The real reason for Daily Room Checks?

[Farro]

So if I'm against daily room checks does that mean I'm in favor of human trafficking?

I'm pretty sure that's what it means, yes.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Whether you're against the daily room checks or not, they're happening. One way to take care of it is to allow daily housekeeping. If you don't, at some point they will knock on your door whether or not the sign is on the door, and they will expect to be let in. If you're totally against this I agree that staying elsewhere is the best solution. Maybe follow the advice about a home or apartment rental, since Disney resorts are not the only hotels doing room checks.

 

[Summer2018]

We have health issues that if we're "scared" out of a nap, it has bad physical effects that are difficult to recover from. We don't want to give up on life. We don't see it as an "either or" situation that we give up Disney & never go anywhere. We can choose renting a house at the beach for relaxation instead. There are many other options than giving up going on vacation anywhere. My husband is a double transplant patient & we went a few years after his transplants & had a wonderful time. But that meant going back to the room midday to rest, nap & refresh ourselves before going back to the parks for the rest of the day. From what I'm hearing about people's naps being rudely interrupted (which for some is hard to recover from), it may not be that this is the vacation for us anymore. I wanted to hear reports/actual experiences so we could make an informed decision. Not just having people tell us you shouldn't ever go on a vacation again. But thanks anyway....

I understand how you feel. We had a trip planned in WDW at Christmas 2008. In September, I had an emergency hysterectomy. It was very complicated and I was in the hospital much longer than anticipated. My recovery was long and arduous. In December, I was well enough to travel, however my doctor required me to go to sleep for 2 -3 hours every afternoon. Even back in 2008, housekeeping couldn't seem to keep from disturbing us. We had a leak from our A/C unit, and of course the only time maintenance could come to fix it was while I needed to sleep. They walked right in on me naked in bed asleep, woke me up, and scared the daylights out of me. They kept coming everyday around the same time with the wet vac and never actually fixed the problem. We walked on a wet rug for most of the week. It was almost impossible for me to get the rest I needed. Now I just need naps because I get tired more easily at this point in my life.

I really do believe this is because of human trafficking. The victims are oftentimes minors. As a mother and a teacher, I cannot stand the idea of a child being victimized. WDW is supposed to be the happiest place on earth. I feel that I can tolerate some inconvenience in order to perhaps save a child's life.

However, if being surprised and woken up unexpectedly could endanger your wellbeing, you might want to research a more suitable place to stay. Best of luck, and take care.

 

[KarenP64]

I understand how you feel. if being surprised and woken up unexpectedly could endanger your wellbeing, you might want to research a more suitable place to stay. Best of luck, and take care.

Thank you so much for your empathy & helpful observations/experiences!

 

[scheddj]

I didn't even know this was a thing. I may have been one of the ones to first bring up the idea that the room checks were more for trafficking and less for the Vegas incident. And that was just a gut instinct guess, not any particular knowledge. Guess I was on to something.

As to the OP, the biggest thing really, if you opt to let them do daily housekeeping your odds of being bothered are greatly reduced.

Nope we’ve had housekeeping in and still are getting security checked.

 

[Summer2018]

Human trafficking, or exploitation, can also happen with "domestic servants" - such as childcare and assistants for the disabled. Not so common, but completely within the territory of trafficking as well.

It can be a completely invisible activity unless you are well-versed in body language and psychological triggers - how people respond to questions, how they respond to their plans being changed, how independently the members of a group can move about (does the Head of Household always carry all passports of ALL party members, even adult ones, is a small example), etc. And even then, depending on how co-dependent the family is on each other, that might not be a red flag... the act of trafficking requires the ruse of all participants to appear exactly as normal as possible.

Lots of good info here, though this is a provincially-based website, all the FAQ is still true: http://www.actalberta.org/about-trafficking/

For someone trying to escape this, the very separation of themselves from society is a massive obstacle - if you were checked into a hotel and it looked all good, like you were Sister #4 in the ________ Family Reunion Trip, how will you convince yourself that you should "grab the family's pool towels, but instead, dash into the front lobby and try to explain your situation to a CM" (maybe the same one who checked you in!) while your captors are well, right on your heels? Nobody WANTS to believe that the story is anything more than, "Sister had a few too many drinks at the pool bar, hahaha, have a nice day!"

Annnnnnnnnnnnd there is that percentage of traffickers that just need the fancy date or expensive gift to "show how they aren't like that" - they have to reel the victims in with the money-spending because that is what lures potential victims into thinking that they can be protected and provided for. Hence why young teenage girls who have insanely lavish gifts given to them by their older boyfriends is a red flag by many parents...

While planning my 2017 trip, I truly struggled with the mental obstacle of "Going to Orlando on Vacation", knowing a LOT about the poverty in the city, the family homelessness situation and the trafficking going all around the Bubble, but I decided to put that out of my mind and try to enjoy my family vacation. I kept all my "street smarts" about me, and had no issues, but I was well-informed and aware and that's half the battle right?

I don't like how they are implementing the room checks, but I understand how to keep my family as undisturbed as possible during our relatively short stay there, and do NOT decline Mousekeeping! I am happy to help them combat human trafficking in any form... Although I know this is a liability response, I certainly shudder at the idea of Disney being used as a cover and therefore "included" in someone's mental anguish... it's supposed to be the most Magical Place on Earth!

I couldn't have said it better.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Whether you're against the daily room checks or not, they're happening. One way to take care of it is to allow daily housekeeping. If you don't, at some point they will knock on your door whether or not the sign is on the door, and they will expect to be let in. If you're totally against this I agree that staying elsewhere is the best solution. Maybe follow the advice about a home or apartment rental, since Disney resorts are not the only hotels doing room checks.

It's important to understand that even if you allow daily housekeeping and never use the room occupied sign these security checks are still happening if housekeeping did not get to your room that day. They also seem to be happening on occasion outside of expected housekeeping service hours such as before 9 am or after 5 pm.

The fact that you are "allowing" housekeeping and not using the room occupied sign does not seem to prevent you from being subject to these room inspections based upon the experiences of some people posting about this topic. The fine print states that Disney may conduct a room inspection at any time for any purpose, and that is what they are doing.

~NM

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Room checks are also being done at Disney-owned resorts that are not in the state of Florida (like Aulani in Hawaii and the DVC resorts in California in South Carolina).

So I don't know how much influence a Florida law that isn't actually law yet had over this policy.

At any rate you need to expect that someone working for Disney is going to enter your room every day.

 

[AngiTN]

So if I'm against daily room checks does that mean I'm in favor of human trafficking?

You formed that opinion based on what?

 

[AngiTN]

Nope we’ve had housekeeping in and still are getting security checked.

This has been the exception, not the norm, if you are to believe those reporting they did not opt out of daily housekeeping. However several who have verbally asked housekeeping to skip them that day have in turn gotten security checks

But normal, if you can call it that, process is, if you have had a housekeeper service your room there is no additional check. Could there be a glitch where a room wasn't properly marked as cleaned? Yep. That happened to our room we were checking in to at CR on NYE. We never got our room ready notice and they thought it wasn't cleaned but instead they had just forgotten to mark it clean on the system. If it was an occupied room that guest would have gotten a daily room check too.

 

[AngiTN]

It's important to understand that even if you allow daily housekeeping and never use the room occupied sign these security checks are still happening if housekeeping did not get to your room that day. They also seem to be happening on occasion outside of expected housekeeping service hours such as before 9 am or after 5 pm.

The fact that you are "allowing" housekeeping and not using the room occupied sign does not seem to prevent you from being subject to these room inspections based upon the experiences of some people posting about this topic. The fine print states that Disney may conduct a room inspection at any time for any purpose, and that is what they are doing.

~NM

May as well take the word Disney out and replace that with any hotel management at any chain because they all have the fine print that allows them to enter the room

 

[kaytieeldr]

The problem is that WDW isn’t waiting 24 hours, but knocking and demanding immediate access even when the sign has only been on a couple of hours.

That's not what once every 24 hours means. It's 24 room hours, not 24 guest hours.

 

[Planogirl]

I wonder how they are handling motor homes and campers. The cabins are just like any hotel rooms but these vehicles might be a bit harder to check.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

We were just there and had no issues at all. There was one day I was in the room with my toddler (I was trying to get him to nap). Housekeeping knocked and I asked if we could just have towels so he gave them to me. I said do you need to come in and I could tell he felt bad but he peeked in for a minute, said thank you and left.
It was the same housekeeping lead I had seen on the floor all week. They are in the building early so I recognized them all not to mention they were wearing Poly uniforms. On another thread people were worried about randos knocking and trying to get in but I never felt remotely worried about this.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Interesting I never thought about human trafficking as a reason for the checks but makes perfect sense. I know notes near where I live have soaps and other personal care items with ways to get help if someone is in one of the rooms and a victim of human trafficking. I hope they were able to help someone. I also heard they caught a credit card skimming operation at AoA - not just because of the Room checks though.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

The daily checks have never bothered us, and it personally makes me feel safer that they do it. In regards to the dogs, we stay at dog friendly hotels all the time, never had an issue there either.

 

[Jennasis]

I wonder how they are handling motor homes and campers. The cabins are just like any hotel rooms but these vehicles might be a bit harder to check.

I don't know if they can demand entry into those as they are not owned by Disney? Good question!