Where do I send a complaint about our stay?

[bdklein]

OP here. I don't mind sharing what happened. And knowing the details may help folks understand why we didn't address it with the manager before we left.

Yes, our stay was at POR. We actually liked the resort and were initially very pleased with it - room location was good, room and grounds were beautiful. But we ran into some bad weather - we were there last week for Andrea - so we decided to extend our stay so we could get in some more park time. We've done this once before at CBR and it was easy and convenient. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way this time.

I called Disney Reservations on Friday and explained that we were scheduled to check out on Saturday but would like to extend our stay and check out on Sunday. The CM checked and our room category was available and he said that we could book it and pay over the phone and then just go to the concierge desk at the resort to be issued new room keys. This is exactly how it was handled at CBR so we figured all was good. When we got to the concierge desk however, the CM called and checked to see if we could keep the same room and she was told no, that we would have to vacate the room. Their reason was that the room was part of a block of rooms that had been booked by a large group and they all had to be near each other. We let it go even tho repacking everything and loading it all back in the car was a major inconvenience. We also had to go back to the front desk on Saturday and go back thru the check-in line again. Also a big inconvenience. We didn't really get upset tho until we saw where our new room was located - right down the hall from our original room. We couldn't help but wonder why in the world the guests checking in on Saturday couldn't have been given that room so that we could have stayed in our original location. They would still have been close to the rest of their party.

We are not unreasonable - we would have understand if our original room had been handicapped accessible and the new guests needed that feature. Or if a larger family had booked two rooms and needed a connecting door between the rooms. But our first room didn't have either of those features. We would have also understood if the group checking in was a big school or dance group and chaperones needed to be close to the kids. (We're all for that.) But we happened to see the new occupants (our original room was directly between our new room and the ice machine) and there was an elderly couple in our original room and no one at all in the rooms right around them. (We weren't spying, I promise. We just happened to see them as we walked by going to get ice.)

We were not going to make a big issue out of it but it turned out that moving to another room totally negated the advantage of having the extra day there. We had hoped to spend Friday evening enjoying the resort - playing in the pool and maybe taking the carriage ride around the grounds. Instead we were up until about 2AM figuring out how to repack everything so that we wouldn't have to drag every single piece of luggage back out again when we got into our new room. Then we had to get up early Saturday morning to load everything back into the car before we headed to the Polynesian for our breakfast at O'hana. By the time we finished our breakfast, got back over to POR, went back thru check-in, got our new room, and unloaded the stuff we needed for our last night and got it into the room it was after 3:00 that afternoon. And we were all exhausted because we had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep. We were just too pooped to go enjoy the parks - both kids crashed after we got into the new room and slept for several hours.

I have never filed a complaint with Disney before but I just cannot think of a really compelling reason why they couldn't have left us in our original room. So I hope to get some sort of explanation on that. And I have to admit, if they don't have a really compelling reason, I would very much appreciate a refund for that last night's stay because that ended up being a total waste of our money. I don't have high hopes for that. But I won't get an explanation or a refund if I don't ask. As for why we didn't address it while we were still there...well, by the time we knew where our new room would be we had already taken the time to repack and load everything back in the car. Our initial reaction was "oh well, the damage is already done." Asking for a refund did occur to us but it has taken awhile to convince ourselves to do it. That's just not something we would normally do.

You asked to stay another night, and they accomodated your request. Maybe not 100% in the manner in which you wanted it, but so be it. As a Disney stockholder I will be annoyed if they give any money back. Sorry.

 

[Nancyg56]

However...there is a quote out there that "poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"

I'll leave it at that.

I agree. I would have been very upset if my reservation request was not honored in order to pacify someone who made changes at the last minute. The OP wanted an extra day and she got that day. Problem solved

 

[Janepod]

...we were up until about 2AM figuring out how to repack everything so that we wouldn't have to drag every single piece of luggage back out again when we got into our new room. Then we had to get up early Saturday morning to load everything back into the car before we headed to the Polynesian for our breakfast at O'hana. By the time we finished our breakfast, got back over to POR, went back thru check-in, got our new room, and unloaded the stuff we needed for our last night and got it into the room it was after 3:00 that afternoon. And we were all exhausted because we had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep. We were just too pooped to go enjoy the parks - both kids crashed after we got into the new room and slept for several hours.

I have never filed a complaint with Disney before but I just cannot think of a really compelling reason why they couldn't have left us in our original room. So I hope to get some sort of explanation on that. And I have to admit, if they don't have a really compelling reason, I would very much appreciate a refund for that last night's stay because that ended up being a total waste of our money. I don't have high hopes for that. But I won't get an explanation or a refund if I don't ask. As for why we didn't address it while we were still there...well, by the time we knew where our new room would be we had already taken the time to repack and load everything back in the car. Our initial reaction was "oh well, the damage is already done." Asking for a refund did occur to us but it has taken awhile to convince ourselves to do it. That's just not something we would normally do.

In the future, if you ever have to move rooms, just call down to the front desk and have them move everything. That's SOP when guests move rooms.

And I'm with the previous Disney shareholder -- I too would be disappointed if you received anything other than an email reply. You were not put out any; no need for financial compensation.

 

[Missytara]

In the future, if you ever have to move rooms, just call down to the front desk and have them move everything. That's SOP when guests move rooms.

And I'm with the previous Disney shareholder -- I too would be disappointed if you received anything other than an email reply. You were not put out any; no need for financial compensation.

Read the entire thread. They had a car. They could have packed everything they already used in all of their suitcases, except for one they could have held for bell services to move to their room the next day. Why it took that long to pack is beyond me, since they would have had to pack anyway.

Also, calling from the room gets you to a CRO that might not have been able to accommodate, which appears they were given wrong info.

Had they stopped at the front desk and requested to stay an extra day, it would have been explained to them they erroneously decided to stay an extra day in the middle of an entire party checking in the next morning, and they could have decided to either move or go home.

Disney did everything they could to accommodate them; so no compensation is necessary. People need to think outside the box and be responsible for their actions. They made your own problem.

 

[toodycat]

I would bet that this is the very reason. To allow the OP to keep her room could have meant reassigning multiple rooms in order to make her happy. In Disney's eyes, her week-long stay was a totally separate reservation from that single night. It's unfortunate, but even people who make their plans well in advance take their chance doing a split stay in the same room category at the same resort. Every effort is made not to move them, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. I understand the OP's annoyance, but I see no reason to comp them a night because of it.

This is a really good point.

 

[nkereina]

Everyone here is assuming there WAS in fact a large group there, that had possibly done online check-in. If someone was assigned to that room - group that had done online check-in or not - they could have been moved. No room assignment is set in stone. And to OP's point, what difference would it have made if they were down the hall? Having been in this situation before as a hotel employee, it sounds to me like the CM didn't want to go through the hassle, threw out the "a group is coming in" line, and hoped it stuck. It worked, because OP didn't express his/her displeasure.

I'm guessing if it hadn't been a large group coming in, they probably would have let the OP stay in her room. But the odds of a large party not showing up are pretty slim.

True, if it is in fact a large group. No one on here, including OP, knows whether that was a line of BS or the truth. Any business, especially a hotel, will always cover themselves. Even if it was a group, they could have moved that person down the hall. Only exception would be a group that requires a secured floor, and we know this is not the case. As I said before, a hotel will not gamble with a complaining guest and will take care of who is in front of them - and deal with the other people later when they come in (if they come in). Think about it - if OP is in front of me complaining, and Joe is coming in later and may or may not complain, which one am I going to handle?

Maybe in other hotels that is true, but Disney offers online check in, so the group could have already checked in well before OP decided to add the extra day.

Most hotel chains offer online check-in. No room assignment is set in stone. All online check-in does is allow them to pre-assign your room based on your arrival time a day or two before. But everything can be moved. Why do you think they won't tell you what your room number is until you've physically arrived and the room is ready? Pre-assigning sure makes things easier and smoother, so no one wants to disturb the pre-assigned rooms. But CMs have the authority to move anyone. I guess it depends on how you ask, who the CM is, and how busy they are as to whether they want to or not. Even if you read the fine print on your reservation, all you are guaranteed is a room on Disney property, nothing more.

Not that simple at all! A large group coming in that has already checked in and arranged contiguous rooms cannot just be discounted for one family that wants to extend one day at the last minute! That is not good business!

Fortunately, Disney does not operate on the "you don't count until we have your credit card in hand" attitude.

I have been turned down at other hotel chains trying to get a room or a room for an additional night while standing at the desk with credit card in hand.

Contiguous rooms would not be guaranteed under any sales/catering contract. Sorry. The Front Office Manager of any hotel, especially one as busy as a Disney resort, would have a coronary before he or she would allow a Sales manager to do that. As for the "already checked in", online check-in just allows them to know what time you are coming, lock in your credit card, and pre-assign your room. It's not checking in in the traditional sense, and it certainly doesn't lock in your room number - not until you get there.

As for how Disney operates or doesn't.... I don't think any of us can really say. I just know the hotel industry well from my own work experience, and I can't imagine Disney veering too far out from industry standard.

As for being denied with credit card in hand when trying to extend, if the hotel is sold out or oversold, of course prior reservations take precedence. That is an entirely different situation from the original post.

 

[Janepod]

Read the entire thread. They had a car.

??? I read the entire thread. What is it you think I missed?

Car or no car is irrelevant. Just tell the front desk when you're moving rooms and they will take care of your belongings for you.

 

[HiMagicFan]

Good thoughts!

On our big trip of 2006 we had 6 rooms - 4 came in at the same time, 1 came in early and 1 came in late. We asked to be near each other.

There were five of us in the same building and the late one was in another building. The five of us were on two different floors and not right next door - like one on each side.

So while Disney does try to do their best on room request - I guess I just need to remember they are requests....here's keeping my fingers crossed that I get pixie dust and don't have to move!

I also forgot about the online check in - that would make a difference also.

 

[Missytara]

??? I read the entire thread. What is it you think I missed?

Car or no car is irrelevant. Just tell the front desk when you're moving rooms and they will take care of your belongings for you.

It is relevant. Because they could have cut down on their perceived "stress" by just loading up the car and keep just the things they needed for the last night.

Obviously, the resort had a large group coming in and this particular person should have accommodated themselves, rather than tying up valuable resources on a very busy day, when they had the resources to make their transition easier on them.

 

[KAMLEM]

when I booked my original 8 night stay thinking the Tower of Terror would land during this time, I was wrong!

Sorry this is OT but what does this mean?

 

[maxiesmom]

True, if it is in fact a large group. No one on here, including OP, knows whether that was a line of BS or the truth. Any business, especially a hotel, will always cover themselves. Even if it was a group, they could have moved that person down the hall

Based on my prior experience being bumped from a preferred room to a standard room as a guest decided to extend their stay, I tend to believe what they told the OP. I've had it happen to me.

And saying Disney did know the whole group was coming in, who would you rather have upset, a guest that wants to only stay one more night, or a bunch of guests just starting their vacation?

To me it really doesn't matter if it was a large group or not. The OP was extending their stay at the last minute. They should not expect they would be able to keep their same room, and to expect to be comped a night because they didn't is beyond laughable.

 

[mb187143]

Everyone here is assuming there WAS in fact a large group there, that had possibly done online check-in. If someone was assigned to that room - group that had done online check-in or not - they could have been moved. No room assignment is set in stone. And to OP's point, what difference would it have made if they were down the hall? Having been in this situation before as a hotel employee, it sounds to me like the CM didn't want to go through the hassle, threw out the "a group is coming in" line, and hoped it stuck. It worked, because OP didn't express his/her displeasure.

True, if it is in fact a large group. No one on here, including OP, knows whether that was a line of BS or the truth. Any business, especially a hotel, will always cover themselves. Even if it was a group, they could have moved that person down the hall. Only exception would be a group that requires a secured floor, and we know this is not the case. As I said before, a hotel will not gamble with a complaining guest and will take care of who is in front of them - and deal with the other people later when they come in (if they come in). Think about it - if OP is in front of me complaining, and Joe is coming in later and may or may not complain, which one am I going to handle?

Most hotel chains offer online check-in. No room assignment is set in stone. All online check-in does is allow them to pre-assign your room based on your arrival time a day or two before. But everything can be moved. Why do you think they won't tell you what your room number is until you've physically arrived and the room is ready? Pre-assigning sure makes things easier and smoother, so no one wants to disturb the pre-assigned rooms. But CMs have the authority to move anyone. I guess it depends on how you ask, who the CM is, and how busy they are as to whether they want to or not. Even if you read the fine print on your reservation, all you are guaranteed is a room on Disney property, nothing more.

Contiguous rooms would not be guaranteed under any sales/catering contract. Sorry. The Front Office Manager of any hotel, especially one as busy as a Disney resort, would have a coronary before he or she would allow a Sales manager to do that. .

Again, as someone who just did this at Disney, I was there first hand while one of the guests in our room block, at POFQ, was desperately trying to get out of the block because her room wasn't ready and she had a toddler who needed sleep after a 17 hour drive. The front desk could not make any changes to the rooms that had been blocked off for our guests at that point in time. We had two managers with us and I was on the phone with our room block coordinator trying to work it out. It took an hour to get it sorted out. The rooms sold through the events group are handled differently than those booked through the department that books packages and the department that books room only reservations.

Now, you are definitely not guaranteed to get contiguous rooms, but when a room block is in play (which we don't know that it was) it is a different situation. I was part of it first-hand.

 

[HiMagicFan]

Sorry this is OT but what does this mean?

I had originally thought the Tower of Terror was going to be the last weekend in September (similar to 2012) so i booked our vacation trip for that time so that my sister could get her request in to work.

Then when the TOT dates and registration came out we freaked cuz we were leaving on the Friday weekend it was scheduled to start.

She had to do a leave request - called it an emergency

I had to book our two extra nights (fri and saturday). So this is why I have 8 nights at POR (09/26-10/04) and then 2 nights at POR (10/4-10/6) and am hoping my room request to stay in the same room is granted.

Things always somehow work out though so if I do end up having to move rooms I am just hoping it is down the hall....

 

[cvjw]

We packed up all of the belongings of 8 people who had spent a week in a 2 bedroom villa at BLT (including all the food in the refrigerator and pantry) in less than an hour this past Sunday morning. We got everyone up at 7:00, showered, packed, ate and were on the road home by 8:30. Packing up a regular room at POR for a family of 4 until 3:00 in the morning - that is hard to believe.

When you change rooms, there is no guarantee that you get to stay in the same room. That is just Disney's rules. Sometimes we have been able to stay in the same room and other times, we have had to change rooms when we have a split reservation. We just roll with it and don't let it ruin our trips.

 

[Disneyhappy]

OP- If you feel your situation merits an email to guest services, I encourage you to do it and let Disney decide how to handle it. My company encourages any and all feedback as we strive or 100% customer satisfaction. Customer feedback often leads to positive changes in my personal experience. Disney may or may not have an answer that is acceptable to you but as a customer, you have every right to share your thoughts and let them decide. Just be respectful and objective for them to take you seriously which I do not believe will be a problem based on your posts in this thread.

 

[davedmaine]

Do you honestly think Walt would have split up an already booked family/group to accommodate OP? No one is flaming OP. Just because someone disagrees with them doesn't mean they are flaming them.

Honestly, nobody knows what Walt would do in this situation (and I seriously doubt if he was still around he'd be booking rooms at POR).

 

[tzeitel]

I used to do rooms control (assigning rooms) at the Y&BC. It is not an easy job. That group could have been the first of many blocks - if they changed that one reservation it might have messed up several other room blocks.
Think of it as playing Tetris, fit the block (reservation) in the spot available.

Calling the front desk directly would have been easier. CR basically made you a new reservation - they did not extend it in the system, they do not have that kind of access. They probably put a request in the comments for you to be in the same room. Rooms control would not get that request until the next day if it was made after around 9AM (after we would print out any special requests).

I get that you are upset but I just don't see why If the room had been available they would have been more than happy to keep you there - it might have helped the block! As it was, the room was not available, does not really matter why, it just wasn't.

 

[HiMagicFan]

Sounds like my best bet then to stay in my room for my "second" reservation is to do it at check in for the "first" reservation? This would be a whole week prior.

I don't mind having to check out and recheck in because it is also a totally different dining plan. My big concern is staying in the same room as we will be settled.

Altho it would give me a reason to start packing early and then realizing I bought too much and have to ship stuff home

Lesson learned - it is a request and to ask as soon as I check in....

Thanks everyone!

 

[smitch425]

Everyone here is assuming there WAS in fact a large group there, that had possibly done online check-in. If someone was assigned to that room - group that had done online check-in or not - they could have been moved. No room assignment is set in stone. And to OP's point, what difference would it have made if they were down the hall? Having been in this situation before as a hotel employee, it sounds to me like the CM didn't want to go through the hassle, threw out the "a group is coming in" line, and hoped it stuck. It worked, because OP didn't express his/her displeasure.



True, if it is in fact a large group. No one on here, including OP, knows whether that was a line of BS or the truth. Any business, especially a hotel, will always cover themselves. Even if it was a group, they could have moved that person down the hall. Only exception would be a group that requires a secured floor, and we know this is not the case. As I said before, a hotel will not gamble with a complaining guest and will take care of who is in front of them - and deal with the other people later when they come in (if they come in). Think about it - if OP is in front of me complaining, and Joe is coming in later and may or may not complain, which one am I going to handle?



Most hotel chains offer online check-in. No room assignment is set in stone. All online check-in does is allow them to pre-assign your room based on your arrival time a day or two before. But everything can be moved. Why do you think they won't tell you what your room number is until you've physically arrived and the room is ready? Pre-assigning sure makes things easier and smoother, so no one wants to disturb the pre-assigned rooms. But CMs have the authority to move anyone. I guess it depends on how you ask, who the CM is, and how busy they are as to whether they want to or not. Even if you read the fine print on your reservation, all you are guaranteed is a room on Disney property, nothing more.



Contiguous rooms would not be guaranteed under any sales/catering contract. Sorry. The Front Office Manager of any hotel, especially one as busy as a Disney resort, would have a coronary before he or she would allow a Sales manager to do that. As for the "already checked in", online check-in just allows them to know what time you are coming, lock in your credit card, and pre-assign your room. It's not checking in in the traditional sense, and it certainly doesn't lock in your room number - not until you get there.

As for how Disney operates or doesn't.... I don't think any of us can really say. I just know the hotel industry well from my own work experience, and I can't imagine Disney veering too far out from industry standard.

As for being denied with credit card in hand when trying to extend, if the hotel is sold out or oversold, of course prior reservations take precedence. That is an entirely different situation from the original post.

My post was in response to the statement that the group was looked at as a no show until they physically arrived. If they booked a package (which would have been paid in full) and did online check in, there would be no reason to assume that they might not show.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I find packing and moving rooms to be a complete pain so I sympathize with you OP. We've added a day or two onto trips and luckily we have always been able to stay in the same room at Disney.

I also understand a group wanting to be together although I don't think it matters if you are directly next door or a few doors down if you don't have connecting rooms. You still have to leave your room and go into the hall to visit your friends/family.

I didn't know the Disney hotel staff will come in and move all your belongings for you if they change your room during a split stay/new reservation, does the stuff have to be packed?