Phonedave
Well-Known Member
Tipping the maids? 30% is a crazy increase in one year! Did they add on a bunch of rooms? We have stayed there three times and I was shocked at how many housekeepers they have per floor and I always see them BS'ing in the hallway or in the storage room. Housekeeping was very nice and friendly, but certainly not working extremely hard. If they even worked for half the day they would be more productive. The annual maintenance fees are ony supposed to pay for on average 2 cleanings per room per week (1 full and 1 towel/trash) and all subsequent cleanings should be paid for by members who pay for extra service or by cash reservations through CRO. I hope they had a good explaination for why that large of an increase was needed.
Remember, they also have to do a full clean every time a room changes hands. I seem to notice a lot of posts where people are splitting a trip, and staying at a "cheaper" resort most of the trip and then one or two nights at BLT just so they can check out the rooms and see the fireworks, but they are not staying for a long time because of the point cost. The increased churn at the resort will cause the rooms to be cleaned more than twice a week. I don't know if this is the reason for the increase, but it may contribute.
What you really need to look at is not the increase, or the cost per point, but instead the cost per room. I'll give you the numbers for SSR, if you would like to supply the ones for BLT, then we can compare.
SSR is 888 vacation homes (a mix of studios, 1BR, 2BR, grand villas, and the treehouses). Housekeep in 2013 is budgeted for $10,361,056. That comes out to $11,667 per room per year. Now that seems high, but housekeeping includes "Cost of cleaning Vacation homes and public areas and replacement of disposable amenities. Also includes the purchase, replacement, and cleaning of linens and towels."
I wonder how much the other resorts spend per room per year on housekeeping and how it compares to the $11.6K spent at SSR.
-dave