Aulani Chair Shortage Solved

[Noah_t]

Cmon its Aulani. I dont know why you people dont want to hang out with my five and six year old children. I find their constant screaming, splashing, running, and general psychic assaults to be etremely amusing and cute.

 

[jodybird511]

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.

I agree 100%. I, in general, find it irritating when people believe that rules don't apply to them.

 

[stephk1981]

D

 

[Noah_t]

D

I agree.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

theres a lot of different opinions on what is and isn’t acceptable. what rules people will or won’t follow, etc. its part of what makes “fixing” things like this so difficult. throw in multiple languages, and differences in values/ways of thinking prevalent in different generations and economic backgrounds...and its not too hard to see why a lot of resorts aren’t too active in enforcing rules (but aren’t shy about posting them...probably to mitigate legal liability)

theres other factors more specific to hawaii that likely contribute to how much/little staff will get involved beyond what they have to.

 

[Noah_t]

theres a lot of different opinions on what is and isn’t acceptable. what rules people will or won’t follow, etc. its part of what makes “fixing” things like this so difficult. throw in multiple languages, and differences in values/ways of thinking prevalent in different generations and economic backgrounds...and its not too hard to see why a lot of resorts aren’t too active in enforcing rules (but aren’t shy about posting them...probably to mitigate legal liability)

theres other factors more specific to hawaii that likely contribute to how much/little staff will get involved beyond what they have to.

I was thinking about the different cultures and am curious if this happens around the world. The sense of entitlement that we are so important that our belongings should supercede other human beings who actually want to use the space. Is it a North American thing that we are not used to sharing space that makes us so notoriously rude at theme parks and other public venues? I would love to hear peoples experience in other places especially in some of the Asian resorts where they might be used to much larger crowds.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

resorts in other countries or even just other resorts in hawaii don't have this issue to quite the same extent (primarily because most resorts tend to follow predictable usage models...so that most of the time there isn't a shortage at all, but there can/will always be unpredictable spikes where there is a chair shortage)

oh and Chinese tourists have long since surpassed US tourists as being the most hated...tho being either #2 on that kinda list is still really bad.

 

[Lilsia]

It happens everywhere. This video is crazy.

 

[Noah_t]

It happens everywhere. This video is crazy.

My takeaway from that video is I am really glad Hawaii is not a favored destination of those cold sun starved brits.

 

[cheryl.UK]

It's not just the Brits! It's europeans in general. The Brits usually blame the Germans

 

[nkereina]

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.

I hear you, but what if the people who’s towel you move are just taking a quick dip? With just DH and I when we travel, we like to lay out in the sun and then go in the pool for 15-20 minutes to cool off periodically. Then we get out and lay back down. We do this on and off all day long, and I can’t imagine we are the only ones. This is why I think the one hour rule Aulani has is pretty fair. If you’re in the pool or away from your chair an hour or longer, it’s clear your priority is elsewhere so free up the chair. But people still need leeway to use the pool, restroom, or grab a quick lunch without losing the spot they are truly using.

I think the current system Aulani uses is to fold the towel in the chair after a CM realizes it’s been vacant for a while, and then they eventually remove if it’s not touched. I’m not sure how a CM can keep track without more time than hour elapsing. I’m wondering if they put stickers or tags on the chair with the time they noticed it vacant, perhaps that would be more efficient for enforcing the hour. I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s apparently not a huge priority for Aulani, or any cruise ship or resort for that matter.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I hear you, but what if the people who’s towel you move are just taking a quick dip? With just DH and I when we travel, we like to lay out in the sun and then go in the pool for 15-20 minutes to cool off periodically. Then we get out and lay back down. We do this on and off all day long, and I can’t imagine we are the only ones. This is why I think the one hour rule Aulani has is pretty fair. If you’re in the pool or away from your chair an hour or longer, it’s clear your priority is elsewhere so free up the chair. But people still need leeway to use the pool, restroom, or grab a quick lunch without losing the spot they are truly using.

I think the current system Aulani uses is to fold the towel in the chair after a CM realizes it’s been vacant for a while, and then they eventually remove if it’s not touched. I’m not sure how a CM can keep track without more time than hour elapsing. I’m wondering if they put stickers or tags on the chair with the time they noticed it vacant, perhaps that would be more efficient for enforcing the hour. I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s apparently not a huge priority for Aulani, or any cruise ship or resort for that matter.

As I said, if the person who “reserved” the chair comes back and wants it, I get up. It’s only happen to me a couple of times though.

 

[nkereina]

As I said, if the person who “reserved” the chair comes back and wants it, I get up. It’s only happen to me a couple of times though.

Everyone is different, but I know if I did that, I wouldn't be able to relax and I'd be waiting for potentially upset people to eventually return and demand their chair back. I'd then be displaced and without a chair again. And from the other perspective, if someone boldly took my chair while I was getting a drink, using the restroom, or jumping in the pool to cool off, I would be a little peeved. The strategy invites confrontation, IMO.

I think the best course of action would be to ask a CM if there's an area they have been monitoring where it seems as if the towels were left behind or ones where the chair holders haven't been in a while. I don't think its fair that people reserve a chair at 7am and come back at 1pm so I definitely don't condone that, but I also would not want to take a chair from someone who is genuinely using it.

 

[Lilsia]

Everyone is different, but I know if I did that, I wouldn't be able to relax and I'd be waiting for potentially upset people to eventually return and demand their chair back. I'd then be displaced and without a chair again. And from the other perspective, if someone boldly took my chair while I was getting a drink, using the restroom, or jumping in the pool to cool off, I would be a little peeved. The strategy invites confrontation, IMO.

I think the best course of action would be to ask a CM if there's an area they have been monitoring where it seems as if the towels were left behind or ones where the chair holders haven't been in a while. I don't think its fair that people reserve a chair at 7am and come back at 1pm so I definitely don't condone that, but I also would not want to take a chair from someone who is genuinely using it.

To be fair, Eeyoreandtink said that they do that with chairs with towels on them, not personal effects. There are so many people that leave for the day and do not take their towels with them that it is hard to know if a person is coming back or not. 99% of people leave some kind of personal item, like shoes, on or by their chairs. I say that any chair with used towels on them are fair game. With a shortage of chairs, it is a waste to just leave these chairs empty when chances are the person has left. That is probably why they have only encountered a person coming back a couple of times. I have sat in a chair where the pool staff has just taken the towels off and said that I could have the chair and the person came back. That is NOT my fault that they were gone so long that the staff turned over the chair. Sending someone down early morning to "reserve" your chairs for hours later in the day is beyond rude.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

To be fair, Eeyoreandtink said that they do that with chairs with towels on them, not personal effects. There are so many people that leave for the day and do not take their towels with them that it is hard to know if a person is coming back or not. 99% of people leave some kind of personal item, like shoes, on or by their chairs. I say that any chair with used towels on them are fair game. With a shortage of chairs, it is a waste to just leave these chairs empty when chances are the person has left. That is probably why they have only encountered a person coming back a couple of times. I have sat in a chair where the pool staff has just taken the towels off and said that I could have the chair and the person came back. That is NOT my fault that they were gone so long that the staff turned over the chair. Sending someone down early morning to "reserve" your chairs for hours later in the day is beyond rude.

This exactly. Chairs with just a towel have almost always been “reserved” by someone not actually at the pool. People actually there have shoes, a magazine, book, ect

 

[nkereina]

To be fair, Eeyoreandtink said that they do that with chairs with towels on them, not personal effects. There are so many people that leave for the day and do not take their towels with them that it is hard to know if a person is coming back or not. 99% of people leave some kind of personal item, like shoes, on or by their chairs. I say that any chair with used towels on them are fair game. With a shortage of chairs, it is a waste to just leave these chairs empty when chances are the person has left. That is probably why they have only encountered a person coming back a couple of times. I have sat in a chair where the pool staff has just taken the towels off and said that I could have the chair and the person came back. That is NOT my fault that they were gone so long that the staff turned over the chair. Sending someone down early morning to "reserve" your chairs for hours later in the day is beyond rude.

This exactly. Chairs with just a towel have almost always been “reserved” by someone not actually at the pool. People actually there have shoes, a magazine, book, ect

I hear you both, I'm just saying in general there has to be a middle ground which is why policing this issue can be so complicated. In my own experience, as just two adults, there have been times when we only have our towels at the chairs. We typically wear our flip flops over to the pool entrance if we are going in for a few minutes. So we may be in the minority, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. My only point is to say how difficult it can be to pinpoint whether the chair is abandoned, while not ticking people off at the same time, so following Aulani's one hour protocol seems to be the best bet.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I hear you both, I'm just saying in general there has to be a middle ground which is why policing this issue can be so complicated. In my own experience, as just two adults, there have been times when we only have our towels at the chairs. We typically wear our flip flops over to the pool entrance if we are going in for a few minutes. So we may be in the minority, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. My only point is to say how difficult it can be to pinpoint whether the chair is abandoned, while not ticking people off at the same time, so following Aulani's one hour protocol seems to be the best bet.

when they follow protocol it works. I have found that protocols like this are very seldom enforced, because its difficult for the staff to determine exactly how long every chair has been unoccupied. They have other duties to perform and this takes a back burner. As I said before, if someone in your situation showed up and wanted their chair I would simply move. Its really not a huge deal.

 

[nkereina]

when they follow protocol it works. I have found that protocols like this are very seldom enforced, because its difficult for the staff to determine exactly how long every chair has been unoccupied. They have other duties to perform and this takes a back burner. As I said before, if someone in your situation showed up and wanted their chair I would simply move. Its really not a huge deal.

I definitely agree that the protocol is not the end all be all solution. I said up-thread that I have no idea how they logistically monitor chairs that all look alike, and I assume that in most instances, its been much longer than an hour when they finally do something about it. Its definitely a low priority, which is why so many people seek out cabanas, casabellas, etc. That's best case scenario for the resort.

As I said before, my points in disagreement of your strategy was just to say that it could invite confrontation if you swipe the chair of the wrong person. Just offering a different perspective for others' who will eventually encounter the pool chair situation.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

if they enforce a policy too rigidly to people who have paid (a lot) to relax on vacation, they risk the massive negative pr from a vlogger, influencer, etc. giving them a negative review, or simply "ruining" someones vacation by causing them frustration, etc. worst case...a fight could break out and given how many other people would likely be nearby...quite a few others could be injured (and most everyone else would find it much harder to relax).

theres also something to be said of rules and behaviors that work at a community pool (where you will likely have to see people multiple times for a very long time) vs a pool at a hotel in hawaii (or similar location) where a lot of people may only go there once, or once a year (i.e. very very low odds you ever see someone again).

not sure how many people are like that person who recorded the video posted above...but that seems like an awfully slow "stampede" and a fairly low bar for a ruined vacation...was expecting more of a black friday type rush given the title.

 

[Noah_t]

if they enforce a policy too rigidly to people who have paid (a lot) to relax on vacation, they risk the massive negative pr from a vlogger, influencer, etc. giving them a negative review, or simply "ruining" someones vacation by causing them frustration, etc. worst case...a fight could break out and given how many other people would likely be nearby...quite a few others could be injured (and most everyone else would find it much harder to relax).

theres also something to be said of rules and behaviors that work at a community pool (where you will likely have to see people multiple times for a very long time) vs a pool at a hotel in hawaii (or similar location) where a lot of people may only go there once, or once a year (i.e. very very low odds you ever see someone again).

not sure how many people are like that person who recorded the video posted above...but that seems like an awfully slow "stampede" and a fairly low bar for a ruined vacation...was expecting more of a black friday type rush given the title.

I would argue that if they dont enforce the policy and we can never find a chair they risk massive negative PR. If I am paying Aulani money I require the occasional use of a sun lounger by the pool or else I am most definitely spending my money elsewhere.