A complaint: lack of housekeeping

[HerRoyalHighness]

as an FYI...the Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve...all, currently, have in their room details - "Housekeeping service twice per week".

 

[snappy]

Reduced HK will end up hurting both Disney and guests. Not cleaning a room for a number days stay after stay takes a toll on the room itself. It also likely takes more time for housekeeping to freshen it up because, well, the room is dirtier.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

What is wasteful is my future dollars being used to pay higher rates when a resort needs rehabbed sooner.

I agree about routine upkeep but you're going to get charged whatever the company wants to. Disney themselves has raised prices for a long while for really nothing, people will just say to themselves it's a higher rate just because it was refurbished recently but at its heart it's just Disney charging what they want and people accepting it. I couldn't tell you how many complaints about costs I've read on the Boards over the years and they just keep getting higher before All-Stars had their refurbished, before POP had the skyliner and the other resorts too that have undergone changes (Poly I believe, Contemporary,etc).

And some changes done can save Disney money, you'll still pay higher even though your room has no carpet, has less decor, no bedspreads or comforters,etc.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We were in NYC last week at a not-high-end hotel (the Michelangelo) and we had full housekeeping there. Just sayin'. The rate was less than what we're paying at POFQ right now.

NYC has a much larger labor pool to draw from. They have roughly the same number of hotel rooms in New York City as they do in Orlando but with 30x the population.

Here's a piece of evidence that makes this all very clear in my eyes: DVC members staying on points didn't get daily housekeeping, even pre-COVID. But they were allowed to pay extra (in cash) to add full cleanings to their trip, and it wasn't cheap. Disney has eliminated this option. In a world of upcharges and add-on fees, Disney has *eliminated* this particular upcharge because they don't have the staff to support it.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

as an FYI...the Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve...all, currently, have in their room details - "Housekeeping service twice per week".

And at Universal I believe it's tiered. Their "Deluxe" resorts have daily housekeeping, their "Moderates" have similar to Disney, trash and towels every other day, and their "Values" have trash and towels only if you call.

And none of this is posted on their website anywhere easy to find. You have to know enough to ask ahead of time, which to me is the biggest sin of all.

 

[Farro]

As a heads up…

Pre-COVID Housekeeping Schedule Restored at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

Guests staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts should be aware that housekeeping is now once again cleaning guest rooms more frequently, as the original cleaning schedule (that is, the schedule that was followed before the pandemic began) was officially restored at these resorts on March 4, 2022.
As a reminder, the original cleaning schedule entails the following services daily (at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) OR every other day (at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts):

1. Making the bed
2. Full bathroom clean
3. Wiping down all surfaces
4. Replacing amenities as needed (such as coffee, shampoo, soap, etc.)
5. Vacuum
6. Dust
7. Fold and organize loose clothing and other special touches

Please, note that the housekeeping schedule of DVC rooms has NOT changed, but the ability to purchase additional cleaning service has been reinstated at the resorts mentioned above.

On Sunday, March 6 (today), the following resorts will also go back to the original cleaning schedule:

• Disney's BoardWalk Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Hopefully the other resorts follow suit soon.

Nice!

Fold loose clothing...I can do that, thanks!

 

[johnnyr]

As a heads up…

Pre-COVID Housekeeping Schedule Restored at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

Guests staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts should be aware that housekeeping is now once again cleaning guest rooms more frequently, as the original cleaning schedule (that is, the schedule that was followed before the pandemic began) was officially restored at these resorts on March 4, 2022.
As a reminder, the original cleaning schedule entails the following services daily (at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) OR every other day (at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts):

1. Making the bed
2. Full bathroom clean
3. Wiping down all surfaces
4. Replacing amenities as needed (such as coffee, shampoo, soap, etc.)
5. Vacuum
6. Dust
7. Fold and organize loose clothing and other special touches

Please, note that the housekeeping schedule of DVC rooms has NOT changed, but the ability to purchase additional cleaning service has been reinstated at the resorts mentioned above.

On Sunday, March 6 (today), the following resorts will also go back to the original cleaning schedule:

• Disney's BoardWalk Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Hopefully the other resorts follow suit soon.

This is good news! Let’s hope it returns to all the resort categories and not just the Deluxe resorts.

 

[Jen81NYC]

Your agent should give you updated info. That's not on Disney.


Postponed by Disney? Weird.
Postponed by you? Then why aren't you looking into what's changed? You do realize a lot is different now than in Sept 2020, right?


You do realize there are park reservations now, right? It seems like you think people shouldn't have to worry about things being a way they were before when a whole lot of stuff has changed (and you're adept enough to make changes to your vacation - so, you should be adept enough to figure out what's changing in the world and where you're taking your vacation).

I postponed it. My point is that the full Disney terms and conditions of that reservation, which then rolled over presumably to my April 2022, didn’t say anything about lack of housekeeping then. I am 100% confident that there was no consistent housekeeping in September 2020. My current reservation info also doesn’t say anything. So constantly chastising people “you booked while knowing this!” is odd to me. Plenty of people book hotels without specifically googling the Disney’s mousekeeping-specific page (including me!) When I booked the Poly, a deluxe hotel at essentially rack rates, I can assure you it never crossed my mind that I’d have to worry about whether they’d help keep the room clean. And i don’t mean replacing bed sheets or towels every day but regular trash service, wiping down surfaces and making beds. Again, if people want to make it their mission to constantly justify Disney’s service cut backs plus increased prices, okay, but not everyone wants to do that. This doesn’t mean I won’t still do my best to have a great vacation! But it’s still annoying

 

[Jen81NYC]

As a heads up…

Pre-COVID Housekeeping Schedule Restored at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

Guests staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts should be aware that housekeeping is now once again cleaning guest rooms more frequently, as the original cleaning schedule (that is, the schedule that was followed before the pandemic began) was officially restored at these resorts on March 4, 2022.
As a reminder, the original cleaning schedule entails the following services daily (at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) OR every other day (at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts):

1. Making the bed
2. Full bathroom clean
3. Wiping down all surfaces
4. Replacing amenities as needed (such as coffee, shampoo, soap, etc.)
5. Vacuum
6. Dust
7. Fold and organize loose clothing and other special touches

Please, note that the housekeeping schedule of DVC rooms has NOT changed, but the ability to purchase additional cleaning service has been reinstated at the resorts mentioned above.

On Sunday, March 6 (today), the following resorts will also go back to the original cleaning schedule:

• Disney's BoardWalk Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Hopefully the other resorts follow suit soon.

Ah this is great! So it seems like Disney can do something about it!! I hope the increases continue!!

 

[Marthasor]

Why not wait for them to announce a policy before getting pre-mad at them for something you think they might do?

I'm not "pre-mad" at them about anything. I actually prefer not to have daily housekeeping, but I understand other guests' frustration that they are now paying more for less service at Disney resorts. And WDW would never announce that this would be permanent or ongoing. The fact of the matter is, they are saving a ton of money by not offering daily housekeeping and their bottom line is benefiting from the current situation - that is all they care about.

 

[Jen81NYC]

As a heads up…

Pre-COVID Housekeeping Schedule Restored at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

Guests staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts should be aware that housekeeping is now once again cleaning guest rooms more frequently, as the original cleaning schedule (that is, the schedule that was followed before the pandemic began) was officially restored at these resorts on March 4, 2022.
As a reminder, the original cleaning schedule entails the following services daily (at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) OR every other day (at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts):

1. Making the bed
2. Full bathroom clean
3. Wiping down all surfaces
4. Replacing amenities as needed (such as coffee, shampoo, soap, etc.)
5. Vacuum
6. Dust
7. Fold and organize loose clothing and other special touches

Please, note that the housekeeping schedule of DVC rooms has NOT changed, but the ability to purchase additional cleaning service has been reinstated at the resorts mentioned above.

On Sunday, March 6 (today), the following resorts will also go back to the original cleaning schedule:

• Disney's BoardWalk Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Hopefully the other resorts follow suit soon.

Where is this announced? I quickly googled but didn’t see anything, thanks!! Edit: Nevermind, I see there’s an embedded link, d’oh!!

 

[Marthasor]

I postponed it. My point is that the full Disney terms and conditions of that reservation, which then rolled over presumably to my April 2022, didn’t say anything about lack of housekeeping then. I am 100% confident that there was no consistent housekeeping in September 2020. My current reservation info also doesn’t say anything. So constantly chastising people “you booked while knowing this!” is odd to me. Plenty of people book hotels without specifically googling the Disney’s mousekeeping-specific page (including me!) When I booked the Poly, a deluxe hotel at essentially rack rates, I can assure you it never crossed my mind that I’d have to worry about whether they’d help keep the room clean. And i don’t mean replacing bed sheets or towels every day but regular trash service, wiping down surfaces and making beds. Again, if people want to make it their mission to constantly justify Disney’s service cut backs plus increased prices, okay, but not everyone wants to do that. This doesn’t mean I won’t still do my best to have a great vacation! But it’s still annoying

The amount of info Disney threw at people since re-opening - Genie+, LL, ILL, masks, no masks, park reservations, no Magical Express, no housekeeping, change in dining reservation windows, etc., etc., etc. - yup, I completely understand how you missed this. I honestly cannot even imagine being a first-timer trying to plan a WDW right now.

 

[Jen81NYC]

The amount of info Disney threw at people since re-opening - Genie+, LL, ILL, masks, no masks, park reservations, no Magical Express, no housekeeping, change in dining reservation windows, etc., etc., etc. - yup, I completely understand how you missed this. I honestly cannot even imagine being a first-timer trying to plan a WDW right now.

Yes exactly. I haven’t been to Disney since i was a kid. I purposefully waited to reschedule the trip until fireworks and Poly monorail were back, because those are the features I thought to ask my agent about, but it truly didn’t occur to me that beds wouldn’t be made and trash service would be iffy at the Poly, for example, by the time our trip rolled around. That kind of info wasn’t in any of the reservation info I received. And people constantly booked trips hoping that Covid era measures would be lessened by the time their trip rolled around (like masks, for ex), so I don’t get this “you knew when you booked!” defense. Stuff changes all the time! Current trip was booked in Feb 2021! But I’m so thankful it’s returning based on this morning’s post!

 

[Miffy]

NYC has a much larger labor pool to draw from. They have roughly the same number of hotel rooms in New York City as they do in Orlando but with 30x the population.

NYC may have a bigger labor pool than Orlando's but WDW had enough housekeeping staff pre-pandemic to service all their resorts on a daily basis. I'm not referring to DVC here but to the regular hotel rooms.

 

[Jen81NYC]

NYC may have a bigger labor pool than Orlando's but WDW had enough housekeeping staff pre-pandemic to service all their resorts on a daily basis. I'm not referring to DVC here but to the regular hotel rooms.

Also there’s no comparison in terms of the cost of living—much easier for central Floridians to find affordable housing

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The amount of info Disney threw at people since re-opening - Genie+, LL, ILL, masks, no masks, park reservations, no Magical Express, no housekeeping, change in dining reservation windows, etc., etc., etc. - yup, I completely understand how you missed this. I honestly cannot even imagine being a first-timer trying to plan a WDW right now.

Well a first timer is probably not going to know much about Magical Express or ADR windows or FP compared to Genie+ and LL, etc.

It's def. confusing to keep it all together and the mask/no mask thing is more frustrating for those planning with that as a big part of it but the ones who stand to be the most frustrated are those who went before and can compare. The first timers don't have anything to base off of and may just say (like it's been for years) it's all too much or they may take it in stride. Park reservations are at least somewhat familiar because borne out of the pandemic were places increasingly adding in you must reserve in advance. Many National Parks (a popular vacation idea during this pandemic) has a good amount that require reservations, places you'd never think of now need them so it's something people who have been paying attention to things are at least familiar with.

 

[SteveH]

What are your thoughts?

I'd say, welcome to Disney! Where they charge more now and provide less service.

Back in October we were slated to go the opening of the 50th, but after a lot of consideration we instead chose to go to Hawaii (two islands). Amazingly we had full room service at both of our hotels every day. At this point in the return to normal this has everything to do with cost cutting/profit driven moves by Disney. Just her on The DIS you can read about the ranting of DVC owners not getting into their rooms by 4PM - I don't blame them for the rant at all, Disney can totally solve this issue - it's called increasing the pay and focusing on service like they used to. For my money we're going back to Hawaii.

 

[pixiedust2u]

Happy to see some effort to improve services as noted in the article above.
Hotel cleanliness is the #1 thing for me when traveling. Even pre covid I went in my Clorox wipes, wiped down surfaces, did a bed bug check and looked the room over before settling in.
Is anyone else just grossed out to know rooms in general aren’t being cleaned as thoroughly during guests stay and likely in between guests? Ugh the crumbs, unchanged bed sheets. Ew. Like a breeding ground for grossness.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Happy to see some effort to improve services as noted in the article above.
Hotel cleanliness is the #1 thing for me when traveling. Even pre covid I went in my Clorox wipes, wiped down surfaces, did a bed bug check and looked the room over before settling in.
Is anyone else just grossed out to know rooms in general aren’t being cleaned as thoroughly during guests stay and likely in between guests? Ugh the crumbs, unchanged bed sheets. Ew. Like a breeding ground for grossness.

I'm not going to pretend and say it's the most preferred thing but IDK if you ever saw the complaints about the carpets not being cleaned or the things found in beds (ahem...gross things). There were threads decently enough that would either supply photos or give complete stories. If you think Disney cleaned thoroughly all the time every hotel room there are plenty of prior threads long before the pandemic to state otherwise. I feel like the stories were about hair in the beds, a condom on the floor, stains and sticky carpet, band-aids on the floor, etc. I mean it's all gross not going to sugar coat that but yeah.

Have you ever been on an airplane? Long before the pandemic I'd see stuff in the pockets, I know they weren't able to get that plane all that clean before Boarding began for the next flight.

 

[Dug720]

Is anyone else just grossed out to know rooms in general aren’t being cleaned as thoroughly during guests stay and likely in between guests? Ugh the crumbs, unchanged bed sheets. Ew. Like a breeding ground for grossness.

To be clear, sheets and towels ARE being changed between guests.

It amazes me the number of people who clearly have new sheets every day at home (and towels too) apparently from this “Ew. I have to use the same sheets and towels??” reaction. Clearly not people who have to schlep to laundromats and pay to do laundry. Even growing up with an in-home washer and dryer sheets and towels were only changed once a week.