into a villa. So if we strip the beds or do other things on this list, it helps our fellow members get into the villas sooner rather than later. Cleaning a villa for the next guest takes a lot longer than cleaning a hotel room for the next guest.

for the insights.

 

[FindTheMickeys]

We stayed in a Studio in May and we used the couch. I didn't leave it out because I stripped it. By the way, it wasn't made up when I pulled it out. I had to make it myself... But I do most of what was on the poll. Just makes things go faster and it is a last minute check for things that may have gotten lost in the linens...

 

[Sammie]

We do it, mainly because we have stayed at other time shares before we bought DVC, that it was required before check out, so we just got in the habit.

But many things such as repairs and dishes and trash we do as they occur so we really dont have much to do the morning we check out.

I also vacumn daily in the living room/dining area.

 

[dopeygirl76]

I do throw out all food that is open but leave a note for housekeeping to take anything they want that remains - I have left water, juice boxes and yogurts.

I do take the sheets off of the sofa beds if we use them but not usually off of the others - good idea though - I will do that.

I actually got the tip to start the dishwasher on here - maybe Diane - anyway whomever said it saves about 1 1/2 hrs wait time for the next guest so I start it hoping to pass along a little magic!!

 

[vacationbug]

We don't load the dishwasher because I'll wash all the dishes we used as we use them and put them away. So there aren't any dirty dishes when we leave. And I hate to use the dishwasher for four or five dishes - not economical or environmental. So I'll hand wash them.

We do this too. Our last stay at BWV unfortunately, the DW wasn't operating correctly. Since it was just DH and myself, we had only a few dishes so early in the stay I was just hand washing as we went along. I wanted to do a good "sanitizing" wash the night before check out morning, but the washer ran for more than 2 hours and never completely emptied.

Generally, I make a "maintenance list" during the course of our stay to bring down to the front desk (missing bolts/loose handles on towel bars, cabinet doors, burnt out light bulbs, etc.) That way it can be fixed before the next member visits - or so I hope!

While we are "okay" with minor issues such as those, the Dishwasher would be a big problem if it were more than just the two of us, so we were lucky!

Nope, don't contact housekeeping before we leave. We take the "do not disturb" off the door....

 

[Sammie]

We do this too. Our last stay at BWV unfortunately, the DW wasn't operating correctly. Since it was just DH and myself, we had only a few dishes so early in the stay I was just hand washing as we went along. I wanted to do a good "sanitizing" wash the night before check out morning, but the washer ran for more than 2 hours and never completely emptied.

Generally, I make a "maintenance list" during the course of our stay to bring down to the front desk (missing bolts/loose handles on towel bars, cabinet doors, burnt out light bulbs, etc.) That way it can be fixed before the next member visits - or so I hope!

While we are "okay" with minor issues such as those, the Dishwasher would be a big problem if it were more than just the two of us, so we were lucky!

Nope, don't contact housekeeping before we leave. We take the "do not disturb" off the door....

Why did BWV not fix the DW for you?

 

[daisyduck123]

Ok we NEVER load & run the dishwasher before we leave because we NEVER use any of the dishes. I mean NEVER.

to the Dining Plan!!

I refuse to cook and clean on my vacation.

 

[Crystal_27]

I have to say I do some of the things on the list - others I never even thought of - but will do next time I stay. Thanks for the hints!

I have to totally agree with this! We always do our best to leave the room in as "mousekeeping friendly" state as possible, but some of the things on the poll I would have never thought of.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I didn't check notifying DVC about missing or broken items because that is not something we do on checkout day. If we find anything missing, dirty, or broken, we call right away.

We personally have never had a dirty villa, but we have had items missing or not working. I attribute that to the complete lack of supervision of housekeeping. You can't expect a housekeeper to check every lightbulb, but if the supervisor checked each unit to be sure it was ready to go back into inventory, you'd have a lot fewer horror stories.

Of course, you wouldn't be able to get by with just one supervisor for multiple resorts! That's not supervision -- that's a scheduling person.

I didn't mean it had to be on check out day. I contact them as soon as I notice something, because I usually want it fixed while I'm there too.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sorry, I meant to type optional.

The problem with the polls is you have a limited number of options to give us. Stripping all the beds is different from stripping the couch. I could care less if somebody strips the beds*. The bed is going to get stipped... it's just whether the member or mouskeeping does it. The problem with the couches is that mousekeeping apparently doesn't always change them if they don't know they have been used.

Well, if someone slept in it, it's a bed....therefore the pull out is a bed.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I didn't check the one about removing all food from the kitchen. I do clean out all our left-overs and things from the cabinets. But if there are things I think housekeeping can use, I'll leave them on the counter for them. (Unopened items, sodas, etc.)

Also, I don't call housekeeping when we're done, but only because we usually get out the door very close to check-out. I will leave the Do Not Disturb sign out all morning, though, and take it off as we leave.

One of the things we do instead of leaving items "for the housekeeper" is to take unopened items out to the parking lot and find people just arriving. We have been told by the housekeeping staff that they are not allowed to remove things like that for their own use. Now, if you see a housekeeper and GIVE it to her, she can accept it, but not if it's left in the room.

One thing with just a simple phone call when you leave is that they can possibly get to that unit sooner. If the housekeeper has already been around and checked the rooms where people are checking out and yours had a DND sign on it, she might not get back there for a long time to recheck. However, if you call to say the room is vacant, they might be able to get that room turned around a lot faster.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I read over the the list a couple of times and there are some things I do like run the dishwasher and gather the towels but as far as stripping beds, we are not guests in the traditional sense, I am paying (good money) to be there. It's not like I am in a friends home. I pay my dues and services need to be provided. I also tip.

Maybe not, but did you ever have to wait past the prescribed check in time to get in your unit? I have, and I KNOW those things would help the housekeepers turn the villas around faster. It takes seconds to strip a bed, and you are only doing it once in consideration of the next guest. Frankly, the bed stripping is not the biggest deal though. Of all the things on that list, it is probably the least important.