Just back...serious housekeeping issues at BLT..........

[momtofour]

Just returned home on Saturday. Had our first trip home at our newest purchase...BLT. Loved the resort and its amenities. However, our housekeeping was very poor with numerous issues. I've had 20 plus trips and this one was the worst in terms of cleanliness etc. Who do you suggest I write to? Claire Bilby, DVC member satisfaction, head of housekeeping at BLT? I want to write to someone where it may get some attention. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[erionm]

If you didn't, you should have started with housekeeping and then resort management if nothing was done to address the issue while you were there. Then, you would follow up with member satisfaction after your stay.

 

[jo-jo]

If you didn't, you should have started with housekeeping and then resort management if nothing was done to address the issue while you were there. Then, you would follow up with member satisfaction after your stay.

That doesn't always fix the problem though. In Sept of 2010, we had a studio where the sofa was awful. The cushions were torn at the seams to the point of being separated and hanging loose. (At first I thought it was fringe) Short story, 5 trips to front desk, one phone call asking if everything was now ok (nothing was done), last day of trip Managers had said they dropped the ball, they told someone to fix it and never checked on the work. Offered breakfast but we had eaten and were leaving shortly. Said they would "red flag" the room next time we came. We went back a few weeks ago. Room was fine, but really I was expecting a little something (since they had offered breakfast before) in the room, nothing. I did write and sent pictures to Member satisfaction after the original trip and was offered a fast pass, but I had to let them know when we come and notify them and give them a loooong number. I think the whole thing was poorly handled.

Aren't you glad I didn't give you the long story.....

 

[connorlevismom]

Good luck to you. I addressed my issues (at SSR) with the front desk and several senior staff members several times while on-site. Took pictures and wrote emails to both member satisfaction and manager at SSR and it still has not been resolved to my liking. Read the thread about SSR room - hot mess. You will see this is obviously a problem all through DVC.

 

[momtofour]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I will go ahead and write to the DVC satisfaction team. I didn't call housekeeping because the issues were minor but there were lots. I won't go into alot of detail but it included finding childrens underwear, diaper, used coffee filter in pot, dishes in the cupboards full of food, (and silverware) crumbs all over the sleeper chair, unit was never vacumned (big hairballs....), really sticky kitchen floor. I could and will go into detail in my letter. None of them were big issues like the previous poster.........just a lack of detail by housekeeping. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another unpleasant surprise.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I will go ahead and write to the DVC satisfaction team. I didn't call housekeeping because the issues were minor but there were lots. I won't go into alot of detail but it included finding childrens underwear, diaper, used coffee filter in pot, dishes in the cupboards full of food, (and silverware) crumbs all over the sleeper chair, unit was never vacumned (big hairballs....), really sticky kitchen floor. I could and will go into detail in my letter. None of them were big issues like the previous poster.........just a lack of detail by housekeeping. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another unpleasant surprise.

These do NOT sound like "minor" issues! I had my first encounter with a dirty room at HHI this past fall--long black hairs all over the bathroom floor. I notified someone right away. I don't usually get grossed out by much, but this did it! They came in and did a complete cleaning of the room immediately and gave us a $100 credit on our room charges. My issue sounds minor compared to yours; yours was NOT minor!

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I will go ahead and write to the DVC satisfaction team. I didn't call housekeeping because the issues were minor but there were lots. I won't go into alot of detail but it included finding childrens underwear, diaper, used coffee filter in pot, dishes in the cupboards full of food, (and silverware) crumbs all over the sleeper chair, unit was never vacumned (big hairballs....), really sticky kitchen floor. I could and will go into detail in my letter. None of them were big issues like the previous poster.........just a lack of detail by housekeeping. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another unpleasant surprise.

I just wonder, given what you found, is if your room was never cleaned and somehow got released to you before it had been.

I am sorry you had to deal with that but do think if you had called housekeeping or gone to the front desk immediately, I think a full cleaning would have happened.

When we were at BLT last summer, we had some minor issues (and I don't consider your issues minor either), we called and they had someone up very quickly to take care of it.

 

[momtofour]

Does anyone have the appropriate email address for the member satisfaction team? I just sent an email and it bounced back. Thanks!

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I will go ahead and write to the DVC satisfaction team. I didn't call housekeeping because the issues were minor but there were lots. I won't go into alot of detail but it included finding childrens underwear, diaper, used coffee filter in pot, dishes in the cupboards full of food, (and silverware) crumbs all over the sleeper chair, unit was never vacumned (big hairballs....), really sticky kitchen floor. I could and will go into detail in my letter. None of them were big issues like the previous poster.........just a lack of detail by housekeeping. It seemed like every time I turned a corner there was another unpleasant surprise.

This sounds a lot like what we encountered in November at BWV. Just like you said, every time we turned around we found something else. We did politely request a cleaning, but aside from running the vacuum and swirling the toilet brush around, all the other things were ignored. It was depressing the lack of detail shown.

 

[runmommyrun]

As a relatively new member to the Dis boards, I have noticed numerous strings about housekeeping at MANY DVC resorts. No resorts seem to be excluded from the complaints. It seems to be a common thread. I am a new purchaser (2010 - BLT) and will be taking my extended family for the first time Fall 2012 to "show off" our purchase. Like everyone here, we committed significant money to joining the club and providing our kids with great family vacations while they are growing up. I will be mortified if I take my parents to our resort (especially because they know how much money we've spent!) and run into some of the issues that have been posted on here. I've bragged quite a bit about how wonderful DVC is. While I haven't run into huge issues (some minor ones), I am concerned with the many posts on here commenting on the cleanliness and upkeep of the resorts. Thoughts about what can be done to stress to DVC management about the need to keep these rooms updated and clean? Given the significant dollar amounts we have all forked over, it doesn't seem like a huge or unreasonable request. We should have a clean room when we enter. Period. I don't want a surprise awaiting me when we arrive at a resort like so many have posted.

 

[drusba]

The email is dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com.

There are fewer room problems than the impression you may get here. Those who have a problem report it here and it is discussed thoroughly each time because as owners we all share the disappointment experienced by another owner in getting a room with problems. Moreover, those who have no problems don't feel a need to report it. Thus, you can get the false sense that it is usual rather than unusual to have problems.

Nevertheless, there are more problems than there should be and it is more often than not sloppy housekeeping which means some individual room cleaners are not doing the job. That also means they are correctable problems and thus it is important that the problems be reported to management.

 

[Sammie]

I personally think mandatory check in at 4pm would help. I think they rush, rush, rush to get these rooms done early and it's showing.

DVC is the only time share I have ever stayed in that allows early check in. We never get into others before 3pm and do not have the housekeeping and maintenance issues seen in some DVC units.

 

[DonnaL]

We had similar housekeeping problems at BWV in mid October. They did "reclean" the problem areas (bathroom and kitchen).....however, how much recleaning was done is debatable IMO. When my DH called about the issues, a housekeeping supervisor came up to our room to check out the problems and did offer us a $50 room credit ......as she said "to have lunch on us". However, as I stated to her "that is not the answer to housekeeping issues....simply to offer the guest a room credit. When I check in....I would like and do expect a clean room....that's what I pay monthly fees for." I don't know about anyone else........but, we've been DVC members for 10 years.....and this past year is the first time we've become so disenchanted that we've decided to take a break from our usual two or three trips a year.........our last trip was in October and we have no plans for 2012 at all.......my husband told me in October he has no desire to "ever" stay at BWV again.....he feels the overall maintenance and housekeeping has been let go to the point that the resort is really beginning to look shabby and show that it "is" 15 years old......so what will it look like at 20? I know the 1 bdrm we stayed in certainly didn't look like a deluxe accommodation to us....we've stayed at mid priced Comfort Suites, Hamptons, Marriott Courtyards, Towne Place, and Residence Inns all in much nicer condition.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

We had similar housekeeping problems at BWV in mid October. They did "reclean" the problem areas (bathroom and kitchen).....however, how much recleaning was done is debatable IMO.....my husband told me in October he has no desire to "ever" stay at BWV again.....he feels the overall maintenance and housekeeping has been let go to the point that the resort is really beginning to look shabby and show that it "is" 15 years old......so what will it look like at 20? I know the 1 bdrm we stayed in certainly didn't look like a deluxe accommodation to us....we've stayed at mid priced Comfort Suites, Hamptons, Marriott Courtyards, Towne Place, and Residence Inns all in much nicer condition.

Your experience at BWV villas sounds exactly like ours from November. However, to be fair to the resort, we had stayed there a year earlier and were in a room that was perfect. I am not sure if housekeepers are assigned to specific rooms or if they float all over the building, but our poorly cleaned room was one that you could tell had been neglected for months and looked shabby. I just assumed that we were in a section of BWV with a lazy housekeeper and our previous room had a stellar mousekeeper.

 

[psac]

Your experience at BWV villas sounds exactly like ours from November. However, to be fair to the resort, we had stayed there a year earlier and were in a room that was perfect. I am not sure if housekeepers are assigned to specific rooms or if they float all over the building, but our poorly cleaned room was one that you could tell had been neglected for months and looked shabby. I just assumed that we were in a section of BWV with a lazy housekeeper and our previous room had a stellar mousekeeper.

We were just at BWV in November, and our room was perfect. The only problem was the coffee table -- it looked like someone just bought it at a yard sale after many years of overuse. Way too many scratches to still be in a customer room. Otherwise, everything that could have been cleaned definitely was. Even the cups were still damp from obviously having been just washed. (Though we still loaded up the dishwasher with everything and ran it again just because we're paranoid.)

Good luck with your BLT "show" trip, we're trying BLT for the first time in April and we're excited about trying it.

To the OP, definitely complain to DVC Member Services, that is extremely unacceptable!!

 

[momtofour]

OP again. I sent a letter to the DVC satisfaction team and will update if I receive a response. I guess in the future I will do a very thorough room inspection right away. Many of these issues arose as our stay unfolded. For instance, I didn't do laundry until the third day so I never looked in the unit. It was really gross so I won't get into that. Underwear and diaper were not discovered until the same time frame. Overall, like I said no attention to detail whatsoever. We checked in at 8:30PM so I would think there would have been adequate time to provide a decent unit. Thanks for the responses thus far.

 

[mousefan1972]

OP again. I sent a letter to the DVC satisfaction team and will update if I receive a response. I guess in the future I will do a very thorough room inspection right away. Many of these issues arose as our stay unfolded. For instance, I didn't do laundry until the third day so I never looked in the unit. It was really gross so I won't get into that. Underwear and diaper were not discovered until the same time frame. Overall, like I said no attention to detail whatsoever. We checked in at 8:30PM so I would think there would have been adequate time to provide a decent unit. Thanks for the responses thus far.

I also sent an email to member satisfaction yesterday regarding housekeeping issues we encountered during our recent BLT stay (Dec. 21-27). I wonder when they will finally take the not so subtle hint that BLT housekeeping needs attention???

 

[Florida Princess]

I sent a email also to the satisfaction team concerning BLT housekeeping issues from our stay Dec. 2-4, 2011. The pull our pantry in the kitchen was very dirty, dusty just plain disgusting and the orange dishes in the cupboards were dirty--hard food stuck to them ! Also, the glasses didn't look very clean. We spoke to the Mgr. on Duty (no one was availabe in housekeeping) and he said he would take care of the sitaution. Never heard or saw anyone after that ! We cleaned the pantry and washed the dishes ( 4 times through the dishwasher--wanted to REALLY clean them--LOL) so the next people staying would not have to deal with the dirt !

 

[disneynutz]

OP again. I sent a letter to the DVC satisfaction team and will update if I receive a response. I guess in the future I will do a very thorough room inspection right away. Many of these issues arose as our stay unfolded. For instance, I didn't do laundry until the third day so I never looked in the unit. It was really gross so I won't get into that. Underwear and diaper were not discovered until the same time frame. Overall, like I said no attention to detail whatsoever. We checked in at 8:30PM so I would think there would have been adequate time to provide a decent unit. Thanks for the responses thus far.

At every check in the first thing that we do is a room inspection, wash the dishes and a anti-bacterial wipe down.

Bill

 

[Florida Princess]

We usually do a room check and such (lysol a lot) but we had to meet up with relatives at the park so we dropped our luggage, lysoled, took a quick look around and ran out !
We found the plates when we returned at 11PM that night and wanted to eat those delicious cupcakes that they sell in the Cafe at the Contemporary. After the dishes, my Husband found the disgusting pullout pantry when he showing off the kitchen to our Guests ! We learned a lesson--NEVER leave until everything is checked out !!!