Just wow

[CBMom01]

Those poor housekeepers are told to do X rooms in Y time without regard for when guests are out of the room. Don’t blame them

 

[BamaGuy44]

Those poor housekeepers are told to do X rooms in Y time without regard for when guests are out of the room. Don’t blame them

I try my best not to blame individual CMs. Whatever your issue is, it's almost never that person's fault. Disney's been doing this a long time, they know being rushed out is not a good guest experience. The question is, have they decided it's acceptable, or are they working to correct it once whatever obstacles are causing it have been solved? In the past I would be very quick to assume the latter, but It's getting harder to give them benefit of the doubt. Time will tell I guess.

 

[CBMom01]

I try my best not to blame individual CMs. Whatever your issue is, it's almost never that person's fault. Disney's been doing this a long time, they know being rushed out is not a good guest experience. The question is, have they decided it's acceptable, or are they working to correct it once they get past whatever obstacles are causing it have been solved? In the past I would be very quick to assume the latter, but It's getting harder to give them benefit of the doubt. Time will tell I guess.

I can’t speak to DVC but I’ve never been rushed out of a Disney hotel room. If it’s a DVC issue I’d think the owners could solve it by paying more for housekeeping staff?

 

[BamaGuy44]

I can’t speak to DVC but I’ve never been rushed out of a Disney hotel room. If it’s a DVC issue I’d think the owners could solve it by paying more for housekeeping staff?

If by "owners" you mean the individual DVC owners (aka guests), they don't have any say in the day to day operations of the resorts. If you mean the actual owners/management of the resorts, I don't pretend to know what the issues are or how to solve them. But there aren't any simple solutions to staffing issues currently, if that is indeed the cause.

 

[Sandisw]

I can’t speak to DVC but I’ve never been rushed out of a Disney hotel room. If it’s a DVC issue I’d think the owners could solve it by paying more for housekeeping staff?

We pay Disney to manage the DVC property so those that work to take care of the Disney hotels are the same people who take care of the DVC hotels. Disney sets the pricing that we pay what we pay because Disney says that is what is required in terms of housekeepers to keep up with the cleaning demands.

Now, I realize there is a shortage of help and issues going on right now and while we have not gotten our rooms any later than 4:15 pm since this all happened...many were ready before 2 pm....I would give a little extra leeway now if I had to wait longer.

We have only once had a housekeeper knock on our door in the morning to see if we would be checking out soon and once we gave her the time, no one ever returned. I guess we were lucky. But, I do think there is a difference between having the room by 4:30 pm and having to wait until after 5:30 or 6:00 pm. In those cases, there should be some level of compensation or gesture for guests when they can't meet the deadlines.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I have probably more hotel stays than anyone on this board.
Knocks at 8:00 am are not common. Does happen at times, but not often.
Disclaimer: They are well aware of our check out time ahead, but even when a two day stay, no knock.

 

[bsmcneil]

I have a sneaking suspicion, given human nature, that 95% would indicate an 11 o'clock checkout, regardless of when they actually plan on leaving. Some because, as has been stated in this thread, "that's when I get to stay until", and others because Disney has taught everyone to assume the worst, time-wise, and give yourself a huge buffer in everything you do.

Exactly. And then, if a massive number of check-outs are listed at 11am - you can't do them all at once (nor does it make sense to hop around between rooms). This is one of those times where I feel like people have such a limited understanding of what occurs behind the scenes. I've never been under the impression that 4p means I have a room; it means that's the earliest I can check in.

 

[dominiondad]

Might be a good opportunity to think about what we can do as guests to help mitigate the situation. things like:

• Let the hotel know when you leave. If you head to the airport at 8:00 am, tell somebody so they can start on your room
• Leave the room in reasonable shape. Put the towels in a pile, put trash in trash cans, make sure the remote is not buried under sheets, etc.
• If you moved furniture, put it back

There's probably more, none of it is that hard. I've walked by rooms being cleaned and looked in. Some of them look like crime scenes.

 

[CBMom01]

Exactly. And then, if a massive number of check-outs are listed at 11am - you can't do them all at once (nor does it make sense to hop around between rooms). This is one of those times where I feel like people have such a limited understanding of what occurs behind the scenes. I've never been under the impression that 4p means I have a room; it means that's the earliest I can check in.

Exactly. 4pm is a floor not a ceiling.

 

[CBMom01]

Might be a good opportunity to think about what we can do as guests to help mitigate the situation. things like:

• Let the hotel know when you leave. If you head to the airport at 8:00 am, tell somebody so they can start on your room
• Leave the room in reasonable shape. Put the towels in a pile, put trash in trash cans, make sure the remote is not buried under sheets, etc.
• If you moved furniture, put it back

There's probably more, none of it is that hard. I've walked by rooms being cleaned and looked in. Some of them look like crime scenes.

I tidy my room every day. Partially because I don’t want to live in filth but also because I want housekeeping to be able to clean and have no question about linens. Dirty always go in a pile under/next to the sink

 

[mort1331]

This is one downfall to doing away with MDE. They knew when you were leaving by when your flight was. International 4 houts before flight. So IF they communicated with reservations then housekeeping would know when the latest was we were in the room. 11am if late flight,,or earlier if early flight.

 

[bsmcneil]

Might be a good opportunity to think about what we can do as guests to help mitigate the situation. things like:

• Let the hotel know when you leave. If you head to the airport at 8:00 am, tell somebody so they can start on your room
• Leave the room in reasonable shape. Put the towels in a pile, put trash in trash cans, make sure the remote is not buried under sheets, etc.
• If you moved furniture, put it back

There's probably more, none of it is that hard. I've walked by rooms being cleaned and looked in. Some of them look like crime scenes.

Back in Sept, I had a cancelled flight that stopped me from checking into my room (and it was a one-night stay before I settled into a DVC rental). I called to let them know to free up the room, etc and the CM mentioned how few people let them know (but just don't check in) and how few people actively check out (which I get is different at Disney World vs. most other hotels, as people may be ready to head out to the park or whatever). It just seems like a huge guessing game (and while the info might've been available through Magical Express, my guess is that Disney IT hadn't setup something to streamline that - a) we all know what their IT is generally like, b) the info may be incorrect and/or change and/or I doubt the majority of people used Magical Express, and c) while Genie/G+ make claims of weaving together tons of data, the number of connections needed for something like coordinating housekeeping with DME would be fairly advanced.

There was a great thread a few months ago about ways DVC owners can pay it forward to the next people staying and letting the front desk/housekeeping know you're vacating is definitely a great one (and, recognize that much of the planning around cleaning has already been sorted out for when staff begin their shifts).

 

[DonMacGregor]

We always tidy up a bit, regardless of where we are staying. Dirty towels in a pile in the bathroom, under or near the sink (including washcloths from the tub/shower), all trash in or at least near the trash can (big stuff that won't fit), and we pull the bed linens up (more as a habit to make sure nothing has decided to hide in the covers) and stack the pillows on the bed. At DVC, we'll start a load in the dishwasher as well (although I've never asked if they automatically wash all of the silverware and dishes between guests).

 

[RoseGold]

I've never asked if they automatically wash all of the silverware and dishes between guests

I think we all know the answer to that one...

 

[tjkraz]

b) the info may be incorrect and/or change and/or I doubt the majority of people used Magical Express

You don't need departure data on all guests--or even most guests--to keep the housekeeping staff occupied before 11am.

while Genie/G+ make claims of weaving together tons of data, the number of connections needed for something like coordinating housekeeping with DME would be fairly advanced.

It's a pretty big stretch to conclude that after 15 years of operating DME, they were incapable of providing housekeeping managers with a daily 1-page printout of scheduled departure times and room numbers. Anecdotally, the frequency with which we've heard a knock on our door over the years suggests they don't send housekeepers out at 8am blindly looking for rooms to clean.

Reasonable assumption is that the knocks occur when housekeepers run out of early DME departure rooms to clean in their assigned area.

At DVC, we'll start a load in the dishwasher as well (although I've never asked if they automatically wash all of the silverware and dishes between guests).

One time, we arrived in our room to find all of the everyday dishes and silverware completing a cycle in the dishwasher. Believe it or not, all of the plates, bowls, glasses and silverware actually fits if loaded properly. (Not larger items like pitchers, storage bowls, etc.)

I don't know what the current policy is but since that experience, we usually don't start the dishwasher before leaving. Figure it might be more of an inconvenience for the cleaning staff if it's mid-cycle when they arrive in our room.

 

[DonMacGregor]

One time, we arrived in our room to find all of the everyday dishes and silverware completing a cycle in the dishwasher. Believe it or not, all of the plates, bowls, glasses and silverware actually fits if loaded properly. (Not larger items like pitchers, storage bowls, etc.)

I don't know what the current policy is but since that experience, we usually don't start the dishwasher before leaving. Figure it might be more of an inconvenience for the cleaning staff if it's mid-cycle when they arrive in our room.

For us, it’s mostly just quicker/easier on our way out and tidier to wash what we used, rather than leave dirty dishes or sorta rinsed off ones. You can cancel a dishwasher mid-cycle so I’m sure it doesn’t inconvenience them any.

 

[bsmcneil]

You don't need departure data on all guests--or even most guests--to keep the housekeeping staff occupied before 11am.



It's a pretty big stretch to conclude that after 15 years of operating DME, they were incapable of providing housekeeping managers with a daily 1-page printout of scheduled departure times and room numbers. Anecdotally, the frequency with which we've heard a knock on our door over the years suggests they don't send housekeepers out at 8am blindly looking for rooms to clean.

Reasonable assumption is that the knocks occur when housekeepers run out of early DME departure rooms to clean in their assigned area.



One time, we arrived in our room to find all of the everyday dishes and silverware completing a cycle in the dishwasher. Believe it or not, all of the plates, bowls, glasses and silverware actually fits if loaded properly. (Not larger items like pitchers, storage bowls, etc.)

I don't know what the current policy is but since that experience, we usually don't start the dishwasher before leaving. Figure it might be more of an inconvenience for the cleaning staff if it's mid-cycle when they arrive in our room.

From my limited experience in hospitality - I feel like I can safely say (though - I'm willing to be wrong) DME info did not regularly make it to housekeeping. Could it have? Yeah - that's sort of my point - all of this is possible. But have they been doing that? No. And somewhat understandably - it's similar to the issue earlier this summer with testing park passes, ADRs, and FP+/G+ - there are/were a number of different internal systems built for a number of different purposes (and different offices/departments - edited to add because I forgot to flesh this out. The problem is that any one system may work great - but their complexity grows by trying to merge them, and then add that Disney IT is well known for being ... well, not great). Building it from the ground floor? Reasonable. But if you have, for instance 1 hotel of 5 floors and 3 rooms one each floor are vacating (roughly) at 7am, 9am, and 11am (the first leaving on DME, the second by their own rental, and the third transferring to UO or another resort), how can you easily make sense to dispatch staff to the right rooms on the right floors at those exact times? Things will get backed up in the best of systems - and then add someone misses DME or something breaks in the room. And that ignores that you're trying to do this across 20 resorts with far more complications than I just listed. This is where I think people (not you necessarily - just general "people") don't have the deepest understanding of how these things work in day to day life.

 

[CBMom01]

Im confident housekeepers are told how many (and which) rooms to turn over by x time of day. That’s it. They are not given a time specific list & schedule.
What’s more: they will get in trouble if they don’t get it all done on time even if they get the bad luck to have mostly people who don’t leave until the last minute and leave a big mess.

What’s more: if they are working for temp services they’ll get fired and not be asked back if there are complaints. They can lose their livelihood.

Please stop complaining about housekeeping unless it’s something really egregious!

 

[CarolynFH]

Many other TS we’ve stayed in provide instructions for preparing the room for checkout. Some are minimal and some are quite detailed. Maybe DVC could do the same, particularly in whether to start the dishwasher or not. We usually start it, in addition to piling all the towels in one place.

 

[bsmcneil]

From my limited experience in hospitality - I feel like I can safely say (though - I'm willing to be wrong) DME info did not regularly make it to housekeeping. Could it have? Yeah - that's sort of my point - all of this is possible. But have they been doing that? No. And somewhat understandably - it's similar to the issue earlier this summer with testing park passes, ADRs, and FP+/G+ - there are/were a number of different internal systems built for a number of different purposes (and different offices/departments - edited to add because I forgot to flesh this out. The problem is that any one system may work great - but their complexity grows by trying to merge them, and then add that Disney IT is well known for being ... well, not great). Building it from the ground floor? Reasonable. But if you have, for instance 1 hotel of 5 floors and 3 rooms one each floor are vacating (roughly) at 7am, 9am, and 11am (the first leaving on DME, the second by their own rental, and the third transferring to UO or another resort), how can you easily make sense to dispatch staff to the right rooms on the right floors at those exact times? Things will get backed up in the best of systems - and then add someone misses DME or something breaks in the room. And that ignores that you're trying to do this across 20 resorts with far more complications than I just listed. This is where I think people (not you necessarily - just general "people") don't have the deepest understanding of how these things work in day to day life.

And, in my example, I should've added - that's just an easy example of everyone vacating. Add in the multiple days and needing to clean or refresh daily (pre-covid) and it's a pretty big mess. Now, with less cleaning, it may seem like that should have easily fixed everything but that's only fixing the most urgent thing (lack of staff) - not all of the other stuff that gets added in.