An open letter to Disney about mandatory room checks.

[Ben E N]

My understanding is that the deluxe rooms at AK and WL were converted into DVC in part at least because they were not being booked by CRO. So Disney figures, better to convert to DVC than remain empty. At Poly and GF, more a matter of greed because DVC could jack up the point price. I could be dead wrong though.

No you are right there. It was a killing two birds with one stone idea. Get some rooms paid for for life, while also increasing relative demand for their priciest rooms due to decreased inventory.
This furthers my point that they know exactly what they are doing, as those DVC rooms sold, and the leftover rooms at those hotels are going for higher prices than ever before.

 

[darrengs]

Exactly. You need to buy the room you want, and count any perks as extras. If someone would be just as happy off site if Disney took all those extra perks back away, then they should definitely move off site. But there is no guarantee if you book at Disney Springs now that by your trip time the same perks will be offered.

My conferences are September and December I would have definitely stayed at a Disney Resort, but am booked in Disney Springs Resort with all the perks as mentioned above. And theses perks are guaranteed until the end of this year, so I am good.

 

[snappy]

Trying to figure out why one would be reading through a thread if he considers it so silly???

 

[Ben E N]

Trying to figure out why one would be reading through a thread if he considers it so silly???

The thread is fine. It's the poll that's silly. Disney did not implement those changes to make people happy, they did it because it was the lesser of two evils. It's like releasing a poll that says "Who likes to go to the dentist?" Sure, there would be a few yes votes, but mostly no's. We don't go for fun, though. Disney did not make these changes to improve our enjoyment, there was another factor at play that we have no control over, no matter how much we complain.

 

[snappy]

And I personally think the problem is not the policy, it’s the implementation. So if we give feedback here or by emailing Disney or talking to them on the phone when they call you back, or answer surveys, etc., maybe Disney can train staff and carry it out like other hotels are doing.

It’s a different matter but when DVC removed ceramic mugs from studios years ago, there was a lot of feedback. I was surprised but the mugs were quietly replaced without fanfare.

I am not under any delusion that Disney won’t examine my room. I would simply like them to let me request a convenient time when I am not bathing or resting. I will gladly answer the knock if I am there and dressed etc, and not be bothered. They can check to their heart’s content and welcome to my trash. But repeated knocking when they can clearly hear a guest say it’s not a good time is not ok to me. One thing that’s been driven home to me is always have that security latch on, even if some of your party is out. So the others in your party have to forgo coming in until they call to you wake you up if you are napping I guess I’d call it a security latch wake up call. Not the best way but it’s the new way.

 

[gdrj]

I don't think it is a constitutional right to have an expectation of privacy when you are staying on someone else's property, even if you pay for the privilege.

I am not so callous to think that Disney is doing this solely as a save your rear move. I do not think it is effective but I do think it is an attempt at increased security.

What she said.

 

[Ben E N]

And I personally think the problem is not the policy, it’s the implementation. So if we give feedback here or by emailing Disney or talking to them on the phone when they call you back, or answer surveys, etc., maybe Disney can train staff and carry it out like other hotels are doing.

It’s a different matter but when DVC removed ceramic mugs from studios years ago, there was a lot of feedback. I was surprised but the mugs were quietly replaced without fanfare.

I am not under any delusion that Disney won’t examine my room. I would simply like them to let me request a convenient time when I am not bathing or resting. I will gladly answer the knock if I am there and dressed etc, and not be bothered. They can check to their heart’s content and welcome to my trash. But repeated knocking when they can clearly hear a guest say it’s not a good time is not ok to me. One thing that’s been driven home to me is always have that security latch on, even if some of your party is out. So the others in your party have to forgo coming in until they call to you wake you up if you are napping I guess I’d call it a security latch wake up call. Not the best way but it’s the new way.

I think you've nailed it here. It's not something we are meant to enjoy, but complaining about it won't change anything either. If, instead, we let Disney know what sort of affect it is having on loyal customers while also accepting that room checks are a given, we can open a dialogue where it can be as non-invasive as someone entering the room without our permission can be. On my next trip I plan to call and say "hey, I'll be out the room all morning, feel free to stop by then!" If that works, great, if not, I will be providing gentle, yet firm feedback that I would appreciate them listening my requests in future visits.
If that next step works, great! If not, I can look to vacation elsewhere if I feel like it. I'm not married to Disney and they aren't married to me, so I have no fantasies about changing their attitude with a single letter and a call to a couple of levels of management.

 

[snappy]

For what it’s worth, (I posted about it earlier in this thread) the suggestion given to me over the phone by a DVC member representative in response to my email back in March was to make an in person discussion happen with a resort manager and a housekeeping manager rather than a phone call in order to make needs known regarding timing of room checks. The DVC rep suggested I write down the names of the managers and follow up to make them accountable if it was necessary. Like you I won’t intentionally yell at any low level CM, although if I am surprised again when a housekeeper enters without my knowledge like what happened back in February at BWV, I will likely emit an involuntary scream. It happens. But the “security” latch will be on so likely/hopefully it won’t happen anyway.

 

[Ninja Mom]

You're stating a lot of opinion there, and backing it up with some selective data, but that data does not line up with the reality of Disney.
Last year, they had their highest ticket prices in history, they also had their highest attendance in history, and made the most money they ever have in history. They are not raising prices for the fun of it, or to trick people for short term profit. They raised prices because people essentially demanded it in order to potentially reduce park attendance.
Do their hotels make money? Sure. But I can almost promise you that they are not nearly as profitable as the parks are. Lots more people can fit in the parks at the same cost per person. If hotels were so important to their business model, they wouldn't have opened up home resort benefits to the Disney Springs resorts.

In no way am I cheering for Disney to squeeze any of us harder than they are, but there's really nothing that some silly poll involving 20 people can or will do about it. If 100x that many people refuse to return to Disney due to room checks or some other gripes, they will be easily replaced by 2000 other people who go there, love it, and become lifelong fans. The Disney name is famous for being safe and friendly across the world, they are not going to risk their safety piece because a few people don't want them coming into their rooms, they would rather you just stay away.

We each seem to have our own opinions, backed up by selective data. Whether that lines up with the reality of Disney is also open to debate. One opinion is not more correct or valuable than another opinion. They are merely opinions.

They raised prices because people essentially demanded it in order to potentially reduce park attendance.

I am of the opinion that I doubt that "people" demanded that they raise prices. Especially park guests. Bob Iger floated that lie out there to see if anyone would fall for it. All that Disney has to do to reduce park overcrowding/attendance is to have phased closings like they sometimes do for New Year's Eve and Christmas Day.

~NM

 

[Ben E N]

We each seem to have our own opinions, backed up by selective data. Whether that lines up with the reality of Disney is also open to debate. One opinion is not more correct or valuable than another opinion. They are merely opinions.

Well, the data I am looking at is actual park numbers, not anecdotal responses from individuals. I am sure Disney cares about each individual to some degree, but when there are tens of millions of people visiting their parks every year, they have to look at the larger picture. Here is a recent report about their attendance numbers, compared to Universal's.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/05/19/disney-worlds-top-rival-is-losing-momentum.aspx

Here is the most significant paragraph taken from it, posted on May 19th.

"There's a disruption in the narrative of the theme park war that's been brewing for decades in Central Florida. Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Universal Orlando had been gaining ground on Disney (NYSEIS) in Florida, closing the attendance gap every year since the game-changing debut of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010.

Comcast's streak came to an end in 2017. Neither company releases annual attendance data across its parks, but industry watcher Themed Entertainment Association does. Its annual global attendance report was released on Thursday, and it shows that Universal Orlando grew its turnstile clicks by just 2% to 19.747 million last year. Combined attendance at Disney World's four theme parks rose 4% to hit 55.872 million visitors."

So with all the 'terrible' things Disney is doing, attendance grew there at double the rate of Universal.
I'm not cheering for these changes to take place - I dislike them just as much as the next person. I am just trying to be practical in my approach to them. We all have the choice to stop going to Disney, but the threat of our doing so means not to much to them when they took in 2.25 million new visitors last year alone.

 

[darrengs]

If cutting down on park attendance is truly the goal. Then why build more hotels, why penalize those who want to have a car to travel offsite? Sorry, not buying it.

 

[Ben E N]

If cutting down on park attendance is truly the goal. Then why build more hotels, why penalize those who want to have a car to travel offsite? Sorry, not buying it.

There are just over 35000 on site hotel rooms. 55 million people visited their parks last year. One variable barely has any impact on the other. It's all about making more money in both divisions.

 

[snappy]

Duplicate post

 

[snappy]

We each seem to have our own opinions, backed up by selective data. Whether that lines up with the reality of Disney is also open to debate. One opinion is not more correct or valuable than another opinion. They are merely opinions.


I am of the opinion that I doubt that "people" demanded that they raise prices. Especially park guests. Bob Iger floated that lie out there to see if anyone would fall for it. All that Disney has to do to reduce park overcrowding/attendance is to have phased closings like they sometimes do for New Year's Eve and Christmas Day.

~NM

Good point!

There may be some visitors that would pay inflated Park prices simply to reduce attendance, I personally never met them. Disney has both drastically raised park entry prices and reduced staff, park hours and ride capacity. I’ll be willing to bet those guests “demanding” higher park entry costs are none too thrilled to pay more to ride for fewer hours and longer lines.

 

[Ben E N]

Good point!

There may be some visitors that would pay inflated Park prices simply to reduce attendance, I personably never met them. Disney has both drastically raising park entry prices and reduced staff, park hours and ride capacity . I’ll be willing to bet those guests “demanding” higher park entry costs are none too thrilled to pay more to ride for fewer hours and longer lines.

I really doubt there are tons of people who went to Disney and demanded that they charge more money to keep others out, but you see it being done in many places across the country and world, with positive feedback. Lifetime Fitness is one place that comes to my mind - much more expensive than comparable gyms, yet people love going there because it is not too crowded compared to those gyms, and they can get on the equipment they want.
I'm not trying to say that Disney is making all the best moves for you or I or anyone else, just that they sure as heck know what they are doing at the moment. Their parks and resorts division brought in something silly like $2billion last year, $500 million ahead of projected profits. (Sorry if those numbers are way off. I am posting them from memory and will check them later.)
I'm sure Disney did multiple analytical simulations of what would happen if they implemented this room check policy, anticipated that thousands would leave based on it, and realized that that would be the best outcome compared to other possibilities. The point I am trying to make in responding to this thread is to let you know that people threatening to leave have already been written off, and that they are only wasting their breath.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Well, the data I am looking at is actual park numbers, not anecdotal responses from individuals.

We each seem to have our own opinions, backed up by selective data. Whether that lines up with the reality of Disney is also open to debate. One opinion is not more correct or valuable than another opinion. They are merely opinions.

~NM

 

[snappy]

I'm sure Disney did multiple analytical simulations of what would happen if they implemented this room check policy, anticipated that thousands would leave based on it, and realized that that would be the best outcome compared to other possibilities. The point I am trying to make in responding to this thread is to let you know that people threatening to leave have already been written off, and that they are only wasting their breath.

I am not convinced as you are that Disney did multiple analytical simulations of this. As to your point about people wasting their breath, It’s a discussion board, to each his own.

 

[Ben E N]

We each seem to have our own opinions, backed up by selective data. Whether that lines up with the reality of Disney is also open to debate. One opinion is not more correct or valuable than another opinion. They are merely opinions.

~NM

And that sort of approach to data is why we have flat earthers. Not at all saying that the comparison between the two of our viewpoints is at all comparable to that, just that that approach to viewing data can be quite dangerous.

 

[Ben E N]

I am not convinced as you are that Disney did multiple analytical simulations of this. As to your point about people wasting their breath, It’s a discussion board, to each his own.

I think you misread me again. The threats to leave is a waste of breath. These responses are perfectly legitimate and the conversation should be had. Like I pointed out earlier, I loved your approach to this situation and look forward to trying it out myself. Without this discussion, that would not have been brought to my attention.

 

[snappy]

I think you misread me again. The threats to leave is a waste of breath. These responses are perfectly legitimate and the conversation should be had.

Included in the perfectly legit responses to this thread are threats to leave. Why describe them as a waste of breath?