Changes Coming to Housekeeping Services at Walt Disney World

[mm121]

could part of this issue be not wanting to put rooms "off market" to be able to do regular "deep cleanings"

like at least 2 or 3 times a year where the carpets get cleaned and everything in the room gets checked and fixed and cleaned

there are many things that just cant be done in the time of a quick turn around

 

[VJ]

In related news...

Guests Can "Whistle While They Work" In the NEW Disney Enchanted Cleaning Experience®

In the tradition of such classic Disney animated films as "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty", Walt Disney World® Resort guests can now take part in a new, interactive tour - Disney Enchanted Cleaning Experience® - where they too will feel like a Disney Princess® in training as they scrub, brush and sweep their way into the hearts of their fellow resort friends. Running from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the experience includes a short training session, 30 minute counter service lunch break and tools for each participate, including a delicate apron (autographed by each guests' Princess of choice) and an exclusive collectible pin!

"One of the things our guests say they want to feel like the most when they visit Walt Disney World is a Disney Princess" explains Senior Tour Developer Mark Zen. "What better way for them to start their journey than the place where so many of our beloved heriones began theirs? On the floor of course! ...We hope everyone who participates will leave knowing they're one step closer to making their dreams come true."

Disney Enchanted Cleaning Experience® is available at all Walt Disney World® Resort hotels, excluding the Walt Disney World® Swan & Dolphin, Four Seasons® Orlando, Shades of Green® and the hotels of the Disney Springs® Resort Area. Cost is $119 per adult and $114 per child (tax & gratuity included). A 15% off discount is available to Walt Disney World® Resort Annual Pass Holders and Disney Vacation Club® members.









Or not

Disney needs to hire you.

 

[theRIOT]

I'm pretty sure they stopped all towel animals last year

DVC still does them, and they are elaborate.
It's not a deal-breaker if they don't do them, but it's certainly a nice touch.

 

[21stamps]

Not getting into a debate whether it is slur or not. However, the statement is not true. A large part of the housekeeping staff on DCL is from various Caribbean islands, especially Jamaica. Yes, there are also plenty from Asia. But unless someone has access to DCL's employment files, my observation is that you cannot make out a specific majority.

Well, our housekeeper at GF was not from any of those. Our "Thank You" cards were decorated in Christmas stickers. We picked them out before leaving, and every morning my son was excited to write the card, place the stickers, and put the money in them. He would ask me "do you think Akim will like this?" I didn't have the heart to take the stickers away, he was so thoughtful with it. Hopefully Akim wasn't offended. I spoke to him a few times, he had an Arabic accent.

Our room was always perfectly clean. So I have no complaints there. The only complaint I'd have is that one morning he forgot to restock the coffee. That was a rough moment for me. I need a cup before I head to the lobby to buy a to-go one. I'm sure I looked a little frazzled that morning.lol

 

[wishiwere@wdw]

Our past few stays over the last 3-4 years (probably 5 visits) all had housekeeping or room issues. Hair, mold, something left in the room, you name it. Assuming the bed is clean, I kinda roll with it. Not once did I complain. That said, my parents were with us last year and even being in their 70's couldn't get over the grossness of the room. It ended up being deep cleaned while we were at the parks but still ridiculous. I travel for a living and primarily stay at Marriott branded properties. Let's just say ive never had these issues with them and they have MUCH higher standards for even their basic properties. Many times I've gotten the impression that front desk cast have zero experience in the hospitality industry. Unfortunately I've since found out that is true in many cases so this is a good thing!

 

[peter11435]

Our past few stays over the last 3-4 years (probably 5 visits) all had housekeeping or room issues. Hair, mold, something left in the room, you name it. Assuming the bed is clean, I kinda roll with it. Not once did I complain. That said, my parents were with us last year and even being in their 70's couldn't get over the grossness of the room. It ended up being deep cleaned while we were at the parks but still ridiculous. I travel for a living and primarily stay at Marriott branded properties. Let's just say ive never had these issues with them and they have MUCH higher standards for even their basic properties. Many times I've gotten the impression that front desk cast have zero experience in the hospitality industry. Unfortunately I've since found out that is true in many cases so this is a good thing!

What resort?

 

[Mizner92]

Never had any issues throughout the years. AKL, Yacht and GF have always been exceptionally clean. I have yet to see a Marriott in any state where I didn't have to leave early the next morning just to be away from the filth.

 

[englanddg]

Never had any issues throughout the years. AKL, Yacht and GF have always been exceptionally clean. I have yet to see a Marriott in any state where I didn't have to leave early the next morning just to be away from the filth.

Don't travel much then, eh?

 

[englanddg]

I can say that the past few trips to WDW (though I haven't been since Oct 2015) were increasingly bad.

The hotel rooms were mediocre at best, the mousekeeping was marginal, and the overall stay was...not worth the money.

That last trip, in 2015, I actually stayed at the Nickelodeon Resort (right as they were starting their remodel, though I didn't have a remodel room), but I can compare it equally to a poor stay at AoA that same year, a few months before.

I can further base my AoA experience on the last time I was there, which was a few years prior, right after it opened (we stayed across the pond at Pop though, so I can't speak to the rooms, just the general facility)...and it was...disappointing.

This isn't unique to Disney, though...as I have had equally poor stays at Universal Resorts. So, I suspect it is a stagnation in the area...namely, poor managers stuck in that late 90s/early 2000s era "hire immigrants to make your bottom line and underpay them" mode...and unmotivated employees who never cared from the get go. Mind you, I speak from someone who worked in Restaurants and Hospitality during that era, and it was the worst mindset ever...

It may have gotten better? Who knows...but for the price, I have gotten far better elsewhere than I have Disney Resorts in the past few years.

I won't be back to WDW anytime soon, for a few reasons (some of which having to do with waiting for all this construction and investment, which is good, to calm down)...but, as far as staying on property? No thanks...at least as far as my most recent experiences have been.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disney needs to hire you.

To come up with upcharge ideas or write press releases?

Because I could do both.

 

[Nubs70]

I am wondering if not one of the main reasons for this "retraining" is that Disney is finally realizing that their low housekeeping standards harm themselves. The upkeep of rooms has become more and more of a problem and I am sure it is due to housekeeping not taking the time to check things and even if they notice them to not report them. This not only damages guest satisfaction, but also can mean a financial burden. The little thing that would have been cheap and easy to fix becomes worse and worse the longer it stays damaged. And finally they might have remembered Walt Disney's idea that the cleaner you keep the place, the better guests will treat it.

In the world of business process optimization things like quality of housekeeping are difficult to quantify and assign an ROI. Therefore, housekeeping has no apparent value and is only a cost thus needs to be reduced to the minimum acceptable level.

Only after years of surveys and anecdotal observations of competing properties will the value of housekeeping be understood. However, during those years, damage to reputation and brand occurs. It would be better to hold housekeeping as a core competency that defines the WDW Resort brand.

 

[Bandini]

Never had any issues throughout the years. AKL, Yacht and GF have always been exceptionally clean. I have yet to see a Marriott in any state where I didn't have to leave early the next morning just to be away from the filth.

I'm glad you've never had a problem with the housekeeping at WDW resorts. But obviously you are in the minority, since Disney management is overhauling the entire housekeeping department. I don't think they'd be doing this if there wasn't a problem.
I travel weekly and stay at Marriott Hotels, and I have never had a problem with room cleanliness. I'm sorry that your experiences with Marriott hotels have been so bad.

 

[COProgressFan]

Many times I've gotten the impression that front desk cast have zero experience in the hospitality industry.

Many do not, or at least not in hotels. Many of the front desk staff are college program kids who have don't have that type of experience at all. And training may not be strong, and they simply aren't empowered to do much of anything beyond handing out a few fast passes, or "passing along" problems to someone else, with a fake smile and telling guests to have a magical day.

Even managers come and go across the resort -- the manager on duty of the supposed flagship $500-a-night GF may be a 25 year old that has come recently from Pop, or maybe even was a temporary assignment manager at AK merchandise, etc. People hop (or are pushed) from job to job across the property. You might think that a manager of a hotel like this has years of experience in hospitality at luxury resorts, but many just don't. Disney doesn't prioritize or reward that in any way (and they won't pay for it).

And the "service standards", whatever they may be, are essentially the same for the All Stars or the Poly. Things have been improving I think recently, but operationally they have a long way to go. Glad they're at lease recognizing there are some problems.

 

[21stamps]

Never had any issues throughout the years. AKL, Yacht and GF have always been exceptionally clean. I have yet to see a Marriott in any state where I didn't have to leave early the next morning just to be away from the filth.

I've never had any issue at WDW either. I keep thinking that I must have missed the "bad years". I did not visit between 2010-2014..so maybe there were more issues during those times?

I try to stay within the Hilton portfolio as much as possible, but have stayed within the Marriott brand and never hand any problem there either.

One thing I wish that Disney would do is become a little more energy efficient. Do we really need all new towels everyday, and sheets changed daily?
Hilton hotels are great about Sustainability, from Waldorf to a Garden Inn.

We stayed at a Homewood Suites (been a while since I've stayed at one) over NYE this year. The hotel is just over a year old and I was extremely impressed with how energy efficient it was, around the entire hotel, not just the rooms. All led lights, reminders to turn them off, maid service and linen/towel change by request- or every other day, HE appliances, low-flow faucets and toilets, etc.
Waldorf's still change linens daily, unless requested..or at least they did in 2015. I requested every other day. They straightened our beds, turn down in the evening, but I don't see the reason to receive new sheets daily.

Maybe Disney will implement some of this with the new training. It would make a huge difference.

 

[Nubs70]

I've never had any issue at WDW either. I keep thinking that I must have missed the "bad years". I did not visit between 2010-2014..so maybe there were more issues during those times?

I try to stay within the Hilton portfolio as much as possible, but have stayed within the Marriott brand and never hand any problem there either.

One thing I wish that Disney would do is become a little more energy efficient. Do we really need all new towels everyday, and sheets changed daily?
Hilton hotels are great about Sustainability, from Waldorf to a Garden Inn.

We stayed at a Homewood Suites (been a while since I've stayed at one) over NYE this year. The hotel is just over a year old and I was extremely impressed with how energy efficient it was, around the entire hotel, not just the rooms. All led lights, reminders to turn them off, maid service and linen/towel change by request- or every other day, HE appliances, low-flow faucets and toilets, etc.
Waldorf's still change linens daily, unless requested..or at least they did in 2015. I requested every other day. They straightened our beds, turn down in the evening, but I don't see the reason to receive new sheets daily.

Maybe Disney will implement some of this with the new training. It would make a huge difference.

Just so you are aware, most elements of sustainably are greenwashing. Where efforts to be green are actually efforts to increase the bottom line and do little to improve the environment and, in some cases, do more harm to the environment .

 

[21stamps]

Just so you are aware, most elements of sustainably are greenwashing. Where efforts to be green are actually efforts to increase the bottom line and do little to improve the environment and, in some cases, do more harm to the environment .

Out of curiosity, which part of the things that I listed would be more harmful to the environment than good?

 

[COProgressFan]

Just so you are aware, most elements of sustainably are greenwashing. Where efforts to be green are actually efforts to increase the bottom line and do little to improve the environment and, in some cases, do more harm to the environment .

Hotels are a unique case. No one changes their sheets every night at home. I agree that it was nice to have fresh sheets every night at a hotel years ago, but in retrospect it probably was a waste of time and resources. It does save hoteliers a ton of money, which I'm sure they love. But what started off as changing sheets every other night to help save the earth, got stretched out to changing sheets every fourth night to make the accountants hap...I mean, save the earth. The "Environmentality" part only goes so far and then it just becomes about money. There's nothing wrong with having sensors make sure the a/c isn't blasting an unoccupied room, but there is a problem when you wake up sweltering because those sensors don't detect movement, and are locked out to prevent you from setting the air below 72 degrees.

 

[Grimley1968]

Hotels are a unique case. No one changes their sheets every night at home. I agree that it was nice to have fresh sheets every night at a hotel years ago, but in retrospect it probably was a waste of time and resources. It does save hoteliers a ton of money, which I'm sure they love. But what started off as changing sheets every other night to help save the earth, got stretched out to changing sheets every fourth night to make the accountants hap...I mean, save the earth. The "Environmentality" part only goes so far and then it just becomes about money. There's nothing wrong with having sensors make sure the a/c isn't blasting an unoccupied room, but there is a problem when you wake up sweltering because those sensors don't detect movement, and are locked out to prevent you from setting the air below 72 degrees.

I used to read about people putting balloons in their room at night to make sure those sensors detect movement when people are asleep. Do sensors now defeat that trick?

I've always been a little skeptical of how much low flow toilets and showers help the environment. If you have to run water longer just to get as clean as in the past, is that really saving water overall? That said, I have low flow shower heads at my house. They seem to have plenty of pressure and, well, I was not given a choice.

 

[monothingie]

Well, our housekeeper at GF was not from any of those. Our "Thank You" cards were decorated in Christmas stickers. We picked them out before leaving, and every morning my son was excited to write the card, place the stickers, and put the money in them. He would ask me "do you think Akim will like this?" I didn't have the heart to take the stickers away, he was so thoughtful with it. Hopefully Akim wasn't offended. I spoke to him a few times, he had an Arabic accent.

Our room was always perfectly clean. So I have no complaints there. The only complaint I'd have is that one morning he forgot to restock the coffee. That was a rough moment for me. I need a cup before I head to the lobby to buy a to-go one. I'm sure I looked a little frazzled that morning.lol

We had about a dozen Spiders in our linens at the Villas at the GF for our last trip. Disney house keeping's poor response to our little spider problem was not one of a well oiled machine.

 

[wishiwere@wdw]

What resort?

OKW. We were in a 2 bedroom through our dvc and it was mediocre at best. My parents were in a studio and it was just gross. They were sold out and the room was next to ours as well so the only choice was a deep clean. I suspect there was a leak or the AC was off for a very long time because literally everything in the room was covered in beads of water and damp.

As I said, I didn't complain about our room nor do I like to but this room even I wouldn't have stayed in. One minor correction as well... forgot we're in 2017 now lol. So this actually took place in 2015.