Towel Thief!

[corpcomp]

Last April we changed plans and spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon. DW took three towels from our room with us to avoid having to pay for the towels there. We then added that savings onto the room tip for the housekeeper.

 

[crisi]

I do not aggree. To take the towel home is stealing. To use it then leave it for them is not. Maybe it is not the proper way to get extra towels, I have ask and been given them but stealing, I don't thing so...smjj

By this logic, using your neighbors wireless isn't stealing. (Add the logic that if they cared, they'd have put a WEP key on it). Splicing the cable to get more access than you paid for - or tapping into your neighbors isn't stealing. Borrowing a big screen TV from Best Buy for the Superbowl and returning in on Monday isn't stealing.

 

[bobbiwoz]

On our very first trip with the extended family, DDiL noticed the paucity of towels in our 2 bedroom, and when she saw a Mousekeeper, she asked for and received a ton of towels. I hadn't a clue that what we had wasn't enough, but nothing ever was said to her and we weren't charged.

When we were at BLT in January and the new towels were just dumped on the kitchen chairs, DH called and complained that we expected more on that day (4th of our stay), unless that was BLT's standards. Well, we got much better service, and lots more towels/soaps stuff the next day. I do not think that the towels are monitored as closely as some people here think they are.

Bobbi

 

[smjj]

By this logic, using your neighbors wireless isn't stealing. (Add the logic that if they cared, they'd have put a WEP key on it). Splicing the cable to get more access than you paid for - or tapping into your neighbors isn't stealing. Borrowing a big screen TV from Best Buy for the Superbowl and returning in on Monday isn't stealing.

Huh?? you have got to be kidding me. The pretzel logic being used in this thread is crazy. I am dropping out of this thread. Five pages on the use of towels??...smjj

 

[TiaMaria]

Not only do I NOT get free towels, but the one time I called to report that we had NO linens for the pull-out sofa the lady came in and looked around herself before she gave them to me. I just wanted sheets for the bed so DS wouldn't be sleeping on the bare mattress! I wasn't attempting some sort of sheet scam!

I laughed when I read your story because I had the opposite thing happen to us with a "not so observant" mousekeeper.

Last July, my sister, BIL, niece and nephew and I stayed in a lovely 2 bedroom at SSR. We were staying a week, then going on the Disney Magic, then coming back and staying another 5 nights minus my BIL.

We were assigned the Grandstand building closest to the Carriage House and overlooked part of the golf course and the Porte Cochere and driveway. We liked this villa so much that before we left, we requested at the Front Desk if we could be assigned the same building if possible upon our return.

Well, my Sis always first thing, takes off the bedspread wherever she stays. In this case, she folded it up and put in in the storage bin under the "luggage rack" in the Master Bedroom. It wasn't until we were on the ship 2 days that she remembered that she never took it out when we checked out. See where I am going with this, lol? We figured that mousekeeping would find it turning the room over with no problem.

Much to our delight, when we got back from the cruise, we were assigned the same villa. We get to the room, begin unpacking, and Sis goes through her routine with the bedspread. Yep, you guessed it. The one that she stored in the bin 2 weeks prior was still there. Apparently they replaced it with another after we checked out!

We were appalled for 2 reasons. One, we were sure we had been charged for the first one and two, ewwww, what else was mousekeeping missing in all the nooks and crannies of the villa? We stopped by the Front Desk later and confessed. We had not been charged at all. We were relieved, but felt we had to "rat out" the mousekeeper so to speak. We should have been charged (and could have explained it later if necessary), and the mousekeeper should have been more thorough when turning the room over at least 2 times since we had checked out!

Actually we felt the whole villa needed a better cleaning. There were crumbs and "paw prints" on the mirrors and surfaces, that were not there when we left, that mousekeeping was not very thorough in taking care of. We just took care of that ourselves, but I'm not sure I'd do so again.

 

[crisi]

On our very first trip with the extended family, DDiL noticed the paucity of towels in our 2 bedroom, and when she saw a Mousekeeper, she asked for and received a ton of towels. I hadn't a clue that what we had wasn't enough, but nothing ever was said to her and we weren't charged.

When we were at BLT in January and the new towels were just dumped on the kitchen chairs, DH called and complained that we expected more on that day (4th of our stay), unless that was BLT's standards. Well, we got much better service, and lots more towels/soaps stuff the next day. I do not think that the towels are monitored as closely as some people here think they are.

Bobbi

They aren't very closely monitored at all. That still doesn't make it right. Once again, if no one notices your hand in the cookie jar, that doesn't make cookies before dinner OK. And I'm sure laundry and replacement expenses are monitored on a macro level.

 

[dianeschlicht]

They aren't very closely monitored at all. That still doesn't make it right. Once again, if no one notices your hand in the cookie jar, that doesn't make cookies before dinner OK. And I'm sure laundry and replacement expenses are monitored on a macro level.

It's all all matter of integrity. Either you have it or you don't...

 

[corpcomp]

Borrowing a big screen TV from Best Buy for the Superbowl and returning in on Monday isn't stealing.

People do that? Guess it depends on who is playing in the Superbowl. Would not waste the effort for the Giants.

 

[dallastxcpa]

For crying out loud, it was meant as a simple question, not to start a riot. It was my TOUR GUIDE who suggested pulling the towels from the cart in the hall, so I simply asked.

You know when I first read this post I thought for sure you were a newbie so I went back to look at it and your post count is over 13k.

After that many posts I would think you would know all about the anal DIS police. You gotta take everything on this board with a grain of salt and a sense of humour.

I have long hair and I need two towels. So I guess one of my kids is going to have to drip dry this summer after their shower.

 

[NewJerseyDVCMembers]

Strong new policy for rule breakers...

Effective June 1, 2010; All DVC accomodations will be supplied with a half-pound rock (.23 kilograms for our UK guests). When a guest is identified breaking any DVC rule, the offending guest will be brought to the resort community hall. All members currently staying at the resort will return to their room, retreive their rock and proceed to community hall for a public stoning. Failure to comply with the stoning will result in that guest being subsequently stoned as well. Remember only one stone per guest, use of more than one stone will result in the breaking of the stoning policy, resulting in immediate stoning.

This new policy replaces the previous waterboarding policy.

 

[corpcomp]

Strong new policy for rule breakers...

Effective June 1, 2010; All DVC accomodations will be supplied with a half-pound rock (.23 kilograms for our UK guests). When a guest is identified breaking any DVC rule, the offending guest will be brought to the resort community hall. All members currently staying at the resort will return to their room, retreive their rock and proceed to community hall for a public stoning. Failure to comply with the stoning will result in that guest being subsequently stoned as well. Remember only one stone per guest, use of more than one stone will result in the breaking of the stoning policy, resulting in immediate stoning.

This new policy replaces the previous waterboarding policy.

Yes they had this same policy back in the 60's - everyone got stoned

 

[dallastxcpa]

Strong new policy for rule breakers...

Effective June 1, 2010; All DVC accomodations will be supplied with a half-pound rock (.23 kilograms for our UK guests). When a guest is identified breaking any DVC rule, the offending guest will be brought to the resort community hall. All members currently staying at the resort will return to their room, retreive their rock and proceed to community hall for a public stoning. Failure to comply with the stoning will result in that guest being subsequently stoned as well. Remember only one stone per guest, use of more than one stone will result in the breaking of the stoning policy, resulting in immediate stoning.

This new policy replaces the previous waterboarding policy.

$6 towel pack

90,000 member families

$0.0000667 per member family

It would take 150 people taking the equivalent of a towel pack (2 towels) to add $0.01 to a member families dues.

 

[Dean]

Dean, do you really think they would do away with Trash and towel? Would they include studios in that policy? At least in the 1,2, and 3 bedroom villas, it's easy to wash towels (and we usually do), but those staying in a studio would be hard pressed to do that.

I do think they may do away with the midweek cleaning at some point. My stated position on the reasonableness of the charges for towels is that I think it's reasonable but only if they enforce it routinely. However, I feel that studios should have some additional options due to no W/D in the unit. That might be a free towel pack or the option of a towel exchange.

Whether you're using pool towels or the ones in your room, they all have to be laundered. Either way, it seems to me the cost is the same if not less because the pool towels appear to be a less expensive towel than the type used in the rooms.

Pool towels are likely more expensive because they're larger even if thinner. However, my info is that it costs significantly more to launder pool towels than regular towels. I personally have no problem with people using a pool towel and taking it back to the room then returning it when they go back to the pool. It's accumulating a number of towels on multiple trips or grabbing extra towels to avoid paying for the towel packs that I find offensive and inappropriate.

I'm glad to see your post regarding your Guide. To be completely truthful, when I initially purchased my DVC contract, my Guide told me that "most" people go to the pool to get extra towels since they don't receive a fresh batch each day. With that being said, I'm sure DVC is fully aware of what is happening and has already incorporated that cost into our dues. I don't steal any pool towels, I just use them and leave them in the room. As I mentioned in an earlier post, housekeeping has never had an issue with the pool towels. I've been in my room several times as they collected the towels and the housekeeper had no problem with my stack of pool towels.

That's what I was referring to when I said the OP may have misunderstood and they were talking about the pool towels rather than the housekeeping carts. Housekeeping not saying anything to a guest is not an OK to do so IMO. Obviously the costs are what they are and we as members pay for it. That we are already paying for such abuse has no meaning on the appropriateness or inappropriate activity nor should it prevent curtailing the extra costs and abuses where feasible.

Last April we changed plans and spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon. DW took three towels from our room with us to avoid having to pay for the towels there. We then added that savings onto the room tip for the housekeeper.

As the preacher said to the guy confessing in church services, "son, I don't think I would have told that one".

It's all all matter of integrity. Either you have it or you don't...

And that's my point on these issues in general. Is getting a few extra towels or stuffing an extra person in a room really going to kill the system, of course not. However, as already noted in this thread by those taking liberties, if they didn't get called on it they saw it as OK. If you don't have integrity on the small stuff, you won't have it on the big stuff, it is that simple. I'm sure we all have our price, mine would be to protect my family I'm sure, but I hope it's higher than a towel pack or box of detergent. IMO it's intent that's the issue. Pertaining to this thread, if one asked and was given towels, integrity of the guest is intact though possibly not the CM depending on what their job instructions are.

ETA: The other part of the major point on such issues is that very small items add to to much larger items for maint fees.

$6 towel pack

90,000 member families

$0.0000667 per member family

It would take 150 people taking the equivalent of a towel pack (2 towels) to add $0.01 to a member families dues.

There is significantly more to the cost of this issue than that. Is it going to kill the system, likely not, but it's more significant than your post suggests. Plus as stated above, it's more to the integrity than the effect.

 

[crisi]

$6 towel pack

90,000 member families

$0.0000667 per member family

It would take 150 people taking the equivalent of a towel pack (2 towels) to add $0.01 to a member families dues.

And, by your calculations, if every one of those 90,000 member families did it to get fresh towels over a six day trip its $64 a year in dues. That's a lot of Mickey Bars. (90,000 member families, average family size four, two towel packs a day, four extra days where you need towels).

If only a few people cheat the system, the cost is negligible. But that's not really fair that some people would get clean towels every day by cheating the system while others use precious vacation time to do laundry or pay for the package, is it?

 

[DVCconvert]

..... I would think you would know all about the anal DIS police......

I've never heard of this group....

 

[castleri]

After taking a tour that included the laundry facilities I have been very very careful to return any pool towels to the pool area. We have used them when we had young children with us and wrapped them in one to return to the room. The towels were always returned the same day or the next day on the way to the bus in the morning. There are different towels for different resorts as well as different pool towels. They have an area with a conveyor belt where the towels are unloaded that has people who sort out the pool ones from the others for each resort as well as any other items that don't belong there. If you leave them in your room this just adds to the amount of work involved in getting them back to the pool and thus extra expense in the whole process. If you use the pool each day at some of the resorts you could also wash the room towels while there since the laundry rooms are right there. We did this while staying in the GS and CP areas at SSR in a studio. It was very convenient.

 

[CarolAnnC]

For crying out loud, it was meant as a simple question, not to start a riot. It was my TOUR GUIDE who suggested pulling the towels from the cart in the hall, so I simply asked.

In all fairness, it would seem the question you posed in the original post here was inviting some of the resulting discussion, expectedly heated in some cases.

The last time I looked at the housekeeping "carts" they were all locked without towels sitting there, available for "plucking". That being said, also some resorts such as OKW utilize wicker baskets left outside the individual villas containing the exact number of towels and supplies needed for each particular room cleaning.

Perhaps your Tour Guide was making a joke...

As a postscript, let's keep the discussion on topic and respectful so that we may continue to enjoy the thread. Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Mickey527]

I always go and grab 1 pool towel at check in to use for my hair. the room towels are just too thick to wrap around my head like a turban while I dry and lotion. I tried the hand towels but they are too small.
I use my bath towel and hang it on the pants hanger in the closet. It dries better in the closet than in the bathroom.
when I stay alone I always call mousekeeping and tell them to NOT do the room clean-up mid week. If I am alone I have plenty of towels to used and don't need them to come tidy up my room, I can do that myself.
When I stay with the family it is usually in a 2 bedroom. I have taught all my family to hang their towels to dry, even at home. We wash towels once a week, not daily and don't expect any different in our home away from home. We do get the mid week clean sheets and towels.
I also bring my own queen sheet that I picked up at IKEA for about $4. I put the sheet on first thing and it stays on all week. It is fitted so I dont' have to bother readjusting that flat sheet and trying to keep it on the bed. I put my fitted sheet right over the sheets that are already on the bed.
I also pack away the spread. I don't know how often they are changed, usually in hotels it is once every 3 months, so I am not going to sit on someone else's whatever. I take the spread off as soon as I get into the room and leave it folded in the corner till check out when I put the folded spread on the bed for mousekeeping to deal with.
but of course this could lead to a GARBAGE discussion. I always take my garbage and recycleables out daily and put it into the trash room. I had a black snake come under the door once in my OKW room so I am not leaving anything that might invite another in. I also never stay on a ground floor anymore although someone posted once about a snake coming onto the balcony of their 2nd floor room at OKW. UGGH1

 

[Dizny Dad]

I watched a fellow arrive at the pool, looked around, walked over to the towel storage rack, take 6 to 8 towels, and walked away from the pool area. I was a little taken back by it, but didn't jump out of the pool and tackle him or anything. It is something that I certainly wouldn't do, as the rules ask you not to remove towels from the pool area, and direct you to making contact with Mousekeeping.

Life is filled with those that make the rules, break the rules, and rent (don't know the rules).

 

[Inkmahm]

I always take my garbage and recycleables out daily and put it into the trash room. I had a black snake come under the door once in my OKW room so I am not leaving anything that might invite another in. I also never stay on a ground floor anymore although someone posted once about a snake coming onto the balcony of their 2nd floor room at OKW. UGGH1

SNAKES? I hate snakes. And we're staying at OKW for the first time in December in a first floor villa (MIL can't do stairs.)