Aulani Chair Shortage Solved

[Noah_t]

What's really annoying is I believe there really is not a shortage of chairs at Aulani. The problem is the whole saving chair phenomenon that has developed. Theres way too many underutilized chairs right now. I feel like this would be easily solved by making two changes.

1. They need some storage lockers for storing personal items near the pool. They could be accessed using the room key. This would negate the need to put your stuff somewhere while swimming. You could climb out retrieve your personal items and choose a chair if you desire.

2. NO MORE SAVING CHAIRS!! If there's no one sitting in it it's free to use.

Thoughts?

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

somewhat problematic...room key controlled lockers would require that they dig up the ground again to run the wiring, and it would probably be the thing that breaks and requires refurbs most often.

of course it would also require space...so a fair number of chairs would have to go as well. a lot of chairs serve as holding spots for entire families and hold a lot of stuff (probably needing multiple lockers to replace a single chair in several cases).

then theres the storing of wet stuff that could potentially leak down from lockers on top to ones on the bottom, the probability that the lockers would run out and people would save seats anyway, and of course the “my key card stopped working”.

of course you also have the obligatory “my friend is sitting there they just went to the bathroom” bits...it tends to end badly too often when people try to do the “if no ones sitting there it’s mine” approach to seats.

they have cubbies near the slides...they aren’t very big, and quite often seemed to be less than half used. if they had 1 per hotel room...there might not be space for many seats, a lot wouldn’t be used and a lot would probably annoy people that they’re too small.

same arguments and such get made for seat saving at convention panels, saving spots in line, etc. even if it is a problem (and it probably is)...trying to stop it is going to cause a lot of other problems...bad ones...(well adding more seats is probably pretty safe in that regards...but theres only so much space a available.)

 

[nkereina]

What about when people leave their chairs to go in the pool/lazy river or to the restroom? Its just DH and I who travel together and we spend 90% of the time in the chairs that we have placed our stuff on. The remaining 10% of the time, we are either in the pool/lazy river or using the restroom. Would you really expect us to remove our stuff and place it in a locker while we go in the pool or to the restroom? That's not practical. I agree there are people who abuse the chairs by leaving their stuff there and disappearing for hours, but if you're going to make it so those people can't save their chairs, then it has to be enforced across the board. And unfortunately there are scenarios where it doesn't make sense.

Have you been on a cruise or stayed at any other resort, particularly in a tropical destination (i.e. all inclusive resorts)? The chair saving situation is par for the course at these kinds of places. People get up at the crack of dawn and claim a chair with a book or flip flop so they have a place to consider home base while they do whatever they want the rest of the day. Its not fair to others, but it is what it is. I haven't found a resort or cruise ship that even tries to enforce anything the way Aulani does. Also, this issue is why reserving of daybeds and cabanas have become more commonplace at different resorts - its the only way to ensure you have reserved seats where you can come and go at your leisure, and without getting up at daybreak to get it. And the resort makes money on it, which is preferable to them over potentially ticking guests off when they remove their stuff from a chair.

The lockers are a fair idea. If not room key enabled, maybe fingerprint enabled like what they have at Universal. Or even just cubbies - I have seen cubbies available at other resorts (and even my gym!) where people feel comfortable leaving things like towels and cover-ups while they enjoy the lazy river or pool. Of course, it wouldn't be good to leave phones or other valuables in something like that.

 

[Noah_t]

What about when people leave their chairs to go in the pool/lazy river or to the restroom? Its just DH and I who travel together and we spend 90% of the time in the chairs that we have placed our stuff on. The remaining 10% of the time, we are either in the pool/lazy river or using the restroom. Would you really expect us to remove our stuff and place it in a locker while we go in the pool or to the restroom? That's not practical. I agree there are people who abuse the chairs by leaving their stuff there and disappearing for hours, but if you're going to make it so those people can't save their chairs, then it has to be enforced across the board. And unfortunately there are scenarios where it doesn't make sense.

Have you been on a cruise or stayed at any other resort, particularly in a tropical destination (i.e. all inclusive resorts)? The chair saving situation is par for the course at these kinds of places. People get up at the crack of dawn and claim a chair with a book or flip flop so they have a place to consider home base while they do whatever they want the rest of the day. Its not fair to others, but it is what it is. I haven't found a resort or cruise ship that even tries to enforce anything the way Aulani does. Also, this issue is why reserving of daybeds and cabanas have become more commonplace at different resorts - its the only way to ensure you have reserved seats where you can come and go at your leisure, and without getting up at daybreak to get it. And the resort makes money on it, which is preferable to them over potentially ticking guests off when they remove their stuff from a chair.

The lockers are a fair idea. If not room key enabled, maybe fingerprint enabled like what they have at Universal. Or even just cubbies - I have seen cubbies available at other resorts (and even my gym!) where people feel comfortable leaving things like towels and cover-ups while they enjoy the lazy river or pool. Of course, it wouldn't be good to leave phones or other valuables in something like that.

I hear you that its a tricky thing to remove guests items without really annoying people but condoning the behaviour of people who "reserve" chairs by leaving personal items on them all day is more frustrating. I have seen one person reserving 8 chairs and i am not exagerating here when i say they were being used at the most 20% of the time. The fact that Aulani is actively looking to curb this behavious is one large reason I am willing to spend so much more money and keep visiting Hawaii than to keep frequenting the all inclusives in Mexico.

Our families behavoiur is the exact opposite of yours it sounds like. We spend 80% of the time in the pools compared to 20% sitting in the chairs. So maybe we need to start looking more closely at the demographics and how they utilize the pool chairs. Maybe we could have sections especially around the family/childrens pools where the no reserving chairs is the rule/custom. I refuse to believe we should continue to condone this behaviour so much that it becomes custom.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I was at a resort in Las Vegas years ago and if a chair was unattended for a long time, staff took personal items to the towel booth/hut for when the guests returned. I don't know how they kept track of how long someone was gone but I imagine there's a way if it's an issue the staff/cast members are willing to address.

 

[nkereina]

I hear you that its a tricky thing to remove guests items without really annoying people but condoning the behaviour of people who "reserve" chairs by leaving personal items on them all day is more frustrating. I have seen one person reserving 8 chairs and i am not exagerating here when i say they were being used at the most 20% of the time. The fact that Aulani is actively looking to curb this behavious is one large reason I am willing to spend so much more money and keep visiting Hawaii than to keep frequenting the all inclusives in Mexico.

Our families behavoiur is the exact opposite of yours it sounds like. We spend 80% of the time in the pools compared to 20% sitting in the chairs. So maybe we need to start looking more closely at the demographics and how they utilize the pool chairs. Maybe we could have sections especially around the family/childrens pools where the no reserving chairs is the rule/custom. I refuse to believe we should continue to condone this behaviour so much that it becomes custom.

I'm definitely not saying I condone the behavior, just that its standard in the industry and that there's not a plausible way to police it without ticking off either the offender or the offended. Resorts' solutions are to offer more reserved chair/daybed/cabana options, which is a benefit to them because it gets people spending more money at their resort. I think Aulani is doing the best they can with what they have in a "fair" manner, but there's not a fool-proof solution. At least not one that I have seen or have thought of.

Another factor at play, at least with Aulani, is that its been said Aulani underestimated the amount of people who would visit the resort and stay there for their whole trip. In other words, models during the design process assumed people would be out exploring the island more than they actually are in practice. This means there are more people enjoying the pools than was originally projected, which means there's not enough chairs to accommodate this. This is why the pool chair situation is particularly noteworthy at Aulani, why Aunty's fills so quickly, etc etc. But regardless of this, the chair saving situation is the same across all cruise ships and all inclusive resorts, where they maybe have projected correctly.

I was at a resort in Las Vegas years ago and if a chair was unattended for a long time, staff took personal items to the towel booth/hut for when the guests returned. I don't know how they kept track of how long someone was gone but I imagine there's a way if it's an issue the staff/cast members are willing to address.

They have a similar process already in place at Aulani. They folder a person's towel on the back of their chair and if they do not return within an hour (I think), they remove any personal effects and open up the chair.

 

[vikequeen]

When we were last there, a section of prime seats around the pool had been "reserved" with towels by someone early am. We had a cabana and saw that no one was ever there. Eventually cast came and cleared the stuff and gave the seats away. Around 11 the family showed up and pitched a fit that their seats were gone. A major fit. And cast was trying to find them a place to sit that didn't exist. I have also heard that Disney underestimate the extent to which people wouldn't leave, and therefore created a lack of seating. I think the cast members are doing the best they can in a tough situation. I feel sorry for them.

 

[longboard55]

Three issues.
people lay out towels and go to brunch and show up 3 hours later
people leave and do not put away their towels
families reserve 6 chairs when they never have more than 2 in them.

All you need to do is have cast members assigned to an area to watch over and enforce the 1 hour rule. Seems like every great pool has this issue. Bars have no problem with the issue, look what they do. No on is going to get away with holding 4 empty chairs at a bar for two hours

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

bars have a huge advantage over hotels in regards to chair/spot saving...people go there to get drunk...not relax, and not with kids. different expectations when people go to a bar vs. a pool at a hotel they're staying at...makes it a bit unfair to compare. also...if your staying at a bar all day long...I think most states have laws about having to stop serving someone who's drunk.

aulani does have cast members assigned to enforce the 1 hour rule, and its probably one of the worst positions you can have at aulani...you have to deal with people upset that there aren't any chairs at mid day, and people upset that their stuff got cleared when they got up extra early to get a spot.

both have valid arguments...either I got up earlier than you, if you really wanted this chair you would have gotten up earlier than me...vs. you aren't using it right now, if you wanted it you would be sitting in it right now. theres also probably a much larger number of people who are in the "just need a spot to keep our families stuff".

under normal circumstances you can find a chair at aulani with no more than 5-8 minutes of looking...possibly not in the area you wanted, but at any given point there are likely quite a few chairs open. finding multiple chairs together or in a specific area...not so easy except early in the morning. with the renovations going on it seems like the first half resulted in it being very easy to find chairs all day long (lazy river seems to be far more popular than the main pool). so the argument that people are using the pools a lot more than expected is likely to be 100% true (just primarily for the lazy river, and possibly tube slide). weird as it may sound...but they made aulani too good for the limited space/cost of space in hawaii...and vastly underestimated how many local families would flood into it over the weekends.

 

[nkereina]

Bars have no problem with the issue, look what they do. No on is going to get away with holding 4 empty chairs at a bar for two hours

Apples and oranges. Seats at a bar are for paying customers, and a bartender would take issue with turning customers away because someone is holding a chair or not eating/drinking. Pool chairs are quite different - all guests have already paid for their room, so everyone is on an equal playing field.

 

[Pooh2]

We spent most of our time floating in the cove or pools so we placed our towels and stuff on a little wall.

When we wanted to eat lunch, 100 percent of the chairs had white towels on them, most did not have bodies in the chairs mid-afternoon.
We moved the towels aside and used the chair for about 30 minutes, never saw anyone come near the area.
If the cast members even somewhat enforced the "one hour of vacancy, move the towels" rule, this would not be an issue.
People seem to be pretty lazy about properly disposing of their used towels in the bins.

 

[nkereina]

If the cast members even somewhat enforced the "one hour of vacancy, move the towels" rule, this would not be an issue.

They enforced it during our time there, but perhaps it varies by how busy they are. I'm sure policing the chairs/towels is low priority for the resort. And frankly, I wonder how they do keep track of which towel has been there for at least an hour. I bet in many cases they err on the side of caution and don't touch it for much longer than an hour.

 

[Lilsia]

This makes me glad that the next time we go to Aulani(next May) that my daughter will be 18 and we can snag some chairs at the adult pool. I usually wake up earlier then my daughter and go down with my Nook and coffee and relax at the adult area. Many times there were children sitting in the area. I think that they need to monitor that better.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

not sure if the chairs around the adult pools are also meant to be adult only (chairs around keiki cove and menehune bridge aren't kid only...tho that would be rather silly and probably very dangerous)

hopefully when the menehune bridge reopens (or at worst when the refurbs are done). the chair situation improves back to where it used to be...although I had hoped the refurbs would have maybe swapped out some of the chairs for shorter ones so that there could be a few more chairs overall.

the towels are done by taking a towel from the chair and placing it folded a specific way over the headrest area of the chair when a member of staff comes around and sees unattended chairs. if after an hour that towel has not been removed from the headrest...chair is cleared. a lot of times they don't come around to check on chairs often...so you could be just fine leaving a chair for 2 hours...but with this current phase of refurbs...seems like they come by every 10-15 minutes if not more often (they may have also shortened how long it is before a chair gets cleared if a towel is on the headrest)

if theres a lot of open chairs...they seem like they don't really bother to check them at all (not much point in doing so)...so during the first part of the refurbs it may have been possible to leave your stuff for 3-4 hours without it being cleared (or anyone else caring). also seems like some areas are checked far more often than others...keiki cove seems like its almost never checked compared to right in front of the lazy river.

 

[corgi_monster]

Aulani should just tie-strap a 1-hour kitchen timer to all the chairs and call it a day

 

[jodybird511]

not sure if the chairs around the adult pools are also meant to be adult only (chairs around keiki cove and menehune bridge aren't kid only...tho that would be rather silly and probably very dangerous)

The chair at the adult pools are actually designated for adults only--there is a sign as you enter the area, stating you must be 18 to use the area. That being, said, I have seen children in the area before, which, tbh, I found kind of annoying, even being a parent myself.

 

[Beer Me]

Haven’t been to aulani yet but lots of resorts have this problem. My opinion is that a towel isn’t enough to reserve a chair. This is what creates the shortage and I don’t see any good reason to honor this system.

If any personal item is there, bag, flip flops, hat etc someone is actually there. I would never touch anyone else’s things. If the only thing there is a towel it’s fair game. I’ll remove the towel and take the chair.

If there is truly not enough chairs for guests currently using the pool, beach, etc that’s the resort’s fault but I’ve rarely encountered this problem.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I live diving distance to the beach, and we are members of a community pool. This drives me INSANE. If you aren't using the chair. I WILL move your towel and sit down, period. That is the way most locals feel about it. I do the same on cruises ect. If the person who left the towel shows up wantnig the chair, I will move but I have only ever had tht happen once or twice. Most of time people send a family member out at 7 am to "reserve" chairs with a white pool towel and they might use them an hour or 2. They put the towel back "just in case" they might want them later.

 

[kateandy08096]

This makes me glad that the next time we go to Aulani(next May) that my daughter will be 18 and we can snag some chairs at the adult pool. I usually wake up earlier then my daughter and go down with my Nook and coffee and relax at the adult area. Many times there were children sitting in the area. I think that they need to monitor that better.

Whats the point of an adult area if children are in it? I have no issues asking a cast member to handle it as I believe adult only areas are for adults not kids.

 

[Lilsia]

Whats the point of an adult area if children are in it? I have no issues asking a cast member to handle it as I believe adult only areas are for adults not kids.

Yeah, I agree. We did see some cast members saying something to the parents and some cast members just walked by. I also think that it is horrible that these parents don't feel like the rules apply to them. When we were on the Disney Fantasy, cast members kept coming up to my daughter and asking if she was old enough. My oldest daughter was 18 but looks younger because she is petite. But they seem to enforce it better on the ships.