Housekeeping coming back?

[fla4fun]

Just so you'll know, even without housekeeping, someone else does come into your room every day, since AFAIK WDW still has daily room checks. At least they still did when I was there in May.

Yes, I just returned, and they were doing housekeeping every other day, and room checks on the days without housekeeping. I happened to be in the room when they did the checks. One CM asked me to leave the room, and the other did not.

 

[DisneyGuy]

Okay…so I’m sure some of you are already thinking this, but, how long before there starts to be some significant effects (and by that I mean bugs/rodents?lol) regarding the less frequent cleaning and excess garbage in the rooms and hallways. I have to wonder if they are also cutting back on extermination policies? I am terrified of bugs!!!

Trash build up in the rooms and hallways is never a good thing!

 

[Lsyves]

What is a room check? I am out of the loop!

 

[DCJ]

This is very concerning - We have reservations for early next year and at $500+ a night, this sounds awful. I'm really hoping to see some changes made.

I am going back to the Lodge next year. Everything else there was awesome. They did have the trash in the hallway problem there, too. I talked to guest relations when we returned, they were, ya know, nice. Disney needs to do better.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What is a room check? I am out of the loop!

It's a security measure they put in place after the Vegas shooting.

 

[Lsyves]

I am going back to the Lodge next year. Everything else there was awesome. They did have the trash in the hallway problem there, too. I talked to guest relations when we returned, they were, ya know, nice. Disney needs to do better.

So crazy considering the price tag.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So crazy considering the price tag.

I agree that it's frustrating, but it's worth pointing out that Disney has held multiple job fairs, increased wages across the board, and are offering large signing bonuses for housekeepers and line cooks (and bus drivers?). I genuinely think they recognize that this is a problem and are actively trying to fix it. They just can't get the bodies. I don't think it's a case of using the pandemic as an excuse to cut costs. There are some instances of that, but I don't think this is one of them.

I don't see this problem solving itself until POTUS reopens the border for legal immigration and work visas. That will restore a huge pipeline for full time workers, plus free up staff currently filling "cultural representative" roles around the World Showcase and Animal Kingdom to be redeployed elsewhere.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I agree with the above. When I am paying $800+/night to stay at Poly, CR, GF, BC, YC.. Im sorry but I expect daily housekeeping/room turn over.. between that and having to deal with paper plates and plastic utensils/cups for room service or no room service available at all on our post reopening trips I’m starting to ask myself whether it is still worth it as well. Who am I kidding, I’m not going to stay off site.. but, still, I really want to start to see these things start to return, as they are part of the experience for me.

...stayed at a four star hotel in Miami over Labor Day weekend that cost half what I’ll be paying per night at Poly next month and there was daily housekeeping + evening turn down service. I don’t know that’s it’s still a matter of not being able to do it anymore or do it safely.. that reasoning isn’t going to hold up much longer when we have cast members once again urging guests to “fill in all available space” at the parks.

you have people in this thread saying their an adult and don’t need someone to “clean up after them everyday” so they can keep taking away and lowered expectations will flourish…

one of the best things about a cruise/hotel is coming back to your room and having it feel like it was never touched with the beds made, towels replaced, and toiletries refreshed.

 

[StageTek]

What is a room check? I am out of the loop!

Back in Jan 2018 Disney started sending someone to each room on a daily room check.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/guest-experiences-with-daily-room-checks.3660888/

 

[CaptainAmerica]

you have people in this thread saying their an adult and don’t need someone to “clean up after them everyday” so they can keep taking away and lowered expectations will flourish…

one of the best things about a cruise/hotel is coming back to your room and having it feel like it was never touched with the beds made, towels replaced, and toiletries refreshed.

Their pre-pandemic solution was right on. Offer full service as the default, but then give people a credit if they want to opt out.

 

[wov305]

While a pay raise from $11 to $14.50 may seem significant, when rent is over $1000 for a studio this is negligible. Also this sign on bonus, what is a one time $1000 supposed to do for a family of four?

Disney and most employers are not offering terms that someone could not afford to refuse. People are not just deciding they don't want to work they simply don't want to work that hard to barely survive. When you clean rooms in a hotel you are talking about 15+ rooms a day. DVC you may only clean four but that is because you have mix of two bedrooms to studios. If you get a grand villa you get 3 hours to clean it with help. Now with increased protocols I'm sure it is even harder. Until you have felt the pain in your back and shoulders from making possibly 30 beds in a day you can never understand why a person would be unwilling to return regardless of the location.

 

[DebbieB]

For the first time in over 20 years of being a DVC member, my trash and towel service was missed at BWV yesterday. When the CM came in to pickup trash around 5:00pm, we asked for new towels and he got them for us.

I just read housekeeping got a raise to $17 per hour on 10/1, so I wonder if it’s a case they can’t find enough staff or if they are cutting back to save money.

 

[diskids2]

I'm going in December after about a two year hiatus due to the obvious and I really miss it. So I plan to deal with "whatever" this time, but at the end of the day if the impact of all the changes lowers my desire to go back at all or as frequently as I used to, then I just won't. At the end of the day, it's my money to spend and if I don't feel like spending as much or anything at all, then I will just vacation elsewhere.

At the end of the day, maybe I won't mind the differences between now and then....I guess we just have to see.

 

[Mle8308]

Yes, exactly, that’s my conver

I don’t know if it does anything, but I emailed Disney a month or two ago to urge them to bring back full housekeeping for those who want it. Maybe worth doing that?

I agree. We were at WL/BR in August in a 1BR (cash stay, not DVC) for 11 nights and paid over $1K per night. We got our towels swapped out a few times, but nothing consistent. We had to go to the pool to get extra towels because they weren't left in the room. Fortunately we were in a DVC building, we could take our trash to the trash room..... We did get the bed made once while we were there, but it was on our second day, which didn't make much sense to me. I do want daily housekeeping while on vacation, that's why I'm on vacation so I don't have to make beds or take out trash! Especially for what the nightly rate is. I completely understand if people don't want a stranger coming into their room, but I think that should be a choice. I hope full housekeeping comes back soon - and not at an extra charge! P.S. Anyone remember when you got a gift card for declining service??? We never opted for it but at least you were monetarily rewarded if you chose not to have the service.

 

[Kwami]

I just returned from a stay at CBR and housekeeping was horrible. They changed the towels and took the trash every few days, sure. They even made the bed twice. But they left mold in the toilet and bathtub, even though it was very easy to see. They didn't restock the toilet paper, so I had to borrow a roll from some other folks that were traveling with us. My sister's baby threw up on her bed and when she asked housekeeping to change the sheets, they just made the bed with the existing sheets and ignored the vomit. One of our rooms wasn't ready at 3pm, or 5pm, or 5:30pm... They actually just forgot to clean it and we ended up switching to a different room type. They offered us $100 for that, at least.

I understand that Disney is having trouble finding enough people. But that's Disney's problem. I shouldn't be paying full rate for less service. Unless things change, I'll be staying elsewhere next time.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Unless things change, I'll be staying elsewhere next time.

Best of luck, but there's an identical thread going on with people experiencing the exact same thing at Portofino Bay.

This isn't a "Disney responding to the pandemic poorly" thing, this is just "pandemics suck and ruin everything."

 

[SteveH]

We just spent 8 nights in Hawaii, 4 on the Kona side of the Big Island and 4 on Maui. Had our room made up every day, sheets changed every other day. I know hiring his hard everywhere, but some how they managed to make it happen. So I figure Disney can do if they wanted to make it happen.

 

[Brian Noble]

This isn't a "Disney responding to the pandemic poorly" thing, this is just "pandemics suck and ruin everything."

Absolutely. We spent last weekend at a very new, mid-range Marriott property when we went to the Michigan @ Wisconsin game. They were doing housekeeping only by request, with limited hours, and they weren't doing it at all on Sundays.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Best of luck, but there's an identical thread going on with people experiencing the exact same thing at Portofino Bay.

This isn't a "Disney responding to the pandemic poorly" thing, this is just "pandemics suck and ruin everything."

When you get out of the Disney/UOR bubble you see there are hotels in the US who have resumed full housekeeping while some are not and blaming the pandemic. This means housekeeping can be done, not that the pandemic has ruined everything, and not offering it is simply a business decision by hotels/chains. But “due to the pandemic” and “due to labor shortages” sounds like a much better excuse than “we don’t want to pay more for our Housekeeping budget”.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

When you get out of the Disney/UOR bubble you see there are hotels in the US who have resumed full housekeeping while some are not and blaming the pandemic. This means housekeeping can be done, not that the pandemic has ruined everything, and not offering it is simply a business decision by hotels/chains. But “due to the pandemic” and “due to labor shortages” sounds like a much better excuse than “we don’t want to pay more for our Housekeeping budget”.

With all due respect, you don't have any idea what you're talking about.

Between the two of them, WDW and UOR employ about 100,000 people in like a 10 mile radius. I don't give a rip that the Holiday Inn Express outside of Greensboro, North Carolina is able to reach full employment for their 6 housekeeping positions. Disney and Universal are hiring *thousands* of people in the same industry in a single city. They've both held multiple job fairs, they've increased wages across the board, and they're offering signing bonuses to new employees. They're *desperately* trying to staff up.