Has Check-In Room Guaranteed Time Changed to 5pm?

[edk35]

I hope they don't go to 5:00 either. I would love 3:00 but I also understand that DVC villas take longer to clean than regular hotel rooms. Shoot before we know it...we will have to check out at 10:00 and check in at 6:00.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Check-out by 10am is a little rough, it's 11am now for most hotels etc. and it works fine. Check in, even though its 4pm we have always gotten into the villa way before, and most times usually at check in, only once at 5:30 because that's when we arrived. I can't imagine waiting for a room till 6:30pm!

I wonder if it's easier to check in to a 2br rather than a studio, maybe that's why we get right in, less traffic, from what I understand the studios go first.

 

[backyardponder]

I don't think it is fair to compare DVC to normal hotel/motel operations. My experience is normal places have a lot of rooms vacated early in the morning, either people checking out heading to meetings, or hitting the road. This gives housekeeping the ability to start getting rooms ready for incoming guests.

DVC, on the other hand, has most of their rooms with folks taking their time in the morning. Personally, I always have an evening flight out of MCO and use the morning to relax, often not checking out until just before 11.

When going to a DVC resort, I always assume my room won't be ready before 6. If it is ready earlier, that is a bonus for me. Almost always I arrive at MCO about noon, have a relaxing lunch, maybe head to a park or DTD then to my room early evening.

 

[keishashadow]

who votes for an early checkout time if i'd get u in the room earlier

we're usually out of the studio every day well before 9 am

those who want to stay later (say 11 am or noon) could pay a higher point basis or(gasp) those who depart promptly could get a rebate on points

 

[bobbiwoz]

We stayed in a Hilton Grand Vacation Club and the check out was at 10...so I'm happy with 11. We just didn't feel that we had any extra time in the room. I've been pleased with getting my room at DVC, there have been a late time or two, but generally speaking, no complaints here. The late times were at very busy DVC times and always on a Sunday.

Bobbi

 

[tjkraz]

I don't think it is fair to compare DVC to normal hotel/motel operations.

Bingo.

I don't know if this rumor is true or not but it wouldn't surprise me. When you look at the peak service days (Fridays with all of the Sun-Thurs departures and perhaps Sundays), the resorts have only a 5 hour window to clean most of the rooms in the joint. And often times those rooms haven't been serviced for 5+ days.

If there is a change, I suspect it's more a case of adjusting expectations than anything else. They will still be cleaning rooms as soon as guests depart. People arriving will still get their rooms well in advance of the posted time in many cases.

All they would be trying to do is create a situation where the cases in which people cannot get a room until 5pm meet expectations rather than lagging behind.

 

[edk35]

I hope it stays 11 and 4...sure 12:00 would be nice but I am happy with 11:00.

 

[drusba]

As I understand the new member enhacement there will still be a 4 p.m. check-in but you will no longer be guaranteed to actually get a room for your trip. Temporary, overflow housing (tents) will be available in the lions pride area at AK, and SSR will soon have the models for these outstanding accomodations which create a true In-the-Wild experience.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I hope it stays 11 and 4...sure 12:00 would be nice but I am happy with 11:00.

OT, you need to clean out your PM box....I can't PM you!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

As I understand the new member enhacement there will still be a 4 p.m. check-in but you will no longer be guaranteed to actually get a room for your trip. Temporary, overflow housing (tents) will be available in the lions pride area at AK, and SSR will soon have the models for these outstanding accomodations which create a true In-the-Wild experience.

Ok, LOL!! I am now officially crying with laughter!!!

 

[Anal Annie]

I expect I might see a few flames for this opinion BUT I'm gonna say it anyway. I realize that the mousekeeping comes out of our dues BUT IMO having enough staff to meet the demand is something that should be budgeted and planned for. Nothing has changed in that respect. We still pay our dues. The amount of rooms to be cleaned per resort has not altered. They know how many staff they need to keep up with cleaning the units in 5 hours. 5 hours is still 5 hours. I realize that Disney is cutting crap all over the place but they didn't reduce my dues, so I don't feel that this is a legitimate cut if they're cutting staff and that's why they're changing it. If they cut staff and lengthen the time required to clean the units then I expect an adustment in my dues. Period. That IMO is another cut in benefits. But they are PAID for benefits not ammenities.

Also, I don't think a studio should take any longer to clean than a regular room. They're roughly the same size. I'll give it an extra 10-15 min. to wipe down the kitchenette area.

 

[edk35]

OT, you need to clean out your PM box....I can't PM you!

Hey I know. I just cleaned it out. Send away!!

 

[bellazachmom]

WE did not get our room until 5:30 at AKL, and we were at the resort at about 1. We had small children and were up early due to flights. The front desk manager checked us into a regular AK room to rest and our room at AKL was not ready until 6:00.. We had dinner res at Jiko at 6:00, the manager also bumped our res to 6:30 and gave us half off our entire bill. Could not have been happier, they truly made our long day better!

Now THAT is the kind of Disney Guest Service that I grew up with and prompted us to buy into DVC.

Glad to hear you had such a wonderful experience!

 

[edk35]

I expect I might see a few flames for this opinion BUT I'm gonna say it anyway. I realize that the mousekeeping comes out of our dues BUT IMO having enough staff to meet the demand is something that should be budgeted and planned for. Nothing has changed in that respect. We still pay our dues. The amount of rooms to be cleaned per resort has not altered. They know how many staff they need to keep up with cleaning the units in 5 hours. 5 hours is still 5 hours. I realize that Disney is cutting crap all over the place but they didn't reduce my dues, so I don't feel that this is a legitimate cut if they're cutting staff and that's why they're changing it. If they cut staff and lengthen the time required to clean the units then I expect an adustment in my dues. Period. That IMO is another cut in benefits. But they are PAID for benefits not ammenities.

Also, I don't think a studio should take any longer to clean than a regular room. They're roughly the same size. I'll give it an extra 10-15 min. to wipe down the kitchenette area.

I agree.

 

[DVCGeek]

I guess it must be somewhere in our contract!

I know I was told 4 PM when I joind and that I have 3 (written) reservations letters that say it.

I also thought I saw 4 PM in the contract, but I haven't gone back to reread around the palm trees...

 

[DVCGeek]

One thing Marriott will do is if you have consecutive rooms, they will let you stay in the first room until the second one is ready. That's true even if it's a different Marriott timeshare in the same area. We have used it on a couple of occasions ...

Wow, I would LOVE it if DVC would start that. I wouldn't think it would be impossible to schedule Mousekeeping like that. Doubt it would ever happen, but sure would be nice for trying different rooms and/or resorts!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I expect I might see a few flames for this opinion BUT I'm gonna say it anyway. I realize that the mousekeeping comes out of our dues BUT IMO having enough staff to meet the demand is something that should be budgeted and planned for. Nothing has changed in that respect. We still pay our dues. The amount of rooms to be cleaned per resort has not altered. They know how many staff they need to keep up with cleaning the units in 5 hours. 5 hours is still 5 hours. I realize that Disney is cutting crap all over the place but they didn't reduce my dues, so I don't feel that this is a legitimate cut if they're cutting staff and that's why they're changing it. If they cut staff and lengthen the time required to clean the units then I expect an adustment in my dues. Period. That IMO is another cut in benefits. But they are PAID for benefits not ammenities.

Also, I don't think a studio should take any longer to clean than a regular room. They're roughly the same size. I'll give it an extra 10-15 min. to wipe down the kitchenette area.

Right on!!!

 

[tjkraz]

I expect I might see a few flames for this opinion BUT I'm gonna say it anyway. I realize that the mousekeeping comes out of our dues BUT IMO having enough staff to meet the demand is something that should be budgeted and planned for. Nothing has changed in that respect. We still pay our dues. The amount of rooms to be cleaned per resort has not altered. They know how many staff they need to keep up with cleaning the units in 5 hours. 5 hours is still 5 hours. I realize that Disney is cutting crap all over the place but they didn't reduce my dues, so I don't feel that this is a legitimate cut if they're cutting staff and that's why they're changing it. If they cut staff and lengthen the time required to clean the units then I expect an adustment in my dues. Period. That IMO is another cut in benefits. But they are PAID for benefits not ammenities.

If true, I don't think this has to do with staffing cuts at all. It's more about the reality of servicing resorts with such lopsided arrival and departure patterns.

Since we have no hard data to work with, I'm going to have to just throw out some numbers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are a lot of Friday departures due to the higher costs on weekends. So let's say that a resort has about 75% turnover on Friday morning. Meanwhile other weekdays only 15-20% of rooms are vacated by guests.

How is it possible for Disney to staff at 4-5 times the normal weekday levels on Friday and still offer full-time employment? I don't believe it is possible. If you mandate that every individual work on peak days (probably Friday and Sunday), and stagger off-days throughout the rest of the week, the best you could do is to have about 2 1/2 to 3 times the minimum on those peak days.

The alternative is to hire more part-timers. But part timers don't receive benefits and thus it's always going to be a hard position to fill. Good people will leave quickly for other full-time work.

Like I said, if this is true, I think it's more about managing expectations than making any actual changes to SOP. People will still get in rooms at 9am and 11am and 2pm. And there will still be folks who don't get in their room until 5:30pm. But it's better to be able to exceed expectations than to lag behind.

 

[dianeschlicht]

who votes for an early checkout time if i'd get u in the room earlier

we're usually out of the studio every day well before 9 am

those who want to stay later (say 11 am or noon) could pay a higher point basis or(gasp) those who depart promptly could get a rebate on points

I'd vote for that! We always check out by 9 AM and pack our stuff in the car so we can go enjoy the parks before our trip to the airport. I HATE it when we have guests who dawdle on check out day. I figure the earlier I get out the sooner they can get that room ready for the next family. it's kind of a "pay it forward" thing. I always hope someday I'll be the recipient of someone elses kindness at getting out early!

 

[DisFlan]

When you look at the peak service days (Fridays with all of the Sun-Thurs departures and perhaps Sundays), the resorts have only a 5 hour window to clean most of the rooms in the joint. And often times those rooms haven't been serviced for 5+ days.

Dare we suggest that they hire a few more housekeepers? Enough to get the job done in the time allotted - and get everyone into their villas before 6 pm? I'd even be happy to let them tout it as another "enhancement of guest experience".

DisFlan