Late Check Out---why Not???

[hmmerr02]

I am been a member for a few years and have always been curious why members can't get late check out? I understand that it would have to be subject to availability and all, but really....what's the difference between the dvc's and the regular hotels in this regard?

 

[DebbieB]

Villas take longer to clean and room occupancy % is higher than most resorts. I think it's a great rule in fairness to all members. If one person posts they got a late check-out, then the next person will be mad if they don't get it. It's also more fair to the next person in your room, the room could be ready earlier.

 

[CarolA]

Becaue your fellow members want thier rooms before 4 pm?

 

[paults]

you can always use pts to get your late check-out

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just book an extra night with your points, but leave before you go to sleep.

And be glad when you get your villa before 4PM.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I am been a member for a few years and have always been curious why members can't get late check out? I understand that it would have to be subject to availability and all, but really....what's the difference between the dvc's and the regular hotels in this regard?

I also think it prevents people from taking advantage of the situation. Not that everyone would, but we have traveled with folks for out of town sporting events. When I'm told that 11:00 is check out, I am out by 11:00 or earlier. I would never consider staying past that time. However, I was amazed at the number of people who strolled down at 12:00 or 12:30, and hadn't even checked out yet!!! When a hotel has late check out, I think some people feel that means it applies to them, whether they were granted an extended time or not.

In order for DVC to guarantee your room by 4:00, they need to make sure the rooms are turned over and cleaned. Though someone may have the numbers, I think DVC runs a higher occupancy rate than many hotels. So, availability wouldn't be worth the few exceptions they would grant, and the calls they would receive from upset members because they weren't granted an extension, but their brother-in-law was. It's an easy, consistent message for their CMs.

 

[sparkyboy]

I am been a member for a few years and have always been curious why members can't get late check out? I understand that it would have to be subject to availability and all, but really....what's the difference between the dvc's and the regular hotels in this regard?

Consideration for your fellow DVCers who would also like to have their rooms ready by 4:00 p.m. so that they can have a magical stay, too. Consideration so that Mousekeeping can do a thorough job of cleaning rather than rushing through the process.

I'm always surprised by the number of folks staying at hotels for sporting events who think that they check-out time applies to everyone else except for their group. Often times, it means that when I travel for business, I'm not able to access my room until 8-9 p.m. because of someone else's need to use their room longer than expected.

 

[crisi]

The big difference between DVC and a regular hotel in this regard is occupancy. The second big difference is the rooms aren't the same.

Regular hotels are doing really well when 90% of the rooms are booked. And because when more rooms are booked the hotel is making a lot more money - they can easily afford to call in more housekeepers when their occupancy is high.

DVC doesn't work that way - DVC income is fixed year round. And their ability to spend is to some extent fixed by dues (i.e. they could add more housekeepers, but it would cost members more). Occupancy is also fairly fixed year round - and its higher than regular hotels tend to be (Disney, when they are busy, does run their hotels at extraordinarily high occupancy for the hotel business).

Every year when the dues bills come, DVC members call and write to complain about the expense. Disney is not going to add features to our stays that add to the expense if they can help it, particularly if it benefits a few members but has the potential to impact other members. Members arriving at 11:00 love it when their room is all clean and available already.

 

[msabol01]

Consideration for your fellow DVCers who would also like to have their rooms ready by 4:00 p.m. so that they can have a magical stay, too. Consideration so that Mousekeeping can do a thorough job of cleaning rather than rushing through the process.

I'm always surprised by the number of folks staying at hotels for sporting events who think that they check-out time applies to everyone else except for their group. Often times, it means that when I travel for business, I'm not able to access my room until 8-9 p.m. because of someone else's need to use their room longer than expected.

So a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who check out by 11:00 am because so far I have always been able to get into my room at check-in, which is always well before 4 pm!

 

[rbuzzotta]

In the many years going to OKW, only once was I a victim of a party not checking out on time!!! I did not get into my room until after 7 PM!! We were not happy at all. but aside from mousekeeping having to physically remove them from the room, I don't know what else they could have done. I was told the party did not vacate the room until a little after 2 PM (they said someone was not feeling well)!! So, we hung out at the pool until our room was ready!!! Luckily we were able to change clothes and freshen up at the pool bathroom, but we had been up and about since 4 AM that morning travelling and just wanted to be in our room!

We usually are up and out by 10!!! Most times we are on the first flight out in the morning and out of the room at 5 AM!!!

 

[kristenrice]

We vacate our rooms by 11, if not earlier. I know that the housekeeping staff has a big job on their hands so we try to make sure that our room is as clean as possible before we leave.

I will say that I was not very happy to get a knock on my door at 7AM wondering when we would be vacating the room . Apparently, the houskeeping staff wanted to get a big jump on things. We were all packed the night before so that we could sleep in until about 10. We had a 6pm flight home so it was going to be a long day. That wake up knock at 7am was not what I needed to end our vacation. I learned my lesson, though. That "Do Not Disturb" sign goes up the night before we check out.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I would also say the the staffing is an issue. We pay for the housekeeping staff. They have a skeleton crew after 3pm. That is why they are in a rush to clean the villas. I am at HHI and see the staff arrive early everyday.

In order for us to have controlled costs, everyone needs to be out so the rooms can be cleaned. If you stay over, that room most likely will not be cleaned or be cleaned at additional costs (overtime). With high occupancy, the rooms are needed so they need to be cleaned.

I agree, that if late checkout was available on a case by case, how many cases would there be each day across the DVC resorts? Most of the services are combined and they dont have real time data to tell you whether you can have it or not. You would have to get the front desk directly, then they would have to contact housekeeping directly and each case would be extremely labor intensive. That would require the resources that we would pay for.

I am the slowest of the slow and hate the 11 am checkout, but understand why we have it and I will use points for late checkout if I need it. It has worked great to have a room all day and I will do it again in the future.

 

[crisi]

The could offer late checkout as a paid for service (like daily housekeeping) but my guess is what they could feasibly do wouldn't be worth what they'd have to charge.

Because housekeeping would be overtime after three, rates would probably be double or triple what an extra cleaning would be.

And because check in is 4:00 and housekeeping takes about an hour to clean a two bedroom villa, you'd still need to be out by probably 2:00 - that gives a little extra wiggle room to both housekeeping and the guest checking out.

So you might end up paying hundreds of dollars to stay an extra three hours if you had a two bedroom. And my guess is that people wouldn't do that.