room request question (long)

[crusoemom]

Thanks for the advice - I was clearly way too casual about how I worded my request for the member services person. Next time I will ask for her to read back the request.

Carol - thanks for the room info - I just took 383 units and divided by 5 (20%), then subtracted a few grand villas for good measure to come up with my number of 70. I didn't realize there were a bunch of dedicated studios.

I also thought of something else last night. I modified the ressie about 5 months out to add the Saturday night (we did an add-on and I had the extra points). DVC Nut - does the room controller look at the original date of the ressie, or the latest modification date? The addition of the Saturday night was the only change I made - I didn't make any request changes or anything.

I shouldn't be needing to do that next time, because (hopefully) we now have enough points

 

[Chuck S]

I think some of the problem is that the way MS lists request is very ambiguous.

For instance, my request for June reads as follows on my confirmation:

Request non-smoking vacation home
Request Vacation Home near Bus Stop
Request vacation home on first floor
Request second floor vacation home
Request room near Peninsular Road

What I actually emailed MS was:
1) Non-Smoking (OK so far so good)
2) I mentioned that we'd been on Miller's road 4 of the last 5 trips, and ANYWHERE else would be appreciated, we aren't picky. Don't care about view, we're just tired of Miller's Rd.
3) Because of Mom's hip replacements she can't climb more than 1 set of stairs comfortably, and in fact that the Dr. recommends 1 flight up to exercise her knees and hips.
4) Since we'll have a large car, please don't put us in a building where a bus turns around...a small car would be OK, but Mom's Cadillac with the w/c lift sticks out.

Do you think the room assignor will get that from what MS wrote? Now it may be, as DVC nut said, that what the room controller sees won't have it worded the same way...it would be nice if the ressie confirmations were worded better. It loooks like MS uses "shortcut" pre-programmed keys.

 

[DVC Nut]

Crusoemom - Room assignments are done by original date of the reservation. The only time this date will ever change in the record of the reservation is if the reservation must be cancelled to rebook. An example of this would be booking home resort at 11 months out and then changing resorts at 7 month window. There is no way to modify a reservation to change resort. Modifications can be done to change dates and room size though.

Chuck - Just a suggestion, if it is important to you that the specific details accompany each request (I personally think some details would help in this case, especially with the floor request. Sounds like what you might really want is second floor OR first floor) I would call MS and ask them to read the requests to you. There is a place to add comments that does not necessarily print on the confirmation letters. They may already have these details listed. If they do not, please tell them it is important to you that this information reach the room assigner and to please add it to the res. The only way to check if they really did this is to call again either later in the day or sometime more than a week before arrival and have another MS advisor read the comments to you.

 

[colleen costello]

It is confusing and I am never sure what exactly the room assigner sees. When we travel with my parents, accessibility is the issue and so far Diseny has met all our requests for "ground floor," etc. But I am going this summer with just dh and the kids, and asked for nonsmoking first and pool view please. The cm asked where I had stayed before and when my reservations came in the mail, my request said "room 412 please." I know everyone here advises NOT to ask for a specific room and the room assigner will have NO way of knowing that I simply wanted a room "somewhere in that area."

I guess I will call back before we go and ask member services to re-do my request. But I feel foolish about doing so... I sort of feel like these poor souls must roll their eyes and think "Goodness, who really cares..." But I do!

 

[colleen costello]

Chuck, I feel so much better after reading your posts... I have finally found another family who makes as complicated a request as we do! We also have some specifics due to a mobility issue... That's part of why we stay at OKW in the first place!

We are checking in early on Sunday (along with the rest of the Spring-seeking world) and I am just going to throw myself on their mercy so everything is in order by the time my parents arrive! My Mom is so worried they'll give us third floor/no elevator. Thank goodness posts here indicate this simply will NOT happen... No way Mom could make those steps...

 

[Chuck S]

Actually, Colleen, I rarely request anything more than Non-Smoking...but I've seen those busses come awfully close to large cars and vans - especially on Miller's Rd. And we were stuck on the 3rd floor once. We don't need an HCA room, although we don't dislike them, I just feel they should be left for those that truly need them as much as possible.

Maybe someday we'll have an on-line ressie system and be able to explain our requests a little more clearly. People have all different kinds of specific medical needs, but may not need an HCA room. I'm really sorry that the room assigners feel that the faxes are such a bother (though I understand being inundated). After all, the one thing a fax does is to put a members mind at ease that they made the requests clear, with an explaination as to the reason for the requests. I would never request a specific room or view - but ever since they built the new buildings and re-routed the walkways and roads, Miller's Rd just isn't as convenient for us as it once was.

 

[disneyberry]

Originally posted by DVC Nut
Faxing/excessive calling prior to arrival angers room assignors. This is the way NOT to get your requests. There are enough things to occupy an 8 hours shift without having to read a specific plea as to why someone needs a particular room. These faxes might get a glance, but no preference is given to these people.

actually, i'm really concerned to hear this. in the past, there have been a few times when staying at non-DVC WDW resorts, where i did fax the room controller.
the main reason i did send a fax was to clarify my requests.

one big problem i've had with CRO is that the CMs there really are not that great at properly noting your requests. as in Chuck's and colleen's examples (and from personal experience when i called back to verify my requests), even though you might explain your requests, and be very specific, the CM might interpret it differently and the resulting notes on the ressie could be quite different from what you actually meant to request.

i'm surprised that even when you email your requests... i mean, it's in writing, the resulting notes on the ressie could still be not quite what you wanted.

anyway, my point is: is it not possible that faxes to the room controller could be helpful because it can really clarify what a customer's requests are?
not everyone is trying to get "preferential treatment" or plead their way into a room they don't deserve or something like that.
why should a fax clarifying your requests cause you to NOT get your requests because you happened to piss off a room controller by faxing?
that does not seem right to me.

until CRO (or MS... i have not had experiences w/ MS requests yet) is able to provide consistent service in regards to noting down guest requests accurately, it seems that a fax to the room controller is the best route a guest can take to make sure their requests are submitted properly.

 

[DVC Nut]

I guess what I am trying to say is that faxing is certainly not going to help your situation. If there are 300 people checking in on a given day. A room controller will not have the time to read a letter from each guest/member AND assign the rooms. It all boils down to there is no way to make EVERYONE happy. My point is that the room assignor MUST read all of the comments in every reservation. If you make sure when speaking with MS/CRO that they have EXACTLY what you are looking for listed, you will be assigned a room based upon your seniority and your preferences. Unfortunately since there is no way for you to view everything typed into your reservation, an extra call back to MS/CRO after making your reservation can help you to confirm exactly what is written there and you can modify your requests then if they do not seem right.

Additional note: If you request first floor or non smoking for medical reasons, this is sufficient. You are not required to give a medical history for yourself or your guests. ex: My son has asthma, or my mother had a hip replacement. Some people feel that if they do not explain their reasons they will not get the request. The fact with medical requests is that if there is only one first floor room available all day and you booked yesterday with a medical request and someone else booked at 11 months ago with a first floor (not medical) request, you will get the first floor room.