Should DVC have a checkout "clean up" policy?

[pwoodham]

At two of the timeshares my sister owns, the owners are expected to "clean up" after themselves prior to checking out. The things they are asked to do include putting all the towels in a pile by the door, starting a load of dishes (assuming there are dirty ones), putting the trash bags by the door, and stripping any "foldout" beds (sofa sleepers). Sometimes they even ask them to strip the reguar beds before they leave.
They are not expected to vacuum or clean surfaces, just kind of pick up after themselves, which is intended to help keep their maintenance fees lower. In fact, I think if they don't do these things, they can be charged for extra cleaning.
Since I experienced this on one of our trips with them, I do a modified version when I'm at DVC, but primarily because it helps to locate stray socks and other items we might have left. I wouldn't mind doing this at the end of a stay if it had some impact on dues, but I realize that since some of the rooms are rented like a hotel, it might be more difficult to have a direct impact on cleaning costs.
Too hard to enforce for minimal payback or a good idea?

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

I think it would be a great idea for DVC to suggest something like this, but I wouldn't want them to require or penalize people that didn't or weren't able to (for whatever reason) to comply.

I think it would be great if DVC would simply tell us what helps mousekeeping out the most.

 

[jcodespoti]

We "clean" the place anyway. I think its just a nice thing as well as a responsible thing to do as well. We don't go crazy but we try to help out a little.


Joe in CT

 

[RumpleMom]

We put all of the towels in the bathtub, strip the beds(putting the sheets in a neat pile), empty the fridge of anything that is opened, and take out our trash.

 

[WDWguruDH]

We do this for three reasons:
1) I don't like cleaning up after others, thus don't expect others to clean up(totally) after me.
2) The more we organize the mess, the less likely that mousekeeping will miss it, thus the next people will have a clean room.
3) The more we do this, the quicker the cleaning for mousekeeping, thus fewer people required, thus LESS dues in the long run. If more did this, dues would drop.

 

[pluto109]

i went to my room before it was ready and helped the maid clean the room,vaccuumed the rug. washed the floor in the bathroom...the maid laughed the whole time..I maid her day and gave her a 10 dollar tip..got my room real early too...the place was cleaner when we left.... I Think they should charge people that damage the room,,,someone broke the bathroom door in the bcv and scratched the kitchen cabinets...this gets added to our dues..what if someone paying cash for the room damages it,,does this come out of our dues??????

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by pluto109
i went to my room before it was ready and helped the maid clean the room,vaccuumed the rug.

My undertstanding is that the front desk isn't supposed to tell you your room number until the room is clean and ready for occupancy. I'm surprised that pluto109 had the opportunity to help clean -- it appears that somebody messed up (either housekeeping mistakenly marked the room as clean, or the front desk mistakenly sent a guest to the room too early).

In response to the original question, I'm don't see how anyone really benefits if you strip the beds and pile the towels.

We do start the dishwasher, but I've often wondered if housekeeping washes the dishes a second time -- because I would imagine that that they run the dishwasher anytime they find anything in it.

We don't leave any trash around either. It would seem rude to leave a big mess. But I'm sure that the slobs who think it's okay to leave a big mess would still do even if there were written instructions not to. In other words, the very people who would need something in writing would ignore it.

Finally, I wish there were a way to recover the repair/replacement/cleaning cost from people who damage rooms, steal throw pillows and towels, or smoke in non-smoking rooms. I recently stayed in a non-smoking room at AmeriSuites at Denver Airport. On my bill, I had to sign a statement that read, "I agree that my liability for this bill is not waived. Smoking in a NON SMOKING Room, $50.00 will be added. Authorized signature: ________________" Aside from the strange wording, I thought that was a great idea.

 

[JudithM]

We have no problem putting all the used towels in a pile in the bathroom, putting all the trash together usually in the larger kitchen trash can, stripping the beds, etc. It only takes me a few minutes - I usually do it while my husband loads the car. Yesterday I found a housekeeper to make sure they would use the items left in the fridge. I would not penalize guests for not "cleaning up."

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by JudithM
We have no problem putting all the used towels in a pile in the bathroom, putting all the trash together usually in the larger kitchen trash can, stripping the beds, etc. It only takes me a few minutes - I usually do it while my husband loads the car.

I think it also only takes a few minutes for the cleaning staff to do those things. Personally, I would not like to see this as a policy or even as a "suggestion". I don't want to have to worry about how "easy" I left things for housekeeping. We are not pigs by any means. I simply don't want to do the housekeeper's job. I do enough of that stuff at home.

 

[EROS]

I travel a fair amount on business. I don't strip the sheets at the Hilton.........I don't strip them at DVC . I don't carry the garbage out at the Four Seasons; I don't carry it out at DVC . I NEVER have left a mess in any room which I've vacated.

 

[JudithM]

Just remember that the Hilton, Four Seasons, etc. are not your "home away from home." They provide you daily housekeeping, daily toiletries, etc.; DVC does not.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by JudithM
Just remember that the Hilton, Four Seasons, etc. are not your "home away from home." They provide you daily housekeeping, daily toiletries, etc.; DVC does not.

Hilton, Four Seasons, etc. provide full cleaning after a guest checks out, before the next guest checks in. So does DVC.

That's what really matters for this discussion.

 

[Lisa F]

Put me in the "why should I work on my hard-earned vacation to make housekeeping's job easier?" camp. Of course we do not leave a disgusting mess, but put trash in the garbage cans all along, do load up the dishwasher with dishes as we are finished using them (more to help keep the place clean while we are in it than to help out housekeeping). I know they call the DVC resorts a "home away from home" but I believe that to be a marketing spin, not something that says you are responsible for cleaning it up like you are responsible to clean up your own home. DVC costs more than a lot of other timeshares out there for a lot of reasons. The biggest is probabaly location, but we liked the idea of a mid-stay full cleaning for long stays and the fact that we still get pampered a little bit on vacation without having to have housekeeping bug us every day (which we felt was too much anyway). I do not feel that the dues under the current system are excessive, so I am not in favor of making any changes to the way DVC operates.

IMO, things like cigarette burns and damage to the units are an entirely different issue. I am guessing that the hassle of having someone inspect the units thoroughly between guests and NEVER messing up (missing something that they don't discover til later and then having arguments with guests about whether something was there when they arrived or whether the last occupant is actually responsible for the damage) would not be worth it to Disney. I mean, if housekeeping fairly often seems to miss things in the cleaning of the unit, could you imagine being charged for a 6 month old cigarette burn in the unit? What a hassle that would be. Or the cost to hire people who do nothing but police the units? It's probably easier and cheaper to just replace what needs replacing.

To pluto109, I'm not sure why you felt compelled to help scrub your unit before moving in. You did the housekeeper's job AND gave her money for it? I don't know, that somehow seems excessive and not at all the standard that we should be held up to. I'm not sure why you felt the need to do that (or even how you found your room before it was cleaned) but I work too hard during the year to pay someone else for the privilege of scrubbing a floor!

Lisa

 

[RLevy29]

Maybe doing these extra things would help to get the rooms ready a little bit earlier for the guests who are arriving. I agree, that housekeeping should do any cleaning, but putting the towels, taking out trash (or at least putting it together), and stripping the beds would not be that big of a deal.

 

[Dean]

I suspect a large percentage of DVC members and II exchangers do some things to help the maid at the end of their stay. We do things like loading the diswasher, stripping the beds and pilling the towes and sheets near the entrance (separated of course). We also just pick up the trash and things we can.

There are other variations one sees from timeshares. Many of them have an inventory sheet which you must complete and turn in by around 24 hours of your stay. They will then replace the missing or damaged items. If you don't turn it in or it's not there, many will charge you just like you were the one that took them. I'm sure they don't come through and say there's one missing coffee mug and send you a bill but if it's out of line, they will charge it to your credit card. Some ask that you do certain things but I don't personally know of any that require one to do basic cleaning at the end of the stay. I have heard of some that require you to vacuum and the like. Many will charge you extra if you leave the place particularly trashed, including Marriott.

Do we want to require DVC to get tough in this area or just be reasonable? I think we can all agree that someone who truly trashes the place should pay. The trouble with much of this is it's hard to know if it was the last guest or someone previously. Maybe a required inventory sheet would be reasonable but I don't think a post visit inspection is required though I know of a couple of places that do so.

On a side note, Marriott's Grande Ocean is just instituting a new service animal policy. It basically saying that anyone bringing a service animal had to apply in advance with special forms, prove the animal was needed with a Dr.s note, pay a $150 deposit and indemnify the resort against damage and cleaning (fleas, etc). They also are requiring a $1 million personal liability and $100,000 property liability insurance from the guest.

 

[MikeScott8]

I actually have something to add to this discussion.

Back in November we went to Marriott's Manor Club In williamsburg VA. In the room they had some piece of paper (can't remember if it was a seperate thing or in thier little book of ammenities) that listed things that needed to be done by the vacating guest to not get charged extra. This included some of the items in the original post for this discussion, running dishwasher, taking out garbage, etc.

This sheet started out why they were instituting this policy. It explained how many suites they have to clean each FRI, SAT,and SUN.

I think the difference is in regaulr timeshares have specific weeks so they get a few days HIGH volume of places to be cleaned, while DVC is completly different using the points, people check in and check out is spread out more through the week. I think this is a SIDE benefit to the using of points by DVC, mostly to DVC and in turn our dues (hopefully).

That is why I think regular timeshares need the requirement more than DVC does. Anyhoo, I still won't leave a huge mess (not a slob) by making sure all my garbage is in the can, and running the dishwaser (if needed). I don't really think thaking the sheets and towels and piling them helps as they would still have to look to make sure all of them are there in the pile, as well as go around and put the new ones in place.

Mike

 

[Lisa F]

Mike,

That's very true. I'm sure DVC gets unusually high check ins on Sundays and unusually high checkouts on Friday because of the high cost of weekend points, but that is even a two day lag between the two highs. DVC is different from other timeshares in some subtle ways, but I think you hit the nail on the head with that one.

Lisa

 

[Pa@okw95]

With the exception of stripping the beds all the other stuff is something you are suppose to do along with getting yourself out of the room on time??We have always done that plus we leave at 4 AM on check out day.

 

[Pa@okw95]

At the present time you are expected to call to tell them you are leaving. There is a number for that, the only problem is I did it a number of times and I get someone on the other end that appears to be shocked when I do.

 

[dcfromva]

Werner Weiss,

I recently stayed in a non-smoking room at AmeriSuites at Denver Airport. On my bill, I had to sign a statement that read, "I agree that my liability for this bill is not waived. Smoking in a NON SMOKING Room, $50.00 will be added. Authorized signature: ________________"

When we checked into the Grand Californian (at Disneyland) the first week after it opened, they had something similar--only I think it was a $250.00 cleaning fee. The Grand Californian opened as a non-smoking resort. At the time, I wondered if Disney was going to institute something similar at properties at WDW.... On our last visit to the GC (Nov 23-25), either they didn't have it anymore or I didn't notice it.

-DC