Housekeeping Services

[mstern05]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club, but I read on another forum that you don't get any Housekeeping services. Is that true? We are making a huge investment and then to tell us that we can't have housekeeping, fresh towels, and sheets..I just can't get past it. Why would DVC members get less service, aren't you supposed to be special if you are DVC?

 

[RobDoc]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club, but I read on another forum that you don't get any Housekeeping services. Is that true? We are making a huge investment and then to tell us that we can't have housekeeping, fresh towels, and sheets..I just can't get past it. Why would DVC members get less service, aren't you supposed to be special if you are DVC?

DVC stays do get housekeeping services. For stays less than 8 nights housekeeping will replace towels and remove trash on the 4th day. For stays of 8 nights or longer, on day 4 you will have a full housekeeping service, with fresh bed linens vacuuming, fresh towels (they will even do the dishes) and then 4 days later you will get the Trash/Tidy service (the pattern is then repeated every 4 days for longer stays).

For those who desire more housekeeping service, that is available at extra charge rather than have all members pay for it out of fees.

 

[Dean]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club, but I read on another forum that you don't get any Housekeeping services. Is that true? We are making a huge investment and then to tell us that we can't have housekeeping, fresh towels, and sheets..I just can't get past it. Why would DVC members get less service, aren't you supposed to be special if you are DVC?

Members pay for services. With W/D and the other amenities available, the need for housekeeping services are much reduced for almost everyone. Most timeshares in the US don't even provide the midweek cleaning that DVC does. If you simply must have housekeeping, figure those charges extra into your cost comparison's. I'm not sure what your usual trip choices are or the specifics of why housekeeping is important to you but it's very likely that those extra costs make DVC a poor choice. However, I'd suggest that we've seen many people post over the years that they didn't think they could do without those services but once they bought and stayed, didn't particularly miss them. We reuse towels but some don't. In that situation you'd need to look at options. The 1 BR and above have a W/D and DW but the studios do not. However, there are other alternatives to just paying for a full cleaning. You can also pay for a Trash and Towel where they change out the towels or you can get an extra towel pack for a charge.

 

[jarestel]

The housekeeping schedule, at first blush, does seem to be a deficiency in the DVC concept. However, after a stay or two I really believe most DVC members come to prefer the fact that housekeeping isn't in the room every day. The 1-BR & 2-BR units all come with washer-dryers so having fresh towels, or fresh anything for that matter, isn't a problem either.

However, I get your concern. For those used to staying in hotel rooms, housekeeping, or lack thereof, seems like a downgrade in services.

 

[vicki_c]

You have to remember you are buying a timeshare, you are not renting a resort stay. Timeshares generally do not get housekeeping like a resort does.

And sorry - DVC members are not special! (well of course except for me, because I am.) DVC members have prepaid for future discounted stays @ WDW - that is really all.

 

[jekjones1558]

Count me as one who thought she would miss daily housekeeping but have not. In fact I like not having anyone poking around my room everyday. I do like getting fresh towels every 3 or 4 days so DVC fits me just fine.

 

[DebbieB]

I've been a member since 1999 and never missed daily housekeeping. Since DVC is a timeshare, housekeeping costs come out of member dues. I'd rather pay lower dues than pay for daily housekeeping for everyone. The option is always there for members who do want it, they can pay for it.

You have to remember it's a timeshare, all operating costs are paid by member dues, not by Disney. This also includes renovations. When you are paying for a Disney cash room, all these costs are rolled into the room rate. It's not really "free daily housekeeping", it's "included".

 

[AllieV]

I'm with you, OP. When we go on vacation, it's a vacation from life. I don't cook, clean, drive, or carry my own stuff. I was really put off by the lack of housekeeping and sheduled more (they never showed). But I got used to it and found it's not a big deal. I do like the magicalness of coming to a room that's nice and clean when it was left unkempt, but I didn't miss it like I thought I would. We also like not having to worry about locking up personals or valuables every morning. Just leave everything out. I'll toss the towels into the dryer if necessary; I consider it a luxury to have a hot towel after a bath, not a burden, so I don't mind.

Our next trip is 10 days but we'll probably switch halfway through, so we'll get 2 towel services and two fresh clean rooms.

 

[jodifla]

Bringing in housekeeping to 1 and 2 bedroom units or Grand Villas daily would be monstrously expensive and really drive up dues. Cleaning up just the kitchen if there were dishes could take an hour. I can't think of any timeshare that offers daily maid service.

DVC is our "home away from home" and at my home at least, the only daily maid service is me. (and occasionally DH and DS.)

I'm another one who has never missed the daily maid service. That way we can lounge around our room if we want without the maids knocking on the door.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club, but I read on another forum that you don't get any Housekeeping services. Is that true? We are making a huge investment and then to tell us that we can't have housekeeping, fresh towels, and sheets..I just can't get past it. Why would DVC members get less service, aren't you supposed to be special if you are DVC?

Like another poster said, we are not special at all. They just have us and we have to pay them every year for our member fees, which go up every year. Plus you aren't making an investment, just prepaying your vacation except for utilities, maintenance, taxes, management fees, etc which we pay every year as member fees.

 

[Lynne M]

To explain the housekeeping thing a bit further....

When you become a timeshare owner, you're sharing the operational expenses of the resort , including housekeeping, with your fellow owners. That's part of what your maintenance fees cover.

When you stay at a hotel, the costs of the housekeeping materials and personnel are part of your room rate. When you own a timeshare, you pay your share of the overall housekeeping materials and personnel costs for the resort in your maintenance fees.

So...given that many owners don't want daily housekeeping, and given that providing daily housekeeping for all villas would send our maintenance fees through the roof, the fair way to handle it is to give everyone limited housekeeping services, and allow those who want additional services to pay for them out of pocket.

Having had it both ways (hotels vs timeshares), I much prefer the DVC way. I'm very happy to have only housekeeping in my villa once or twice during my stay, and I don't need to pay for services I don't use or want. When I stay at a hotel, I must pay for housekeeping every single day, whether I want it or not.

Regarding the 'specialness' of members....DVC is a way to prepay for your lodgings for a certain number of years. That's all it is. It's not an investment, as it depreciates in value as the years go by. It's not club level, or a VIP club, so there's no special treatment as part of the deal. The benefit is the reduced cost of villa accommodations.

 

[disneynutz]

I don't have a problem with current cleaning schedule and like others we prefer not to have people in our room when we aren't there.

Our only issue is that we wish that they would do a better job when they do clean and that they would stick to the schedule. I have better things to do than call housekeeping and keeping after them to do their job.

Bill

 

[ThisIsJason]

Honestly, one of the reasons I am buying into DVC is because of the less housekeeping.

On my pervious trip, my wife and I liked to return to our room in the early afternoon and take a nap and then head out for dinner. When we would return our room was never made up, and sometime around 3-3:30 the housekeeper would come. So we'd have to vacate the room for 20 minutes or so. Towards day 7 of our 10 day trip it was getting annoying.

With DVC they will only come maybe twice during our trip. Honestly, I can make my own bed, and wash my towels if needed.

 

[DebbieB]

I don't have a problem with current cleaning schedule and like others we prefer not to have people in our room when we aren't there.

Our only issue is that we wish that they would do a better job when they do clean and that they would stick to the schedule. I have better things to do than call housekeeping and keeping after them to do their job.

Bill

I can't recall anytime that they have missed a scheduled housekeeping during one of my stays. One time I called at AKV for trash & towel when we returned around 4:00 and it turned out she had not made it to our room yet.

 

[DizDays]

When I stay in a resort outside of Disney, I appreciate retuning to a tidied room and freshly made bed. There's something very nice about that. But never once have I missed mousekeeping or had a problem with the DVC cleaning schedule. DH and I are NOT morning people and although we use the Do Not Disturb at hotels we stay at, they are not always honored. That's not a problem with DVC. There is a certain sense of freedom in that.

 

[chalee94]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club...

there are timeshare people and there are hotel people. sounds like you are a hotel person and really should not buy a timeshare.

it's not so much a "membership" after all, as a long term real estate interest. buying into DVC with the expectation that you will be treated as an extra-special guest at wdw is a recipe for disappointment...

 

[permavac]

I am another one of those that considers the lack of daily housekeeping a "perk" Even when we stay in hotels, we ask the front desk to cancel the daily "cleaning". When we check into a room, we wipe everything down with Lysol and we don't want the housekeepers coming in to dirty it back up I don't really consider their daily visit a "cleaning". They make the bed (I prefer to do that), they replace the towels (not very eco-friendly - I can reuse a towel for 3 days and since it's only two of us we get plenty of them), then they use one of your dirty towels to quickly swipe down the bathroom and counter tops (no thanks!), and empty your trash (I can wait until day 4 or bring it to the trash room myself if it's overflowing).

That said, I might be singing a different tune if we had a larger family. I can see if there were multiple beds to be made up daily and larger amounts of trash being produced and not enough towels to go around, I might prefer daily service - especially since vacation is a time when I want to take a break from daily chores.

But, if daily service is something we really enjoyed, I would be willing to pay for it. Isn't it like $25 per day? Someone posted a picture of the service fees once...

Terri

 

[crisi]

I'm considering making the investment to become a member of Disney Vacation Club, but I read on another forum that you don't get any Housekeeping services. Is that true? We are making a huge investment and then to tell us that we can't have housekeeping, fresh towels, and sheets..I just can't get past it. Why would DVC members get less service, aren't you supposed to be special if you are DVC?

You are destined for disappointment as a DVC member unless you change your expectations. The two red flag words are "special" and "investment." Spent the next three months haunting these boards and then decide if DVC is for you. DVC is a timeshare, an effective way for Disney to tie you to Disney. In some cases its a mutually beneficial relationship, in many it is not.

DVC members are not special, they've merely prepaid for timeshare accommodations. When you pay that big amount up front, you are paying for the capital - the building and a hefty profit for Disney. Every year you pay dues - and the dues are not cheap. And dues go for things like housekeeping. Disney has decided that keeping dues affordable for many is more important than things like daily housekeeping - but you can buy daily housekeeping if you want.

However, and this is important.....once you are a DVC member, Disney has you tied to them. Who do they need to keep happier - a family staying at the Poly who put down $8k for this trip and MIGHT come back next year, or you, who already paid Disney for 40 years worth of vacations and is stuck? In a Machavellian manner, Disney is way better off keeping their Deluxe guests happy than us members. If what you want is to feel special, keep booking rooms at Deluxe resorts. If what you want is to get a pretty good deal on regular Disney trips (but even then, not necessarily the best deal), keep looking at DVC.

 

[kbender23]

Do they give you enough towels to last 4 days or are you using the same towel each day? The pools have towels available so you dont need one from your room right?

Do they give you laundrey detergent or do you need your own?

Soap, shampoo is provided like the regular hotel rooms?

New to DVC and making our first trip this year so I want to know what I need to bring.

 

[crisi]

Do they give you enough towels to last 4 days or are you using the same towel each day? The pools have towels available so you dont need one from your room right?

Do they give you laundrey detergent or do you need your own?

Soap, shampoo is provided like the regular hotel rooms?

New to DVC and making our first trip this year so I want to know what I need to bring.

You need to use the same towel, wash the towels, or pay for the towel package. It is not cool to use pool towels for this purpose.

In a room with a washer, you get a small package of detergent. If you are washing towels and clothes, you'll want to bring more.

You'll only get shampoo at check in and on trash and towel day. Not sufficient unless you are a light shampoo user.