Housekeeping on DVC is the deal breaker

[paulengr]

Not sure how to put this but Disney, you suck. This was our 11th year in a row going to WDW and we've gone there at least 2 dozen times since we've been married (6 times the year we were married and lived close by). It has worked out that we've stayed in a different hotel every year except one (free dining was only available in one hotel which was a repeat) and we've stayed on site for every one of those 11 years. All of our stays have been at deluxes or moderates in the last decade. Previously when we were first married back in the 1990's off site made more sense, then on site non-Disney hotel (Doubletree) but when free dining came around that was the deal maker that got us to stay on site every year after that. So this year was a turning point. Disney finally "upped the ante" on free dining that they priced us out and it was time to try something different. We kind of covered all the other hotels so it was time to go the DVC route to try it out. We rented points for OKW and off we go...

Stayed at OKW just last week for 13 days. My oldest daughter had a band competition that started mid-week so that pushed us from our usual 8 days out to almost two weeks. No free dining in April/May anyways so we had all kinds of reasons to try something new. This was our first DVC experience. Trust me we know all about DVC on paper. We've spent time at one of the kiosks, studied it online, etc. DVC would have made sense for us long ago but we never intended to keep coming back year after year. So this was a good time to take the plunge into DVC, and I can say that mostly DVC was OK but the housekeeping? Do you all normally put up with that? It's ridiculous and bad, on top of paying a little more than moderate prices for an almost deluxe. The overall experience was just OK...we weren't wowed by anything but we're satisfied with CB and PO (not so much CS) and love the Poly but can't justify the cost, and love WL and the price although they took away the entire wing we stayed at to turn it into more DVC's...which only made us more interested in trying it.

I can confirm though now what I've read on DIS and elsewhere. During the first week I would say except two days trash was removed every day, as per the new policy. The first day that they skipped us was because we came back from a water park and spent quite a bit of time in the room with the "occupied" sign out. The second day was day 12, the day they decided to do nothing at all.

Towel service was I guess you'd say erratic. We got towel replacements on day 3 and 6. Then...NOTHING for the rest of the stay. Full cleaning was I believe day 3 or 4 as it is supposed to be, but then nothing was scheduled during the second week after day 6 or 7 other than trash service. It is my understanding that DVC for stays of 12 days or more gets an alternating schedule where day 4 is full cleaning then day 8 is trash/towels only, then the cycle repeats again so day 12 would be full cleaning. Called housekeeping and they were adamant that nothing at all was scheduled after day 7 or 8 and that is following policy. I don't know how to put this politely but that's absolutely ridiculous, not what the DVC policy says, and confirms both the rumors I've heard that DVC room cleaning and towel service is haphazard and that they simply don't follow it quite often.

So this has gone from an annoyance to probably a deal breaker with DVC for us. I doubt she will even be interested in renting points again.

 

[bumbershoot]

So this was a good time to take the plunge into DVC, and I can say that mostly DVC was OK but the housekeeping? Do you all normally put up with that?

It’s a timeshare. It goes along with ownership. There’s no putting up with it; many, if not most, owners prefer it.

Towel service was I guess you'd say erratic. We got towel replacements on day 3 and 6. Then...NOTHING for the rest of the stay. Full cleaning was I believe day 3 or 4 as it is supposed to be, but then nothing was scheduled during the second week after day 6 or 7 other than trash service.

I’ve never stayed that long in one place. So I don’t know about what happens after day 8.

Did you call to speak with the housekeeping manager? Did you go to the front desk and talk about it?

 

[Ben E N]

Thanks for posting this. It's exactly what I needed to read when I was feeling pissy about little things going wrong in my life as well. It was a good reminder that there is so much good going on and that by focusing on the bad I was looking like a little baby. I hope you survived your trip in one piece and that you are happy spending your money elsewhere.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I'm actually happy that housekeeping doesn't have to come in every day and clean.

It actually upset me that they are now coming in Every Single Day. Heck, I can take care of my own trash.

 

[LYSE]

I haven't stayed anywhere that long so following along...

But you can pay for daily full cleanings like the hotel and with the money you save owning or renting I would say there's still a pretty good margin of savings to make it worthwhile if it really bothers you that much.

 

[BillPA]

Did your reservation come from 1 rental or was it pieced together from several 3-4-5 day rentals?

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Full cleaning on day 4 and Trash and Towel on day 8. You can change the schedule but not the frequency without paying for it.

As for the daily "trash service" .... it isn't really a housekeeping thing. It's about security / them checking your room.

I can't imagine needing a full cleaning the day before you are checking out.

If I was staying 13-14 days, I'd probably ask for a full cleaning on day 5-6, trash and towel on day 9-10.... something like that.

14+ days and I'd factor in paying for an extra full room cleaning.... again spacing things out a little differently based on actual length of stay.

I fully expect to pay the $6 for extra towel packs along the way even for a short stay. I'm not fond of reusing towels more than once. I think this would be my only complaint about not having frequent housekeeping.....we'd have a lot of towels piling up. However, I'm pretty sure if you can find a housekeeper with a cart, they'd take them from you. Or maybe there's someplace else to take them...? Not sure about that.

I used to hate the idea of "losing" housekeeping. Now I prefer it and hate the idea of them coming in daily for trash removal and no true "do not disturb".

 

[disneynutz]

Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. I gave a DVC cleaning lesson to the front desk staff at SSR one year and only one CM, not management knew what the schedule was.

Bill

 

[Shanti]

Not sure how to put this but Disney, you suck. This was our 11th year in a row going to WDW and we've gone there at least 2 dozen times since we've been married (6 times the year we were married and lived close by). It has worked out that we've stayed in a different hotel every year except one (free dining was only available in one hotel which was a repeat) and we've stayed on site for every one of those 11 years. All of our stays have been at deluxes or moderates in the last decade. Previously when we were first married back in the 1990's off site made more sense, then on site non-Disney hotel (Doubletree) but when free dining came around that was the deal maker that got us to stay on site every year after that. So this year was a turning point. Disney finally "upped the ante" on free dining that they priced us out and it was time to try something different. We kind of covered all the other hotels so it was time to go the DVC route to try it out. We rented points for OKW and off we go...

Stayed at OKW just last week for 13 days. My oldest daughter had a band competition that started mid-week so that pushed us from our usual 8 days out to almost two weeks. No free dining in April/May anyways so we had all kinds of reasons to try something new. This was our first DVC experience. Trust me we know all about DVC on paper. We've spent time at one of the kiosks, studied it online, etc. DVC would have made sense for us long ago but we never intended to keep coming back year after year. So this was a good time to take the plunge into DVC, and I can say that mostly DVC was OK but the housekeeping? Do you all normally put up with that? It's ridiculous and bad, on top of paying a little more than moderate prices for an almost deluxe. The overall experience was just OK...we weren't wowed by anything but we're satisfied with CB and PO (not so much CS) and love the Poly but can't justify the cost, and love WL and the price although they took away the entire wing we stayed at to turn it into more DVC's...which only made us more interested in trying it.

I can confirm though now what I've read on DIS and elsewhere. During the first week I would say except two days trash was removed every day, as per the new policy. The first day that they skipped us was because we came back from a water park and spent quite a bit of time in the room with the "occupied" sign out. The second day was day 12, the day they decided to do nothing at all.

Towel service was I guess you'd say erratic. We got towel replacements on day 3 and 6. Then...NOTHING for the rest of the stay. Full cleaning was I believe day 3 or 4 as it is supposed to be, but then nothing was scheduled during the second week after day 6 or 7 other than trash service. It is my understanding that DVC for stays of 12 days or more gets an alternating schedule where day 4 is full cleaning then day 8 is trash/towels only, then the cycle repeats again so day 12 would be full cleaning. Called housekeeping and they were adamant that nothing at all was scheduled after day 7 or 8 and that is following policy. I don't know how to put this politely but that's absolutely ridiculous, not what the DVC policy says, and confirms both the rumors I've heard that DVC room cleaning and towel service is haphazard and that they simply don't follow it quite often.

So this has gone from an annoyance to probably a deal breaker with DVC for us. I doubt she will even be interested in renting points again.

I agree that housekeeping isn't something I'd want to vacation without. Even once every 4 days wouldn't cut it for me.

Instead of renting points, I use a travel agency that offers lower rates on deluxe resorts than you can get directly from Disney. Works for us & we get daily housekeeping.

 

[karrit2000]

The DVC Housekeeping always frustrates me and I've been a member for over 20 years now. I always have to call repeatedly for things that are supposed to be replenished on both Trash & Towel Service & Full Housekeeping days. I always am afraid that I will return to a villa that hasn't been serviced at all on the scheduled day since it has happened to me several times. They rarely if ever replenish the plastic utensils & paper plates & bowls in the studio units and usually there is only enough supplied at check-in for one meal so we always have to call for more. The past few years they never ever leave a spare roll of toilet paper in the units so we always have to call to ask for some numerous times during our stays. At least one service day each trip they don't leave any soap or other toiletries they are suppose to replenish necessitating yet another call. Almost every time I've stayed in the one bedroom units they also never replenish the laundry soap and sometimes they don't leave the soap for the dishwasher either. There used to be a list posted in a closet in every unit listing what was supposed to be supplied and what would be replenished during which service. They removed those lists a few years ago. The off hour staff are always quite apologetic and surprised at what basic items don't get replenished when they should be. It just ticks me off that I have to inventory at check-in & after every service to get what I'm paying for. But honestly when I stay any where else multiple nights or even in regular Disney resort rooms there are days that not everything gets replenished or cleaned properly too. If they know you aren't checking out they don't seem to worry about servicing the rooms properly no matter where you stay.

 

[Shanti]

But honestly when I stay any where else multiple nights or even in regular Disney resort rooms there are days that not everything gets replenished or cleaned properly too. If they know you aren't checking out they don't seem to worry about servicing the rooms properly no matter where you stay.

I've stayed at many Disney resorts and have never had this problem. When we return to our resort room, items are replenished and the room is clean. No different that at any other nice hotel.

 

[kimj88]

I actually prefer the less housekeeping. I don't want them coming in every day. Towels can be hung to dry and used a few times, no big deal. Trash can be taken down yourself if it must, but really the cans don't fill that quickly. I like not being bothered or worried about where I leave stuff every single day. Even when I travel not to Disney and not DVC, I usually put the Do Not Disturb sign on for a few days at a time.

 

[Minniesgal]

DVC housekeeping is fairly standard for a condo type accommodation which is what DVC is not a Hotel accommodation.

As for clean towels we throw them in the washer as we go out and in the drier as we return and hey presto clean towels.

We did stay in a studio at the Poly and I paid extra for every day housekeeping as I'm not used to the small size of a studio and I wanted clean towels and we were glad we did for the studio. I wouldn't have bothering if we had been in a 1 bedroom

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It's kind of funny because there were comments made approx 1 1/2 years ago by Bob Iger that Disney was going to work on getting housekeeping up to snuff. And it's possible it's gotten even more erratic than ever.

What the schedule should have been for you was Full cleaning on on Day 4 (with your check in day counting as Day 1) then trash and towel on Day 8 and Full cleaning again on Day 12.

We haven't had a stay that ever involved more than 8 nights but the scheduled cleanings we do get has varied. I'd say that more often we get additional cleanings or trash/towels than what we should. Usually though it's as scheduled. Sometimes it's happened on days that are not on schedule but that has usually happened when we've had linked reservations. And a maybe once have we been missed. It's not rocket science and should go on schedule IMO but it's not been that big of a factor for us and if I felt it was necessary I'd follow up to get the cleanings - it's just that usually we would find out late in the evening after returning from the parks that we'd been skipped. By and far things have been done on schedule for us though. Misses are not a deal breaker for us at all but I do think that misses should be the rarity and they need to be held to the schedule and doing what they should. You're not the first I've seen report that housekeeping tells them that the cleaning schedule is not what it actually is. Those reports don't pop up frequently but they never should come in at all.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Most condos I stay in have no housekeeping at all.

 

[disneyfan2kids]

Different strokes for different folks... I'd actually pay extra to have nobody come in my room the whole vacation, LOL. I hate the days when I come back and realize strangers were in my room. It's just something I'd prefer they not do, although I understand the need (security/towels/trash/etc.) so I deal with it. In my perfect world, I could discard of my own trash whenever I wanted with a "trash room" in each hall and I'd get fresh towels/etc delivered outside my door every few days. That's all I need.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I've stayed at many Disney resorts and have never had this problem. When we return to our resort room, items are replenished and the room is clean. No different that at any other nice hotel.

Which are not timeshares.

 

[Bigscout79]

Generally I would agree with less housekeeping. We are what I call "functional germaphobes" and spend a long time re-cleaning the room when we arrive. We plan on a day to catch a housekeeper and swap out towels/garbage etc. One thing I like about DVC is that they didn't come in as often.

Funny story (now with some distance)
Once, we had our do not disturb on and management came in anyhow to retrieve an upper floor swimsuit that had fallen. We had non walking babies at the time and had a sheet on the floor for them to crawl around on. There were clear shoe imprints/dirt directly across the middle of the sheet. We did have a message asking for access, but were never informed they had actually entered. Without the imprints we would have never called and learned they did actually come in.

 

[Shanti]

Which are not timeshares.

I was responding to that poster, who said there were those problems even at regular resorts.

 

[jarestel]

OP, thanks for posting your thoughts on your recent DVC stay. It's important that people considering DVC realize there are certain compromises involved, so hopefully your thoughts will be beneficial to others in similar situations. Regarding housekeeping in particular, even when one knows exactly what to expect, it can still be somewhat of a hit or miss. In your case it was definitely a miss since housekeeping didn't seem to know the correct schedule for DVC cleanings and trash-towel service.