Room ready frustration

[Marionnette]

DVC and Disney hotels are not unique to this complaint. I can’t tell you how many hotel reservations we have made for overnight stays when attending a wedding only to arrive to a “Sorry, your room isn’t ready”. This is especially frustrating when you’ve traveled a distance and want to freshen up and change before heading to the venue. The most recent was last weekend when my daughter and her husband drove across state the day of my niece’s wedding only to be told “sorry” when they arrived. Fortunately, I had checked in the day before and they could use my room before heading to the church. Even after the ceremony, their room still was not ready and they had to leave their stuff in my room until the reception was over.

I understand the frustration but it’s an industry-wide issue.

 

[stewart715]

This doesn’t actually make sense. It’s not like the rooms suddenly got complicated. You staff according to the need. If the individual rooms take longer to clean, you have a larger contingent of cleaning staff to manage it.

An analogy would be an extremely large hotel (eg. Think a Las Vegas hotel with over 4,000 rooms). You wouldn’t say “This isn’t your typical hotel. There are so many rooms, it just takes longer to clean”.

What I think is more likely is the variability of DVC cleaning. For example, a normal hotel cleans every single room daily. So, cleaning time is a known quantity (with people who opt out of housekeeping as a bonus savings).

Whereas, DVC rooms are only cleaned... what... every 5 days, or for new guests. So, the cleaning need is variable and based on when people check in and out. Some days it may be 25% of the resort, and some days it could be 60% of the rooms.

This would be a case of the cleaning staff being overwhelmed. So, perhaps a result of management not planning for the need, or being unable to book the appropriate number of flex staff required.

The rooms are ready on time. The issue is people’s expectation that it will be ready early when in plain English it says after 4pm.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our longest waits for room has been at BWV. We’ve gotten to our room as late as 7 PM, having been told at 5 that it would be soon. Once they comped us $200, it was a two bedroom and my DDiL was in much discomfort, on crutches.

Yet, this year we got into out BCV room around 11AM, on the 4th of July. Things like that have happened more often than the very late “room ready.”
They don’t charge us for getting in early. I just consider one “pixie dust” and the other times when the room is much later I think it’s my turn to pay the piper. Mostly it’s a 3-5 room ready in our experience.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC resorts are timeshares. Members pay for everything. So management doesn't get to just add housekeepers because someone complained that their villa wasn't ready at 3PM, like the hotels. They figure out their budget a year in advance, submit their budget and then live with it for another year. But with other timeshares, they usually have check in and out on the same day for everyone, like everyone out on Sat at 10AM and you can check in at 3PM. They can hire a lot of housekeepers for that one day to clean the entire resort by 4PM. But even those might not be ready at 4PM sometimes.

We checked in once at 7:30AM and our villa wasn't ready until almost 6PM. The guests in the villa had a party the night before, didn't want to get up to leave at 11, wanted to do a few more hours at the parks and thought they might just stay another night. It took a gang of housekeepers to clean up the mess once they finally got the guests out of the villa. They had multiple bags of garbage and it was just a one bedroom villa. And they weren't the only ones doing it at that resort that day. It happened to several villas.

 

[stewart715]

Also, I understand that everyone has different needs; so I'm not discounting this when I say this but:

The resorts are very accommodating of holding your belongings while your room is being prepared. I've just never found it to be an issue. 7pm...8pm sure that's a problem. But we're talking about 5pm. I just personally never needed my room; at least at WDW. I'm ready to go out and do stuff right away.

AGAIN - I know everyone has their own needs so I'm not criticizing those who do really want to get settled in their room before starting their vacation.

 

[MrsBooch]

Off the wall question that someone here may know. We rented points for Disney's Hilton Head Resort next weekend. Since it's a DVC resort is check in at 4? I'm just accustomed to the 3 pm check in (we are not DVC) at the world. It doesn't matter as I will adjust the time we head out if it's so.

I just came home from Hilton Head - we requested early check in due to a very long drive (over ten hours). We had zero expectations but were ready to do grocery shopping & hang out at the pool and wait - we got there at 9am, our room was ready at noon. It was a DVC stay. They do whatever they can to get you in ASAP.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

HHI and VB are whole other countries to Orlando volume and service level.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I'm sure mousekeeping has staffing levels that assume a certain percentage vacate the room at 8am, 9am, 11am etc. If all of a sudden an abnormal percentage stay til 11am or have a few rooms that were left in the condition in Deb's example above, it's understandable that mousekeeping is going to get behind. Sure, it stinks...especially when the 11am checkout rule is as stringent as it is. But the only option I see that prevents this is over-staffing housekeepers. And that would just cost us all in higher MF.

Only once in 10 years have we gotten into our room past 5pm. We were at GFV and checked in at 3:45pm. We ended up getting in at 6:15pm. We let the kids change into their swim suits and sat by the pool and had a few drinks while they swam. We weren't mad in the least as we had planned to do this anyways. But the really awesome check in cast member felt so bad that she gave us 3 anytime fastpasses per day per eprson for our entire stay. I was floored. I didn't expect anything let alone that. It saved us so many hours in the parks.

 

[Chuck S]

Remember, you were checking in on a Saturday, the last weekend before school starts in many areas of the country, and the week SWGE opens. I would not have thought an early check-in to be available. I'm sure it was a huge day for room turnovers, plus it would depends upon the requests of other guests. Even if there was a room available, it may have been blocked for parties "traveling with" so they could be near each other, and so forth.

Plus, there has historically been a shortage of hotel housekeepers in the greater Orlando area. It isn't the best paying job, it isn't glamorous, and some guests are just slobs.

 

[CarolMN]

We almost always stay at BWV and usually get in well before 4pm. However, we usually don't begin our stays on Fridays or Sundays. Those are the days with the most check outs, due to the point charts. Housekeeping has a heavy work load on those days. We don't plan to get in early when we arrive on either Friday or Sunday (usually only if we have a split stay).

 

[Simba's Mom]

Off the wall question that someone here may know. We rented points for Disney's Hilton Head Resort next weekend. Since it's a DVC resort is check in at 4? I'm just accustomed to the 3 pm check in (we are not DVC) at the world. It doesn't matter as I will adjust the time we head out if it's so.

Hopefully, at HHI you'll be as lucky as we have. In our 15+ trips there, we've never had to wait beyond 4:00. Average is usually 2:00-2:30. A few times we've arrived after 4:00, and our room has always been ready.

 

[k_hase]

I know that’s its after 4. We got a room at 5:30. What I’m wondering about is that it’s 5 hours of cleaning and it’s not like all the rooms are done at once. It’s curious and more frustrating than anything I guess.

As it happens, I’m currently checking into AKV and was given someone else’s room just now (2:30–bands would not unlock the doors). Now waiting again.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

HHI and VB are whole other countries to Orlando volume and service level.

Actually, in about a dozen VB stays, we have never had a room ready earlier than 4 pm. For our next stay there in November, we booked a later flight since we didn’t think the room would be ready if we arrived closer to 1 or 2 pm as we have done in the past.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I know that’s its after 4. We got a room at 5:30. What I’m wondering about is that it’s 5 hours of cleaning and it’s not like all the rooms are done at once. It’s curious and more frustrating than anything I guess.

As it happens, I’m currently checking into AKV and was given someone else’s room just now (2:30–bands would not unlock the doors). Now waiting again.

Housekeepers don't each just have 1 room to clean. And they also have services to do on rooms that aren't being turned over. And since it's not like hotels where every single room is otherwise scheduled for service each day they may get more spread out with DVC. That I don't know for certain but it's definitely unlikely that they have the same small handful of rooms to clean each day that would happen within a hotel. It would be a large handful that they have to coordinate around.

Now I do think it's a bit of a cop out on DVC's part to have the whole room ready "after 4PM" but housekeeping is a place they either don't place more funds or can't find the staff. And I guess member feedback hasn't said that the majority of members want a change.

When it rains it pours for the room assigment issues though! We run into stuff like that periodically although we've skipped being assigned to someone elses room at Disney. I've had it elsewhere though.

 

[k_hase]

I know that’s its after 4. We got a room at 5:30. What I’m wondering about is that it’s 5 hours of cleaning and it’s not like all the rooms are done at once. It’s curious and more frustrating than anything I guess.

As it happens, I’m currently checking into AKV and was given someone else’s room just now (2:30–bands would not unlock the doors). Now waiting again.

This was a curious thing—the room occupants had the same first names!! When the desk CM said “2 adults, 7 nights” I said and child, right? My reservation shows my son. She added my son as a guest, but then couldn’t add my credit card.

We went to the room that she assigned and nothing worked. A manager in the hall tried the door, I went back to the desk. Then my husband called and said the manager looked it up, we’re at the wrong room. The wrong room was one of those standard rooms with the people pen savanna view. The correct room was pool view. At the desk I asked to be near the original wrong room if possible, and after a bunch of back and forth in the back room I got my kudu trail room AND 3 additional fast passes to MK! So, strange things afoot but all is well.

 

[cruisin5]

A significant negative to DVC IMO is the room ready after 4 pm. Disney knows weeks ahead of time what is needed for a particular day, within reason. Staffing can be adjusted accordingly.

With all the endless planning we need to do, the least thing Disney/DVC can do is properly staff mousekeeping to ensure timely turnover of rooms.

Having a checkout procedure would help (other than a knock on the door at 8 am). A notification in DMX with a check-out estimate or "have you checked out yet?" would go along way. I understand that costs money and we pay for it, but I'd pay to have the room ready at 4. OHHHH, maybe DVC can add a "$25 room ready at 3 pm charge, for a studio."

They manage it on the hotel side, why not the DVC side? Does it really take that much longer to clean a 1-bedroom vs. two regular hotel rooms?

If I offered to take the next available room like the OP did, I'd be livid waiting all day.

 

[The Jackal]

A significant negative to DVC IMO is the room ready after 4 pm. Disney knows weeks ahead of time what is needed for a particular day, within reason. Staffing can be adjusted accordingly.

With all the endless planning we need to do, the least thing Disney/DVC can do is properly staff mousekeeping to ensure timely turnover of rooms.

Having a checkout procedure would help (other than a knock on the door at 8 am). A notification in DMX with a check-out estimate or "have you checked out yet?" would go along way. I understand that costs money and we pay for it, but I'd pay to have the room ready at 4. OHHHH, maybe DVC can add a "$25 room ready at 3 pm charge, for a studio."

They manage it on the hotel side, why not the DVC side? Does it really take that much longer to clean a 1-bedroom vs. two regular hotel rooms?

If I offered to take the next available room like the OP did, I'd be livid waiting all day.

There are not many 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom grand villas on the cash side. These rooms are like 3-6 times the size of a normal room. I would rather it be clean and a little after 4:00 then at 4:00 and dirty.

 

[cruisin5]

GV aside. How much longer does it take to clean a 2-bedroom vs. 3 studios? I have no idea, but I'm sure Disney/DVC does. Why can't they plan to have sufficient staffing to turn over those rooms?

Of course, I'd rather wait for a clean room, but at what time cost? Would I make up beds with clean sheets and get a room at 4 pm v 8 pm? YUP. The last couple of stays the sofa/chair were not made; clean sheets were left with the pillows and blankets which I feel is a change from the past.

 

[Deb & Bill]

GV aside. How much longer does it take to clean a 2-bedroom vs. 3 studios? I have no idea, but I'm sure Disney/DVC does. Why can't they plan to have sufficient staffing to turn over those rooms?

Of course, I'd rather wait for a clean room, but at what time cost? Would I make up beds with clean sheets and get a room at 4 pm v 8 pm? YUP. The last couple of stays the sofa/chair were not made; clean sheets were left with the pillows and blankets which I feel is a change from the past.

Hotel rooms don't have ovens, dishwashers, dishes, washer, dryer, refrigerator, microwave, etc. Plus two bathrooms or three bathrooms. Hotel rooms are bedroom and bath. Villas are bedrooms, baths, living rooms, kitchens, sleeper sofas (that are harder to make than the beds).

 

[Allison]

Ughh, then they should offer you late check out if you don't get into your room by official check in time. What if you refused to vacate at 11 a.m.?

Then people are getting in their rooms even later.