Really confused as to the necessity of online check-in

[BrightMorningStar]

You may already know this, but just in case you did not.....room assigning is more complex than asking for a location and being assigned. It is fire codes, how many people they distribute between buildings (regardless of capacity per room), length-of-stay for guests other than yourself, connecting room assignments, if a room had a deep cleaning for certain guests (which is more and more common these days), rooms being pulled out of inventory, etc. In the past this was done by a room assigner at a computer, however today it is primarily sorted by bots/AI with human assistance.

 

[DebbieB]

So if I put in a request via Touring Plans should I leave it blank in the online check in or copy the request from Touring Plans?

I leave it blank on online checkin

 

[Lumpy1106]

OP is why I don't make room requests. I don't want to bother the front desk and if I don't get a specific room or location I don't want to be disappointed. If there is something wrong with the room they won't know that prior to check in, and that would be the main reason I would want to switch.

One exception; they put us in a handicapped accessible room on our last trip and we did not like that. Things like lower beds and counters and tubs instead of full showers are necessary if you are in a wheelchair but we found to be uncomfortable - will specifically request a regular room next time - but that's it.

 

[Genie+]

We didn’t arrive until 6PM so perhaps we just got the short end of the stick when it came to getting assigned rooms? Or did I screw up when I did online check-in? I’d really like to know because we have a stay in a Preferred view at Poly coming up, and I have a request in for a 3rd floor view of the fireworks, and I don’t want to jeopardize that and get giving a 1st floor. I told my wife that I almost want to switch our flight so we arrive at the hotel as early as possible so we’re more likely to get the room we want filled first (if that’s even how it works)

I don’t think you messed anything up. The late arrival did hurt your chances though, especially when it comes to a common request. All the earlier people had first dibs on getting moved.

Poly is awesome! We tried Preferred/Lake View, requested 3rd floor and ended up on the 2nd floor. Still a fantastic view even though one palm tree was a little ‘in the way’ lol. I was REALLY happy not to get 1st floor! we did plan to be in the area early to improve of odds of moving up if we ended up assigned 1st floor. They sent our 2nd floor ‘room ready’ text pretty early so we just accepted that.

 

[Genie+]

OP is why I don't make room requests. I don't want to bother the front desk and if I don't get a specific room or location I don't want to be disappointed. If there is something wrong with the room they won't know that prior to check in, and that would be the main reason I would want to switch.

One exception; they put us in a handicapped accessible room on our last trip and we did not like that. Things like lower beds and counters and tubs instead of full showers are necessary if you are in a wheelchair but we found to be uncomfortable - will specifically request a regular room next time - but that's it.

We recently did a last minute split stay - 2 nights at Boardwalk Villas and 2 at Coronado. We ended up in a handicap room at both! Lol. It was just DH and I. We didn’t mind the locations so kept them (BW was just a few rooms down from lobby elevators). I could see why some people wouldn’t want them though. The shampoo/soap dispensers were below my knees in the shower. And the coffee maker didn’t fit on the counter.