maid locked us out!!! really! lol

[Tistal]

Wow! That's crazy.

We had a similar situation happen to us at PORFQ last October. Housekeeping was at our door at 8 AM on our check out day, and we were in bed asleep still. Nothing like having a stranger trying to open your hotel room door while you're dead asleep (I'm glad we had used the latch). DH shooed her off (I think she was almost as surprised as we were). DH stuck the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. However, she came back half an hour later wanting the room; she woke us up again. We drive, so we were having a lay in since we knew we'd be on the road for 14 hours. At that point, we gave up and rolled out of bed. We shooed her off again, and she was back to check the room again before we had finished packing the car. We were in one of the buildings right beside the parking lot, there are only 2 of us, and I had packed the night before. We had planned the previous day to shower the night before, sleep in as long as possible (until about 10), get up, get dressed, pack the car and vacate the room between 10:30 and 10:45. So, we were half an hour at most packing the car because we both hustled some knowing she wanted the room.

I get that they need to turn the rooms over quickly, but there is a limit to the madness I think. I didn't say anything at the time (I probably should have but I didn't feel like it was worth potentially getting the girl in trouble over...jobs are hard to come by, and I know that), and I consider it water under the bridge now (over a year later). By my sig, you can tell we'll be staying there again, so it certainly didn't dampen our experience of the resort.

I'm with the OP and others on this.

 

[smidgy]

tistal, I can't tell you how many times, even NOT on check out day,when we have the do not disturb sign out, we have had maids knocking on our door, disturbing me t make sure we don't want to be disturbed. and asking me to sign something saying we do not want to be disturbed. sheesh.

takes me a long time to go to sleep and fall back asleep.. the whole reason I put the sign out.

it's a shame you were woken and bothered, trying to get as much sleep as possible before your long drive.

 

[smiths02]

tistal, I can't tell you how many times, even NOT on check out day,when we have the do not disturb sign out, we have had maids knocking on our door, disturbing me t make sure we don't want to be disturbed. and asking me to sign something saying we do not want to be disturbed. sheesh.

takes me a long time to go to sleep and fall back asleep.. the whole reason I put the sign out.

it's a shame you were woken and bothered, trying to get as much sleep as possible before your long drive.

And we are people who hit rope drop every morning...and then want to come back in the afternoon...and that is when housekeeping is in our room

 

[bookgirl]

On this last trip, my flight and rental return were timed so that I could have a leisurly last morning.

My last resort was ASMu and I got up around 8 and she was trying to enter the room. I went to the door and said, I'll be checking out at 11. Twice more she came back and twice again I said 11.

I was slightly annoyed, well actually I was really annoyed. I did not think about putting out the privacy sign, but I should not have too since I had TOLD her and she acknowledged me all three times. I had not put it out the morning before because I called and cancelled service since I was solo and would not need to have towels replenished and they did not enter the room on that day.

I did use the bolt and had the safety lock on which is probably why she kept calling out since she could not open my door. I did not rush out of the room. Originally I had planned to be out closer to 10 but I actually did stay till almost 11. I paid for the room, it is mine till check out. If I tell you 11, then leave me alone till 11 thankyouverymuch.

I have never had a problem with maids trying to rush me out and I do a lot of hotel stays through out the year and lots of different levels of hotel. In fact I was surprised they were trying to do the checkouts so early. It would make more sense to hit up the continuing stay rooms where guests are probably out at the parks and the rooms are more likely to be empty. THEN hit up the check outs. That's why check in is later in the afternoon to give them time to do check out cleaning AFTER checkout.

 

[nonzerosum]

I would have been VERY suspicious about what was happening in the room that she didn't want you to see. I would have been so upset by this. I get why she may have made the error in thinking you were already gone. However, putting up that kind of argument when it was clear you had not left....well that's just wacky.

 

[fall08CP]

I would have been VERY suspicious about what was happening in the room that she didn't want you to see. I would have been so upset by this. I get why she may have made the error in thinking you were already gone. However, putting up that kind of argument when it was clear you had not left....well that's just wacky.

Housekeepers ARE allowed to take their breaks in guest rooms, FYI. Sometimes guests check in early and find out their room # and try to move in while housekeeping is still doing their thing. It's also possible that bell services/front desk mistakenly told housekeeping that the room was clear, and she was confused as to whether you were staying another night or leaving that morning and she was trying to get clarification from housekeeping base (as you said, language barrier).

It's also possible the maid had just dumped bleach all over the bathroom and had to quickly clean it up so she didn't get sued for exposure or a guest slipping. Without both sides of the story, it's hard to make a judgment.

I don't get the whole bathroom embarrassment, but to each his own. Guess we're all raised differently. If others are judging your bathroom habits, that's their problem, not yours

OP, I'm sorry about your frustrations. Looks like everyone learned a lesson from your misfortunes.

 

[Bob NC]

I don't get the whole bathroom embarrassment, but to each his own. Guess we're all raised differently. If others are judging your bathroom habits, that's their problem, not yours

When we're at Disney we just leave little Tinkerbell cupcakes in the bathroom.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Housekeepers ARE allowed to take their breaks in guest rooms, FYI.

Is this just at WDW? I've worked in a hotel and you took your break in the break room. I find that odd.

 

[smidgy]

When we're at Disney we just leave little Tinkerbell cupcakes in the bathroom.

ok, this went right over my head

 

[sndral]

One thing that amazes me reading these boards is the number of people who hope to check in early at Disney, as in really early, morning early. I travel across country and never arrive until after 3 pm so don't try to check in early, but my sense is that Disney does more early check ins than most places. I wonder if the haste to clean rooms for departing guests is somewhat tied to the pressure to have rooms ready to make early check inners happy.
I'm not a complainer, but if no one alerts a supervisor when a housekeeper has clearly failed to treat a guest correctly, the behavior will continue. Refusing to allow a guest back into their room, waking a guest up 3 times, pressuring a guest to leave early as recounted here won't stop us from returning, but other guests may not return which impacts Disney's bottom line and they do want their staff to behave appropriately - so I would mention these incidents, not for my own benefit, but so that the next guest intending to sleep in on travel day can, or the next guest wanting to use their room on check out day before check out time can.

 

[princessallegra]

And we are people who hit rope drop every morning...and then want to come back in the afternoon...and that is when housekeeping is in our room

We are rope droppers too, and we call the housekeeping button and request early service. We get back to the room as early as 1 pm sometimes and the room is serviced. Never had a problem. We don't get the room serviced every day.

Smidgy, wow what an odd scenario. I'm sorry you had to go through that. We have definitely had our share of knockings when the sign was up, and knocking on departure day. We have said loudly "checking out by 11, thank you!". We too have had our room ready as early as 9:30 am, but we do online check in and state our arrival time. We never expect a room that early, and always have plan A and plan B. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience

Eta: we have also called the front desk and requested a late check out (noon) and gotten it a few times when needed. That is totally up to the booking of the resort. I know people here say you don't get the front desk, but I have had no problem pushing that button and getting a late checkout. This was at Wilderness lodge and poly.

 

[smidgy]

One thing that amazes me reading these boards is the number of people who hope to check in early at Disney, as in really early, morning early. I travel across country and never arrive until after 3 pm so don't try to check in early, but my sense is that Disney does more early check ins than most places. I wonder if the haste to clean rooms for departing guests is somewhat tied to the pressure to have rooms ready to make early check inners happy.
I'm not a complainer, but if no one alerts a supervisor when a housekeeper has clearly failed to treat a guest correctly, the behavior will continue. Refusing to allow a guest back into their room, waking a guest up 3 times, pressuring a guest to leave early as recounted here won't stop us from returning, but other guests may not return which impacts Disney's bottom line and they do want their staff to behave appropriately - so I would mention these incidents, not for my own benefit, but so that the next guest intending to sleep in on travel day can, or the next guest wanting to use their room on check out day before check out time can.

you have made some very valid points here. we almost ALWAYS arrive early.. we drive more often than fly. and usually end up staying a night in kissimee the night before check in, and arriving very early. we are prepared for that. we say, we will wait for a better room, if it's not ready.

and we do.. wait by the pool, whatever. but I do realize Disney is pressured to have rooms available BEFORE promised. people get "pixie dusted.they tend to expect it!"

I will always wait for the better room.. but then, we aren't traveling with little kids.

but, I realize I am WAITING for the BETTER ROOM, because..um, the people before me, have paid for that room until 11AM!!! and may want to use it.. imagine that. maybe they want to actually SLEEP!!!!

nothing worse for someone who has a hard time falling asleep than someone waking them up needlessly... a haf hour or hour before they NEED to awake. ... to me, that's grounds for ... ok, nevermind.....

 

[smidgy]

I have decided, after starting this thread.... as a person who works nights.. bartender, waitress...
from now on I will make a point to tell anyone who needs to be told......LEAVE ME AND MY ROOM ALONE!!!!

I can make my own bed, leave me a bag on my door handle with plenty of towels, shampoo, etc. !!!!!oh!! and tea bags!!!!! TEABAGS!!!! cause not EVERYONE drinks coffee!

ok, I have calmed down now...

do not knock on my door to make sure I dont' want you to knock on my door.

 

[bookgirl]

I agree that no one should expect an early checkin.

I'm about half and half on arriving early. However I never expect (hope but not expect) an early checkin.

If I can't then that's fine and I understand that it is because housekeeping is cleaning the rooms of guests who don't check out till after 11. Since half the time I might be one of the guests who keep my room till the last minute, I respect that sometimes I"m on the other end of that.

I just do the paperwork then go on about my day. On my ASMu checkin I actually did check in early (around 11am) and my room was not ready (it met my requests) but because of a change in my plans I told them I would take any ready room IF they had one. They did, it was not what I requested but I was willing to forgo requests for convienence. Often they can not check you in early and that's fine, but I'm always surprised when people are upset that they can't get a room early.

 

[Disney Doll]

Extenuating circumstances aside (other people wanting early check-in, the housekeeper thought the room had been vacated etc.) the fact is that when a guest says "I am not done with the room" then the housekeeper should leave the room and return at a later date. I don't really care if the room has already been cleaned or partially cleaned.

And if the Do Not Disturb sign is on the door, then the occupants should not be disturbed unless it is an emergency. They most definitely should not be disturbed in order to ask them if they are quite sure that they don't want to be disturbed.

I find that when I stay in a DVC property that I get the "9am knock" from Housekeeping to remind me that I am checking out that day...can't they tell that I know based on my ? I usually just say "thank you" and give them an approxiamate time that we think we'll be leaving. When we are actually leaving, I do try and tell a housekeeper (if one is in sight, which one usually is) that I am vacating the room for good, eliciting more .

 

[smidgy]

yeah, we lucked out on getting this room early, about 11 am. and it actually was a free upgrade; a preferred building! the one closest to the food court, pool, etc. but we would have gladly waited for it!

the problem with Carribbean Beach resort is the baggage, airline check in, etc. are not at the main section, ie Old Port Royale. they are separate, at the custom house, which is all the way by the Barbados section. so you can't check your baggage and have a quick breakfast right there.

next trip we are guaranteed a Boardwalk view at the Boardwalk!! (it's a booking category, we paid for it! yay!!! if the room is ready , great! but I don't expect it. we will wait for a room if it's a higher floor, or not one of those "recessed" balconies.

I appreciate the housekeepers, I do. I just expect respect in return. and I don't want to be woken up (she hubby's TR, he calls me "she who must not be disturbed")

 

[MissManda]

Extenuating circumstances aside (other people wanting early check-in, the housekeeper thought the room had been vacated etc.) the fact is that when a guest says "I am not done with the room" then the housekeeper should leave the room and return at a later date. I don't really care if the room has already been cleaned or partially cleaned.

And if the Do Not Disturb sign is on the door, then the occupants should not be disturbed unless it is an emergency. They most definitely should not be disturbed in order to ask them if they are quite sure that they don't want to be disturbed.

I find that when I stay in a DVC property that I get the "9am knock" from Housekeeping to remind me that I am checking out that day...can't they tell that I know based on my ? I usually just say "thank you" and give them an approxiamate time that we think we'll be leaving. When we are actually leaving, I do try and tell a housekeeper (if one is in sight, which one usually is) that I am vacating the room for good, eliciting more .

I agree with the bolded part. Just recently, I took a short work trip to Chicago and my husband went with me. The hotel was great, but housekeeping about drove me nuts.

The first morning, we got a late start and we really didn't need housekeeping that day, so we put up the Do Not Disturb sign. Well, the housekeeper comes by at 9am and knocks on the door. She asks if we need anything. I tell her we are fine. At 10am the phone rings. Housekeeping wants to know if we need the room cleaned. I say no, we are fine. 30 minutes later, they knock again. This time, I tell her we are fine...but I would like two extra bath towels. Instead of handing me the towel, she moves past me through the door and brings in enough towels and wash cloths to last us a week (I asked for two extra bath towels). She then proceeds to dump the trash and freshen up the room (after we told her we were fine and only needed the towels).

The next morning, we went down for breakfast early and came back up to the room to freshen up. He was going sightseeing and I had an onsite conferece. While back in the room, housekeeping called. I told them to give us 20 minutes and the room was theirs to clean. I leave for the conference. During one of the sessions, I came back up to the room to get some Tylenol and rest my eyes for a second to get rid of a headache. Room was not cleaned yet, so I put up the Do Not Disturb sign. No sooner had I gotten comfortable, there was a knock on the door. Housekeeping, wanted to know if I needed the room clean. I ask if she can come back in 30 minutes. She said sure. Well, there she was 30 minutes later knocking on the door.

The third and final morning, we had to checkout by 11am. We went down to breakfast and saw housekeeping out in the hallway. We tried to be proactive this time. We had the sign up and told them we would be checking out right at 11am. I was still in the conference until lunch time and DH was staying in the room until check out time. Well, apparently at 10am, they were knocking on the door wanting in. He told them to come back after check out time. I came up to the room at about 10:45 to get my luggage. Housekeeping was waiting outside the door for us to leave.

I have never had such problems with aggressive housekeepers. And it wasn't the same person each day. I normally am fairly easy going, but I did email the hotel after we got home and told them that while I appreciate their desire to get their job done quickly and I know its a large hotel and they have a lot of rooms to clean, they need to be more respectiful of their guests. I felt like I was being pressured to get out of my room so they could clean. If we have the sign up, its up for a reason. They need to learn the meaning of what Do Not Disturb means. It doesn't mean phone calls and knocks on the door. We try to make their job easier by not requiring an every day cleaning.

 

[Berlioz70]

Sometimes guests check in early and find out their room # and try to move in while housekeeping is still doing their thing. It's also possible that bell services/front desk mistakenly told housekeeping that the room was clear, and she was confused as to whether you were staying another night or leaving that morning and she was trying to get clarification from housekeeping base (as you said, language barrier).

This sounds like what I think happened too. I wonder if she didn't understand you were the "leaving" Guests not the "new" Guest. Especially since she was so worried about it being clean.

In similar news - I used to work at GF and we had people come to the Front Desk to pay their final balance and "check out." We are trained to ask, are you truly checking out, as in, not going back to your room at all? And 90% of the time they'd say, "no, we're going back to pick up X, or to relax, or to kill time... etc." I'd explain that once I check them out, their room is gone and they can't go back, so I'd ask them to come back again after they are done with the room.

I love Express Check Out because it eliminates that problem (for most), but a lot of express Guests would still do the same thing and come pay the balance and "check out." If the CM completes that check out, regardless of whether the Guest is signed up for Express, then Housekeeping is instantly notified the room is all theirs!

I don't know if you visited Front Desk that morning, but that is a pretty common mistake that the CM may have made.

 

[smidgy]

Housekeepers ARE allowed to take their breaks in guest rooms, FYI. Sometimes guests check in early and find out their room # and try to move in while housekeeping is still doing their thing. It's also possible that bell services/front desk mistakenly told housekeeping that the room was clear, and she was confused as to whether you were staying another night or leaving that morning and she was trying to get clarification from housekeeping base (as you said, language barrier).

It's also possible the maid had just dumped bleach all over the bathroom and had to quickly clean it up so she didn't get sued for exposure or a guest slipping. Without both sides of the story, it's hard to make a judgment.

I don't get the whole bathroom embarrassment, but to each his own. Guess we're all raised differently. If others are judging your bathroom habits, that's their problem, not yours

OP, I'm sorry about your frustrations. Looks like everyone learned a lesson from your misfortunes.

no one gets their room number until the room is ready. when we wait for a room, we know "around" where it is, and walk around looking, having fun trying to guess which room it might be, which room we hope it is. but no way do they give you the room number.
if a housekeeper takes her break in my room, and I want to be in there, she'll have to tka e her break elsewhere! she had seen us during the week, knew we weren't new guests. despite the language barrier, it was clear she thought we were gone for good, had alrady cleaned much of the room, didn't want to reclean, and wanted us to leave. she thought by calling she would get them to tell me to leave. didn't work that way.

perhaps once we checked our bags and got our boarding passes, the front desk "cleared" our room, I don't know. if so, that would be their mistake.

either way, I told the maid we hadn't left yet and needed our room.

I appreciate your comment about the bathroom , though. some people think it's silly but hey, we like a private bathroom. maybe I should have left that part out, just told about how I wanted to check the weather in chicago (no, no "smart" phone here) but you're right, I shouldn't be embarrassed to need the bathroom I paid for!

This sounds like what I think happened too. I wonder if she didn't understand you were the "leaving" Guests not the "new" Guest. Especially since she was so worried about it being clean.

In similar news - I used to work at GF and we had people come to the Front Desk to pay their final balance and "check out." We are trained to ask, are you truly checking out, as in, not going back to your room at all? And 90% of the time they'd say, "no, we're going back to pick up X, or to relax, or to kill time... etc." I'd explain that once I check them out, their room is gone and they can't go back, so I'd ask them to come back again after they are done with the room.

I love Express Check Out because it eliminates that problem (for most), but a lot of express Guests would still do the same thing and come pay the balance and "check out." If the CM completes that check out, regardless of whether the Guest is signed up for Express, then Housekeeping is instantly notified the room is all theirs!

I don't know if you visited Front Desk that morning, but that is a pretty common mistake that the CM may have made.

she knew we were not new guests. we did not visit the front desk.

 

[SooooznQ]

thanks minniemum,, it was actually comical. I was more irritated than angry. and I knew I would win in the end (hubby gave up SO easily, me, not so much)

I used to be a front desk mgr in a hotel. When you check out of a room, it creates a list of people checked out. When housekeeping cleans the rooms, it works off these lists so rooms are cleaned over the day instead of all of them cleaned AFTER normal check out. So when you 'checked out' , your room was put on a list of people who have left and the room now needed to be cleaned so the next person could perhaps get an early check IN. By checking out, you basically said you had left, the room was given back. Hopefully this explanation clears up some of the confusion.