Walt Disney World Resort hotels now charging handling fees for in-room deliveries

[HauntedPirate]

So Disney now wants to charge you for having groceries delivered to your room. Take a step back and think about that logically for a moment and you'll realize what this is.

I'll just continue to save money over Disney food/beverage prices by renting a car and buying my own groceries. And since I'm DVC I don't pay their idiotic parking fee, either.

 

[carolina_yankee]

As I understand it, this is for stuff that's dropped off at Bell Services and then delivered to your room. This is new from the package delivery of items delivered at the front desk like mail, UPS, etc. Most grocery delivery services drop things off with Bell Services who then bring to the room when called and are presumably tipped (at least I did).

I can see some operational demands that would encourage Disney to charge - more guests are doing this, requiring more storage space (especially refrigerator space) and ties up bell services more with deliveries.

I also see the other side, too, especially for DVC:

Disney discourages having your own car through parking fees and DME.
Disney provides kitchens to DVC members (don't have to pay for parking but do have access to DME)
Disney promotes the advantages of having one's own kitchen.
Disney now charges you to have your groceries delivered and left at Bell Services.

The work around is to be present for grocery delivery (bypassing Bell Services ) but it's another charge and a pain for those of us who don't like to be confined to our rooms for several hour after arrival.

For standard hotel guests, it may be less of a problem because most items are probably a few beverages for the fridge, and maybe some cereal for breakfast. For DVC guests, this is an extra charge to plan for.

I also wonder if Bell Services sees any of that $6? I usually tip around $10, more if they also bring my Owner's Locker. I won't stiff BS, but I will be re-thinking my strategy now. Maybe to Disney's relief if the goal is to discourage guests from having items delivered.

Dirk

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

So Disney now wants to charge you for having groceries delivered to your room. Take a step back and think about that logically for a moment and you'll realize what this is.

I'll just continue to save money over Disney food/beverage prices by renting a car and buying my own groceries. And since I'm DVC I don't pay their idiotic parking fee, either.

I could be wrong since I have never had things delivered, but I am pretty sure the delivery company delivers only to the front of the resort. It is then Disney who takes it from there to the particular resort room and that is what I think they are now changing from free to $6... which all in all is certainly reasonable to me. Also the delivery company will often not know what room the buyer is in as orders are often delivered on the day of arrival. We, like you, have a vehicle and are DVC, so we stop and load up prior to arrival... but it still is a reasonable charge in my eyes and I'd have no problem with it... if we had to place grocery orders.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

I also see the other side, too, especially for DVC:

Disney discourages having your own car through parking fees and DME.
Disney provides kitchens to DVC members (don't have to pay for parking but do have access to DME)
Disney promotes the advantages of having one's own kitchen.
Disney now charges you to have your groceries delivered and left at Bell Services.


Dirk

I don't think that is true... delivery to bell services is free and you can pick it up there free of charge. However, if you want Disney to deliver it from Bell services to your specific room... that is where the $6 charge comes in. At least that is how I am understanding it.

 

[xdan0920]

DiZnEy iZ a BiDNeSs

 

[Janir]

So if you send an outside order to the front, where CM interaction is required, it’s free. If you send it directly to your room, and no CM interaction is needed, they want $6?

Not quite, if you meet the delivery in person and pick it up yourself, no charge. They will charge $6 if your delivery is brought to you from the main lobby by a CM. I believe its still no charge if its delivered and handed to front lobby/bell services and you come and get it. ( If I read it right)

 

[carolina_yankee]

I don't think that is true... delivery to bell services is free and you can pick it up there free of charge. However, if you want Disney to deliver it from Bell services to your specific room... that is where the $6 charge comes in. At least that is how I am understanding it.

We're on the same page. That's what I meant. The reason to have something left at Bell Services is because you aren't there to receive it. The reason to have BS deliver it is because there can be several bags of groceries which you have no means to haul through a large resort, like OKW or SSR, or down extremely long halls like AKL/V and BWV without a cart, which you can't get.

I've always had groceries delivered to BS because I want them there when I arrive and I don't want to have to wait around for a 2 hour window or whatever for Instacart, GardenGrocer, WeGoShop or whomever to come.

Dirk

 

[HauntedPirate]

I don't think that is true... delivery to bell services is free and you can pick it up there free of charge. However, if you want Disney to deliver it from Bell services to your specific room... that is where the $6 charge comes in. At least that is how I am understanding it.

Yep, I was wrong. It's $6 to have groceries left at the front delivered to your room.

 

[xdan0920]

Yep, I was wrong. It's $6 to have groceries left at the front delivered to your room.

Bell Services must hate this move. Bye bye tips.

 

[Chi84]

Bell Services must hate this move. Bye bye tips.

I hope you mean "bye bye tips" because they will lose the opportunity to make grocery deliveries to the rooms and not that people will think the charge substitutes for a tip. I thought bell services was a tipped position, like valets and food and beverage servers. They make less than minimum wage because they are tipped. Not tipping because of the charge would be like refusing to tip a bartender because there is a charge for the drink.

 

[xdan0920]

I hope you mean "bye bye tips" because they will lose the opportunity to make grocery deliveries to the rooms and not that people will think the charge substitutes for a tip. I thought bell services was a tipped position, like valets and food and beverage servers. They make less than minimum wage because they are tipped. Not tipping because of the charge would be like refusing to tip a bartender because there is a charge for the drink.

I think it’s going to be both actually. Once you tack on a delivery charge, that is going to reduce the tipped amount, at best. At worst, it’s going to eliminate the tip entirely.

 

[awoogala]

I think it’s going to be both actually. Once you tack on a delivery charge, that is going to reduce the tipped amount, at best. At worst, it’s going to eliminate the tip entirely.

BOTH. As someone who has worked at spas- the second they add a "service charge", most people will accidentally (they think that charge= a tip) or willfully reduce/withhold (I'm not giving them a tip, I'm already paying $6!!) tips.
I've quit several spas that instituted service charges, because my tips were cut by at least a third, instantly.

 

[xdan0920]

BOTH. As someone who has worked at spas- the second they add a "service charge", most people will accidentally (they think that charge= a tip) or willfully reduce/withhold (I'm not giving them a tip, I'm already paying $6!!) tips.
I've quit several spas that instituted service charges, because my tips were cut by at least a third, instantly.

Exactly right. I’m actually surprised you only lost 1/3 of your tips, I’d have guessed it would be higher. I think in this case, when bell delivers these charges items, I’d be surprised if they got a tip even half the time. If you were gonna tip $5 let’s say, and now Disney is charging you $6. That’s gonna be that for most people.

 

[Magic Feather]

This is really to disincentivize people from having bell services or front desk deal with their groceries. Most resorts were not built with the proper infrastructure to handle the volume of AmazonNow and Grocery deliveries that they currently experience. Simply getting the guest to walk to the front and get their own stuff to prevent the fee is not only welcome, but preferred.

 

[mm121]

I'd say this is probably justified.

Now that most tipping is done "on the app" for many delivery services I could see people tipping the driver that brings it from the business to the resort. But then NOT tipping the Disney employee. The handoff from the delivery service to Bell services is unique to Disney since they don't let or try not to let outside delivery people from going direct to the rooms.

If your getting a big grocery delivery from a service like Instacart or Shipt paying g this fee would probably be worth it since they don't let you just "borrow" luggage carts.

 

[jaklgreen]

I can see why they are doing this, especially if people have them deliver to their room while they are out because then the guy delivering it is not being tipped. I am hoping that this fee will go into the tip pool for them. Lugging bags of groceries and cases of water is not fun and much different then rolling some luggage in.

 

[John park hopper]

If this $6.00 charge was going directly to the CM fine but bet it is not. It won''t affect us as we drive and bring our own food --no need to order.

 

[daisyduckie]

I was just thinking I might want to place an order with Garden Grocer for my next trip. Now I'm rethinking it.

I don't blame Disney much. I see this as along the same lines as the stroller swap. It is not what they were set up to handle.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I was just thinking I might want to place an order with Garden Grocer for my next trip. Now I'm rethinking it.

I don't blame Disney much. I see this as along the same lines as the stroller swap. It is not what they were set up to handle.

$6 is going to sway you? Seriously have you seen the prices at the giftshops?

 

[daisyduckie]

$6 is going to sway you? Seriously have you seen the prices at the giftshops?

We will have a rental car. I would rather not spend my time in Florida grocery shopping if I can avoid it. I'm still trying to decide.