An open letter to Disney about mandatory room checks.

[Three60guy]

As I want to protect my afternoon baths! Sure I can put the latch on the door but from what I understand they often just keep on knocking. What if I don't come to the door?

From what I have read, they will call you on the phone. If you don't answer the phone they will become more insistent by sending someone from security.

 

[Jen1995]

At this point it's been about 6 months since this policy went into place.

Outside of a few complaints here and there, there have not been complaints of CMs breaking down the doors (unlatching latch), sexual predators coming in to stare at the children or widespread theft due to this new policy.

Just like the dog policy, I think a lot of the fears people were initially having can/should be put to rest.
Will you be disturbed if you are in the room every afternoon, decline housekeeping? More than likely. Unfortunately you either just have to be prepared for it or stay elsewhere, that's really the end of that story.

Will there still be a one off, rogue CM who gets a little aggressive enforcing policy? Sure, just like with anything. But I think it's safe to say majority of visitors (thousands and thousands) throughout these 6 months went largely undisturbed.

How many people should be disturbed before the policy is a bad one? The majority of visitors do not have allergies. Dismissing a minority of guests for no good reason is still not a smart business move.

 

[Jen1995]

I am not at all sure that there are any reasonable suggestions when it comes to making people comfortable with a situation that tey are simply not comfortable with. I have tried to be helpful too, but I am not at all sure my suggestions will make any difference because this policy does not seem to have any consistancey other than someone will enter a room at some point during the day.

@kaytieeldr is not a Disney Shill, no matter some would believe it to be so. She is just trying to make the best of this situation for people who want to stay onsite but have deep reservations about the policy. No matter what any of us do or say, this policy is in effect, so complaining here may be the only way folks can channel their anxiety. I personally am fine with the discussion, and I will continue to try to help other see the bright side.

If people have a negative experience once they arrive, I hope that some of what we all have stated also makes a difference in how folks handle it. I am also of the opinion that Disney has chosen the least expensive method of implementing this policy, and feel strongly that if they really want to inspect rooms daily outside of housekeeping, they need to pay and train security people to do so. By relying on housekeepers to add this into their daily work load is adding to the stress, they are already overworked so it is not hard to imagine why they are banging on doors when it is convenient for them, rather than for the guest. Add throwing in the odd maintenance person and you have upped the ante for chaos to ensue. This policy was not thought out before it ws rolled out. Frankly, I think that one way to at least make this policy a little more palatable for guests is to remove housekeeping staff form the rooms that have opted out. There is a reason for that, so I feel it should be respected. I would ask at the desk to have a security person inspect the room and make sure they know that I am in that room at a specific time.

Policies change all the time. Especially in response to market forces and consumer complaints.

 

[Nancyg56]

Policies change all the time. Especially in response to market forces and consumer complaints.

They do, which is why in the case of this policy. Guests who have had negative interactions should follow up. Follow up, follow up, follow up. I rather doubt this policy will go away, if whatever drove it seems to continue, Disney will probably double down. That does nto mean that Disney should be able to pay lip service to folks who are troubled by how it has been implemented, willy nilly barging in on guests at the resort's convenience, and with lack of discretion. If Disney wants to maintain their right to enter, they also need to respect the right of guests to enjoy the privacy they are paying for, which is an unenviable position for those entrusted with the task.

 

[Nancyg56]

Unless someone can provide me evidence that room checks do anything in the name of safety, then absolutely not. Disney is in the business of creating MAGIC. That "something" special which people are drawn to and love. Room checks are the opposite of Magic.

I doubt that you will ever be privy to that evidence or lack thereof. Disney is not in the habit of sharing information that centers around security measures or how their security thwarts any illegal activity.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

I’m not an afternoon bather but if I were I think these would be the three options I’d pursue.

1. Make sure I had a robe sitting by the bath. When I hear a knock on the door slip into the robe open the door for the check and then return to the bath.

2. Leave the latch unhooked but secure the bathroom door. Hope that if they came for the room check they would peak around and leave. If they still knock on bathroom door for some reason I respond that I’m ok and then I have the robe if it becomes an issue. I would hope that would be a gigantic “if”.

3. Stay somewhere else and let Disney know why I was.

ETA: I forgot my real first option which was to elect housekeeping and then wait until after they come to take my bath.

 

[snappy]

I’m not an afternoon bather but if I were I think these would be the three options I’d pursue.

1. Make sure I had a robe sitting by the bath. When I hear a knock on the door slip into the robe open the door for the check and then return to the bath.

2. Leave the latch unhooked but secure the bathroom door. Hope that if they came for the room check they would peak around and leave. If they still knock on bathroom door for some reason I respond that I’m ok and then I have the robe if it becomes an issue. I would hope that would be a gigantic “if”.

3. Stay somewhere else and let Disney know why I was.

ETA: I forgot my real first option which was to elect housekeeping and then wait until after they come to take my bath.

Next up: napping strategies. And we thought managing fast passes was challenging.

 

[snappy]

How many people should be disturbed before the policy is a bad one? The majority of visitors do not have allergies. Dismissing a minority of guests for no good reason is still not a smart business move.

Good point. Allergies in resort rooms and food allergies in restaurants. They even accommodate my youngest who doesn’t eat dairy, meat, fish, eggs, etc. And they do it well.

 

[snappy]

Good grief! If Disney were conducting room checks 24-hours a day, then perhaps your comment would have some merit. As the room checks only occur during regular business hours, give or take an hour or two, all of the bad people who wish to hide something "nefarious" simply need to wait until dark and then they can conduct their criminal activities without fear of interruption

Being awakened from the decidedly un-nefarious activity of afternoon napping doesn't offend me, it disturbs me.

Pretty good indication that using housekeeping staff 8-5 for “room ckecks” is a CYA action.

 

[Farro]

How many people should be disturbed before the policy is a bad one? The majority of visitors do not have allergies. Dismissing a minority of guests for no good reason is still not a smart business move.

I didn't state if it was good or bad. That is not what my post you quoted is discussing.

 

[maxiesmom]

My vacation time is too precious to waste it having a stand down with the room check CMs. I don't get being annoyed by the check disturbing you and then wasting more time fighting with them.

 

[JeannieE]

Yes, my vacation time is precious too. Since sleeping in or napping are something that mainly occur on vacation for us, I don't take kindly to either being disturbed. Vacations are for enjoyment and relaxation in my book Telling a CM you are unhappy with being disturbed is not fighting. It's simply feedback in my book. If being disturbed doesn't bother you, that's great. No need to say anything. If it bothers me, I will. The same as with any other issue that arises. I still have to post about our April experience at BC. Ours was wonderful! That said, I'm putting off booking a trip with just me and my DD8. There is still no way to ensure I can take a shower without my DD8 having to speak to a stranger if they knock despite the sign being up based on reports from others. It's just not worth the stress. During our entire 8 night stay at BC the sign was always respected. We never received a knock if it was up. I was so grateful at how respectful they were our entire trip. If I could be sure they would handle our next visit the same way I would have no worries, but there still doesn't seem to be a standard.

We had a varied schedule at BC and sometimes my DH went back to the room earlier or went to the gym and met up with us later. A few times CMs knocked when he was in the room, but he didn't have the sign up and no one was intrusive. One CM changed the smoke detector batteries. I did get a call one afternoon after my DH had asked housekeeping to return later. No one was napping and I simply asked for someone to bring towels. I confirmed that this would be our room check as the housekeeper came in the room and took the trash too. The housekeeping staff was wonderful our entire stay. I sometimes heard them outside when we were sleeping in and they never knocked when the RO sign was up. If they had, I assure you, I would have said something. It would not have been a fight in any way. It would have been a request to not be disturbed again on our vacation unless it was an emergency. There were many hours for them to check the room and I made sure to take the sign off any time we left or didn't mind receiving a knock on the door.

We had one instance where we received a knock when I was getting dressed. Our room had already been cleaned and I didn't have the sign up. When my DD23 said I was getting dressed the CM shouted out sorry and left. I finished getting dressed and caught up with her. A simple error had showed that our room had not been cleaned yet. She was very apologetic. I told her it was fine to come and double-check that our room had been taken care of and she did (I figured it was best that she could see housekeeping had been there so we didn't get another visit later). She was extremely pleasant and polite. I tipped her of course because it wasn't her fault that our room wasn't checked off. It was a simple case of human error and she was in no way intrusive about the mix up, in spite of the fact that she would have had to come back if I hadn't caught up with her. Which is exactly how things should be handled as far as I'm concerned. We had a relaxing vacation because the policy was enacted with respect and I hope this becomes the standard and the norm for all guests.

 

[Beer Me]

Haven't read every post so maybe it's already been said.

Is it possible this is not about security but the result of allowing guests to decline housekeeping? Or people leaving the Do Not Disturb up 24 hours a day? Maybe rooms were being trashed.

I doubt I would be bothered because we usually want daily housekeeping but there are occasions where we go back to our room before it's cleaned. I think Do Not Disturb should always be an option if you're in the room. Insisting on gaining entry is a bit intrusive if there is no indication of a problem.

This policy is rather weird. It would be interesting to know what kind of specifics brought it on.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Haven't read every post so maybe it's already been said.

Is it possible this is not about security but the result of allowing guests to decline housekeeping? Or people leaving the Do Not Disturb up 24 hours a day? Maybe rooms were being trashed.

I doubt I would be bothered because we usually want daily housekeeping but there are occasions where we go back to our room before it's cleaned. I think Do Not Disturb should always be an option if you're in the room. Insisting on gaining entry is a bit intrusive if there is no indication of a problem.

This policy is rather weird. It would be interesting to know what kind of specifics brought it on.

I believe the 2 main thoughts are Vegas incident and human trafficking.

I don't put much credence towards declining housekeeping/rooms trashed idea because they still allow you to decline housekeeping (and I think they still give a gift card for doing so..I think..haven't kept up much on that part myself).

 

[BK2014]

This policy is rather weird. It would be interesting to know what kind of specifics brought it on.

I believe the 2 main thoughts are Vegas incident and human trafficking.

As the discussion about this policy has gone on, I have wondered if there are maybe other reasons, besides security, that Disney wants this policy in place. I don't believe that a large corporation ever tells us all of the reasons or the real reason behind a new policy. But people have already pointed out the flaws in the "it makes us more secure" argument. Maybe it simply is to try and reduce liability should something happen, maybe it is something else completely unrelated and random. Maybe they have found that this policy encourages people to stay out of their rooms longer and spend more money during the day?

Whatever the reason, and regardless of whether or not I think the policy is bad or annoying, I do not believe that this something that was just instituted on a whim, or without thoroughly researching the legal aspects. It is clear however, that the roll-out of the policy has been terribly inconsistent.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As the discussion about this policy has gone on, I have wondered if there are maybe other reasons, besides security, that Disney wants this policy in place. I don't believe that a large corporation ever tells us all of the reasons or the real reason behind a new policy. But people have already pointed out the flaws in the "it makes us more secure" argument. Maybe it simply is to try and reduce liability should something happen, maybe it is something else completely unrelated and random. Maybe they have found that this policy encourages people to stay out of their rooms longer and spend more money during the day?

Whatever the reason, and regardless of whether or not I think the policy is bad or annoying, I do not believe that this something that was just instituted on a whim, or without thoroughly researching the legal aspects. It is clear however, that the roll-out of the policy has been terribly inconsistent.

I can't imagine Disney would implement this policy to encourage more spending...

Disney has thought of some crazy ideas in the past (uhm MK tents) but this doesn't seem like it encourages guest spending unless you mean guests spend their money elsewhere..

But regardless my comments were meant to convey information from the various threads-that was all.

 

[BK2014]

I can't imagine Disney would implement this policy to encourage more spending...

Disney has thought of some crazy ideas in the past (uhm MK tents) but this doesn't seem like it encourages guest spending unless you mean guests spend their money elsewhere..

But regardless my comments were meant to convey information from the various threads-that was all.

I quoted your post because it showed two of the often discussed possible reasons for this policy. I was not commenting on it for any other purpose. My comment about the room checks encouraging people to spend more money was a tongue-in cheek example.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I quoted your post because it showed two of the often discussed possible reasons for this policy. I was not commenting on it for any other purpose. My comment about the room checks encouraging people to spend more money was a tongue-in cheek example.

Gotcha

 

[Jen1995]

I doubt that you will ever be privy to that evidence or lack thereof. Disney is not in the habit of sharing information that centers around security measures or how their security thwarts any illegal activity.

Disney is not the CIA. They are a consumer-driven company. Their wish for "safety" is because of consumers (aka dollars), not because they care about you personally. You an I are dollars to them. This is a consumer-driven move (they think consumers will like it) and consumers will influence whether it stays or goes.

 

[Jen1995]

I believe the 2 main thoughts are Vegas incident and human trafficking.

I don't put much credence towards declining housekeeping/rooms trashed idea because they still allow you to decline housekeeping (and I think they still give a gift card for doing so..I think..haven't kept up much on that part myself).

The guy in Vegas did not decline housekeeping and had plenty of eyes on him by staff prior to the incident so that holds no water. Human trafficking is ridiculous because it is more likely that women will be abducted by people pretending to be staff demanding access to women in guest rooms than guest rooms at Disney being turned into some dungeon of stolen women.