Housekeeping versus "security" checks

[Newcastle]

I decided to post a new thread as I didn't want to hijack the threads that are already posted about the new "security" checks, especially given that a lot of them seem to be addressing the logistics and reasonableness of the new policy, and I didn't want to undermine or take away from those discussions.

I prefer to decline housekeeping. It has to do, in part, with not wanting people to touch our stuff due to health issues (I won't go into the gory details here). I usually end up tracking the housekeeper down at the beginning of the trip to get any extra supplies we may need and then leave the do not disturb sign up for the rest of the trip (I do make sure to remove towels and garbage periodically so the room isn't a disaster for them to clean once we have checked out). I'm assuming that in the past, housekeeping would either just see the sign and not enter or maybe they even made note of the fact that I declined housekeeping and therefore "knew" that my room did not need to be serviced. If I follow that same procedure now, based on what I've read, I understand that that will/may trigger security checks but I can still opt out of housekeeping, correct? I know that some people are saying that if you don't want a security check, you should just let housekeeping come in daily and the problem will be solved but I don't want my room cleaned. This sounds a bit nutty now that I have written this all down but do I now need to specifically request no housekeeping at the front desk since they seem to be insistent on sending someone in daily? I understand that I won't be able to avoid the "security" check (not sure how I feel about that yet) but from my understanding, they are supposed to just look around and leave. Has anyone had any experience with this? I believe I read somewhere that they were running a trial at certain resorts wherein you could decline housekeeping in exchange for a gift card but I don't know if they are still doing this and how this might be impacted by the new security policy. Any comments/insight would be appreciated.

 

[Wubar]

I decided to post a new thread as I didn't want to hijack the threads that are already posted about the new "security" checks, especially given that a lot of them seem to be addressing the logistics and reasonableness of the new policy, and I didn't want to undermine or take away from those discussions.

I prefer to decline housekeeping. It has to do, in part, with not wanting people to touch our stuff due to health issues (I won't go into the gory details here). I usually end up tracking the housekeeper down at the beginning of the trip to get any extra supplies we may need and then leave the do not disturb sign up for the rest of the trip (I do make sure to remove towels and garbage periodically so the room isn't a disaster for them to clean once we have checked out). I'm assuming that in the past, housekeeping would either just see the sign and not enter or maybe they even made note of the fact that I declined housekeeping and therefore "knew" that my room did not need to be serviced. If I follow that same procedure now, based on what I've read, I understand that that will/may trigger security checks but I can still opt out of housekeeping, correct? I know that some people are saying that if you don't want a security check, you should just let housekeeping come in daily and the problem will be solved but I don't want my room cleaned. This sounds a bit nutty now that I have written this all down but do I now need to specifically request no housekeeping at the front desk since they seem to be insistent on sending someone in daily? I understand that I won't be able to avoid the "security" check (not sure how I feel about that yet) but from my understanding, they are supposed to just look around and leave. Has anyone had any experience with this? I believe I read somewhere that they were running a trial at certain resorts wherein you could decline housekeeping in exchange for a gift card but I don't know if they are still doing this and how this might be impacted by the new security policy. Any comments/insight would be appreciated.

We opted out of housekeeping last week during check in at Pop. Got a $50 GC ($10 for each night of your stay minus one night) emailed to me in about an hour, but I don't think they are offering this deal to all resorts, values are included for sure. We never knew if security came and did their checks. We were out of the room by 8am and not back to our room until at least 8pm every day. They never stopped by while we were in our room either. We did not put out the do not disturb (or whatever it is called now) sign up at any time during our stay.

 

[Newcastle]

Thank you for your reply Wubar. Maybe I will just let the front desk know that I wish to decline housekeeping rather than make the "arrangements" directly with the housekeeper. Now that I think about it, housekeepers do change so if I don't formally let someone know that I don't want housekeeping, the next housekeeper in line may not know. That was never a problem before with the do not disturb sign as they simply wouldn't bother with housekeeping if the sign was on the door knob. Thanks again!!

 

[HopperFan]

First, where are you staying, opting out is for values and moderates.

I just left yesterday, since it was only a 4 night, I decided to give opting out a try. I was and am against it but I like to try things for myself. We normally get missed by housekeeping at least once each trip, we rarely get things replenished anymore and sometimes they short us towels ... and since we would be leaving on the day they change the sheets anyway, what did I have to lose? Haha, privacy?

WELL we got checked every day while we were there. The first day we never let him past the door, he looked past us and was content. Last day a woman came to the door, I cracked it, she asked if we and all was okay, did I need anything ... nope we are good shut the door. (now someone might have come back later after we left) The second day DS and I were returning about 3:30 as he needed a rest/nap and as we approached a man beat us to our door. I did not open for him and stood outside. He flipped the lock so I watched him through the opening. He turned on the rooms lights, the vanity area lights, and the bathroom lights. He looked around. He didn't appear to touch anything other than switches.

 

[Newcastle]

Thanks for the information HopperFan! Since we are staying at a Deluxe resort, I wouldn't be able to opt out in order to receive the gift card but would it still be worth my while to tell the front desk that I don't want it, with the understanding that we will then be receiving the security checks? I had always done this informally by just talking to the housekeeper but I'm wondering whether they (i.e. housekeeping) would just bypass the new sign, as the "do not disturb" sign used to be sufficient to prevent anyone coming into the room - clearly, that is no longer the case with the new signs and the new "rules". I have been following several threads on this including the "It's for your safety" thread and there is just so much conflicting info in terms of how Disney is implementing this new policy so it's hard to discern what steps guests who do not want housekeeping should take to avoid it. For example, there was a recent post in which someone indicated that housekeeping came to the room, they declined housekeeping and received some towels which realistically, should have constituted a room check but they still sent someone to do a "security" check. I guess I'll just have to wait until I get down there in June, talk to the front desk and hope that they have ironed out some of the issues by that time. I do appreciate you providing a description of the room checks that you experienced as that is helpful. For some reason, it made me chuckle to read how you observed the "room observer/checker" on the second day . I'm guessing it must be super awkward/uncomfortable for the CMs who have been tasked with implementing this new policy.

 

[Starwind]

I am also interested in how best to tackle this issue.

For medical reasons, we get a VIP Cleaning of our room before we arrive. Once we are in the room we spend some time doing additional cleaning ourselves (eg wiping down switches and door handles and phones and the remote). And we decline housekeeping for the duration of our stay: we don't need it, and we don't want them handling our things, which include medical equipment.

I am debating whether having them just do "trash only" may be sufficient. However, I have learned from past experience that just asking for trash to be removed throughout one's stay, that that message doesn't always get received by the housekeeping staff responsible for your room on a given day and sometimes they do the entire cleaning routine, which creates numerous problems for us that then have to be fixed.

SW

 

[Summer2018]

Lack of proper training and communication only makes it all worse.

 

[Lynne M]

This thread is closed. Please use the thread “Questions/Comments on the new daily room checks” for discussion of this topic.