Throwing out a NS/S and HC room idea...

[CK1]

On another thread, I broached the question of why can't smoking/ns and HC be room "types" instead of requests.

(In otherwords, like 2 br dedicated versus lock-off, or 2 queens in BCV versus 1q, 1 sleeper -- an actual room type, not just a "request"). At ressie time, you would request a ns non-HC room, for example -- you would then be told yup you got it or oooh, no, sorry, do you have another date in mind or do you want to wait-list or do you want to suck it up and go for the HC room or the smoking room and chance it? You get the idea.

Perhaps this has been discussed before -- if so, enlighten me as to the drawbacks (other than possibly more initial hassle for MS, but surely no more hassle than the desk receives when someone shows up and can't accept these type rooms).

Note that I'm not talking about the frillies here, like a view, or "close to lobby or bus stop". After 10 miles at the park, ten extra strides is no big whoop. If the view isn't what you wanted, don't look. Can't exactly tell someone not to breathe, or to pretend that stove knobs aren't at their toddler's eye level, or the wide wet shower floor and low bed don't exist for the person with back problems. An HC person should be assured they have a HC room, just as a fam of five should know they have a 2 br just as the parents of an asmatic child know the room is smoke-free, you get the idea. It seems to me that view issues are rarely a big beef, but time and again the ns versus s and HC versus non-HC are big deals. The resorts have to deal with this quite a bit -- I'd love a time study on how much time is spent reco0nciling just the issues of s/ns and HC rooms alone by resort mgmt.

Quite honestly, if MS told me that all was available for my booking time was smoking, I truly would change my vacation dates or resort (and my mother would do likewise if told she COULDN'T smoke in hers, lol!) ANd it sure would save time in the long run when I showed up at the DVC resort didn't have to ask for another room or switch. Maybe there could be an "ambivalent" category that could flex, so that MS didn't have to have EXACTLY the right # of s to NS reservations -- maybe use a 10 or 20 person "smoking (or hC) ambivalent" preference designation, and those folks would get whichever was available. But in any case it would show up on your ressie as a room type, and you'd "know before you go" what to expect.

WHat's the board opinion on this? S and NS (and HC / non-HC) as room type, not requests?

Cindy

 

[jaysue]

It sounds great...wonder if there are too many cancellations and changes though to make this kind of room assignment type up front work....

Thanks
jaysue

 

[Jeanne]

As someone who must have a ns room due to medical needs, I think this is a wonderful idea. I agree, all other requests that I may make, I can live with or without, but a smoking room is cause for a date change. The machines they bring into the room to deordorize after a smoker is not enough. Had a problem with this at All Stars one time, and the suggestion from the front desk, when the machine wasn't enough, was to just leave the outside door open a bit (all night). I was by myself with 2 small children, guess how well that idea flew. Oh well, hats off to you, great suggestion.

 

[CarolynK]

I'm curious, are that many people being assigned HC rooms that don't want them? I looked at a HC room last March and I sure wouldn't want to be assigned it if I hadn't requested it....

 

[CK1]

I don't know how often it happens, since the only metric we have are the very vocal disappointed to whom it's happened! But it does happen.

I can recall a thread listing at least a dozen or so that this had occurred, at varying resorts -- not sure exactly how many folks this has affected total or didn't complain or maybe even knew the difference (if it were your first stay, would you know all the rooms weren't like that?) Like I said, I'd love to see a statistical study on what matters consume the assigning clerk's time -- I'd bet my bippee that the most vocal complaint that folks just can't waiver on is smoking/ns. I too have tried the "air-cleaning machine" (at another hotel chain that only had S rooms available). It didn't do diddly for me or my kids and our lovely allergies, and that was just one desperate night. All the Zyrtec in the world wouldn't save them or our vacation if we were assigned a S room for a 10 night stay.

HC has been an issue on this board, and it really does strike me as a room type, since unlike a view or being near a pool or bus stop, it's not avoidable or readily compensated. (i.e. view may not be great, but you can't see while you sleep anyway; not near the pool, but you ARE nearer to the bus stop and lobby, and it's peaceful, etc. etc. yada yada)

Cindy

 

[Dean]

Persoanlly I agree as I'd rather not go than have a smoking or HC room. From DVC's side though it would sure complicate things significantly. The more separate room types you have that are truly reserved, the more chances for odd rooms not reserved. That could mean that all would not be able to use their points or that there would be more points than would be used in a year. Remember it would be for each room size and type as well.

 

[CK1]

Well, with 2 br dedicateds, no worry with the HC issue, only the s versus ns.

If a "buffer group" was made (sort of a ambivalent group for those who don't have a preference either way), it would be less hairy. Restaurants do this all the time (s, ns, or no preference) -- and it seems that at most hotels I go to on business, I request NS as a room type. Sure would be nice at DVC.


CIndy

 

[Granny]

Since this is a hypothetical question, I'd have to say that sure, it would be nice to be able to get those two questions settled at the time of the reservation.

I would think that this would greatly complicate things for MS. I'm sure some sort of computer code could be written that could help them out. But they could also write some code that would allow on-line reservations too...and they haven't seen fit to do that either.

I hate to say this, but whenever I look at a thought like this, my question is...."what's in it for Disney?". And aside from avoiding some irate DVC members during the check in process, I don't see a lot of upside for Disney while I do see a significant increase in the problems of taking reservations.

Remember...one of the things that makes this difficult is that the rooms are flexible and we are using a point system. If we were in a traditional time share where we were locked into a specific accommodation for a specific week, it would be easy to manage all of this. So the very flexibility that we all treasure is what makes implementing things like this so difficult.