Has anyone had house keeping unlock their Dead Bolt to check the room to be cleaned while you were still in it?

[Judique]

In most modern hotel rooms, the deadbolt engages automatically and you turning the latch does absolutely nothing. The card key will open the door regardless of deadbolt engagement. There is no special “override.”

The door on the Poly rooms is not a modern hotel room door.

It's the same old door I've been seeing for many years with the electronic lock added to it. It's got the flip lock at the top (the old fashioned kind with the loop) and the manual dead bolt. I just left the Poly yesterday morning.

The inside door handle releases the dead bolt from the inside. You do not have to turn the deadbolt to release it once you have locked it, just turn the door handle.

So now I'm curious if indeed the key card will unlock the dead bolt.

The flip lock at the top is probably your best security from employees trying to access the room for cleaning before you leave. That does require a tool to manually unhook it, and hopefully management's help or knowledge at least.

 

[Sandisw]

When we stayed at BRVs in January, I always kept the Do Not Disturb sign on our door, whether inside or if we left for park/dinner, etc.

Each day, someone from Housekeeping would call my cell and ask if it was okay to go in the room. When I said I was out, they asked what a good time for them would be to come back.

This happened every single day and by Thursday, I just took the sign off when we went out so I wouldn't get any more calls and they just came in when we were out.

The signs are no longer do not disturb but room occupied which allows them to knock on the door. Do not disturb signs did not.

If the room occupied sign is there, and they knock and no one answers, they usually go away and come back when it is not on.

We never put it on anymore and just use the one latch when we are there to prevent the door from actually opening.

This way, when we are out, we don’t have to remember to remove the sign and they can enter and empty the trash.

 

[suemom2kay]

When you turn the dead bolt while looking in between the door and the door jam you can see the bolt engage the door jam. This is how I knew the bolt was locked the night before.
There is a physical key that was used to unlock the dead bolt. The key over rides the door lock and the dead bolt.

Gotcha. Most modern hotels I can see it just by closing the door. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Disney isn’t there yet.

 

[RoseGold]

I had a triple split stay in January for the marathon and on checkout day, housekeeping entered hours early at all three. I plan to make my own sign next time.

Back in the day, I used to have a doorstop alarm for sketchier hotels. This might be when to bring it back.

 

[71 Truck]

I had a triple split stay in January for the marathon and on checkout day, housekeeping entered hours early at all three. I plan to make my own sign next time.

Back in the day, I used to have a doorstop alarm for sketchier hotels. This might be when to bring it back.

Did you have your deadbolt on and if so did they bypass it?

 

[Ensusieasm]

I thought a guest’s key card or magic band would not open the door if the dead bolt is set? If you leave the room but someone stays in the room and sets the deadbolt, don’t you then have to knock and have them open the door for you when you return? Housekeeping should have an extra step to get past that deadbolt.

 

[RoseGold]

Did you have your deadbolt on and if so did they bypass it?

Yes, it was bypassed. Never seen that in any other hotel you know, until actual check out time. I don’t answer it anymore and they entered every time.

 

[71 Truck]

I thought a guest’s key card or magic band would not open the door if the dead bolt is set? If you leave the room but someone stays in the room and sets the deadbolt, don’t you then have to knock and have them open the door for you when you return? Housekeeping should have an extra step to get past that deadbolt.

This is the way it had been for years as far as I can remember. If the dead bolt was on Management had to get a special key to open the door. This meant using a regular key in the key cylinder/dead bolt on the outside of the door.

 

[71 Truck]

Yes, it was bypassed. Never seen that in any other hotel you know, until actual check out time. I don’t answer it anymore and they entered every time.

If this is the case I will be questioning it with a front desk Manager next time I visit Disney World when checking in. I will also ask why housekeeping is beating on doors as early as 9am, not everyone is up at the crack of dawn to get to the park's first thing in the morning .
At one time housekeeping would place their key card on the lock to open it just like the guest do. If they get a red light this was to mean the dead bolt was on and they were suppose to move to another room to start cleaning. It is almost as if to me they are trying to embarrass you into leaving your room so they could clean it if they are bypassing the deadbolt.


I am not 100% on this however
As I understood it years ago a housekeeper was paid to clean so many rooms a shift. If they finished early they could either leave and be paid for their full shift or they could stay and help get other rooms clean. If they decided to stay they would be paid extra. If this is being done so they can leave early or stay and help to make extra money this is wrong.
If check out is 11am most of the time unless my wife and I have an early breakfast we stay till just before 11 then go to the front desk to check out.

 

[NJMomto2]

This happened to me at AKL DVC. I was sick in the bed and could not walk to the door of the 1 bedroom but my daughter was 7 alone in living room. She was terrified when they used a tool to open the deadbolt.

 

[sethschroeder]

This all needs to stop that this point.

Its crazy we need daily checks on most individuals who have dropped 6 figures on Disney over time. Normal hotel? Sure go ahead but for DVC it needs to be different.

It does nothing for guest safety.

The larger issue is theft from hotel rooms which regularly seems to happen at Disney. They just had yet another sting on housekeeping in the past couple months if I remember right.

And no this is not a normal process all hotels do. I put a DND on the door elsewhere and thats what occurs DND for the length of a whole stay not even just 1 day which Disney won't even let you get by with.

 

[Royal Consort]

This all needs to stop that this point.

Its crazy we need daily checks on most individuals who have dropped 6 figures on Disney over time. Normal hotel? Sure go ahead but for DVC it needs to be different.

It does nothing for guest safety.

The larger issue is theft from hotel rooms which regularly seems to happen at Disney. They just had yet another sting on housekeeping in the past couple months if I remember right.

And no this is not a normal process all hotels do. I put a DND on the door elsewhere and thats what occurs DND for the length of a whole stay not even just 1 day which Disney won't even let you get by with.

Agreed. We are staying at Aulani ATM and had housekeeping walk right in during my husband's nap. They walked through the entirety of the 1 bedroom without any respect for privacy. No, "oh sorry we will come back later" just barged through. They were friendly enough but you're gonna probably want to keep your clothes on at all times in your room, even in the shower!

I think this is theatre. If someone is going to be packing dangerous weapons, are they going to leave them in visible places for housekeeping? I think they've probably seen more willies than anything gving new meaning to "DVC member".

 

[Huskerpaul]

This all needs to stop that this point.

Its crazy we need daily checks on most individuals who have dropped 6 figures on Disney over time. Normal hotel? Sure go ahead but for DVC it needs to be different.

It does nothing for guest safety.

The larger issue is theft from hotel rooms which regularly seems to happen at Disney. They just had yet another sting on housekeeping in the past couple months if I remember right.

And no this is not a normal process all hotels do. I put a DND on the door elsewhere and thats what occurs DND for the length of a whole stay not even just 1 day which Disney won't even let you get by with.

Sadly these "safety checks" are not about protecting guests. They are all about protecting shareholders from massive lawsuits if a similar event happens on Disney property. They should be called "CYA checks".

 

[Simba's Mom]

We had a strange situation this week when we were at OKW. We came back to our room in the afternoon. Just as we arrived, so was housekeeping, who asked us if we'd like a linen change and towels. "No, that's OK", since there were just two of us. Think that was the end? On, no! No more than two minutes later, a manager called DH, very accusingly, saying that we were scheduled for a full cleaning and asking why we declined it. He insisted that they at least had to come in and do a visual inspection, which was perfectly fine. No more than 5 minutes later, someone came by (not housekeeping), said not a word, came in, walked around the living room, and left. We felt more than a little mistrusted.

 

[sethschroeder]

We had a strange situation this week when we were at OKW. We came back to our room in the afternoon. Just as we arrived, so was housekeeping, who asked us if we'd like a linen change and towels. "No, that's OK", since there were just two of us. Think that was the end? On, no! No more than two minutes later, a manager called DH, very accusingly, saying that we were scheduled for a full cleaning and asking why we declined it. He insisted that they at least had to come in and do a visual inspection, which was perfectly fine. No more than 5 minutes later, someone came by (not housekeeping), said not a word, came in, walked around the living room, and left. We felt more than a little mistrusted.

Luckily we were in a 2br last time but kid had a 24hr stomach bug so they were sleeping. They wouldn't take no for an answer.

We also had to plan on them pushfully entering by putting the kid in our bedroom instead of in the main room where they were sleeping all week.

 

[bumbershoot]

This is something new?
My wife and I have stayed at Disney dozens of times since the shooting in Las Vegas and have never had a housekeeper try to enter our room while we were still in it with the deadbolt on.

The person said "They check each room daily." Not "they enter always when the deadbolt is on."

I like to bring posted notes and leave a message on the door if we are napping with the time we will be heading out for the evening, and on check out day I'll leave the time we are going to be leaving.

That just doesn't seem terribly safe.

I don’t answer it anymore and they entered every time.

Well yes, if you don't answer then they'll think it's OK to come in.

I will also ask why housekeeping is beating on doors as early as 9am, not everyone is up at the crack of dawn to get to the park's first thing in the morning .

My first stay at WDW, in 2010, they started knocking very early. This is not new.

If check out is 11am most of the time unless my wife and I have an early breakfast we stay till just before 11 then go to the front desk to check out.

That's you. It's not everyone. Plenty of people leave very early and don't tell anyone.

 

[RoseGold]

Sadly these "safety checks" are not about protecting guests. They are all about protecting shareholders from massive lawsuits if a similar event happens on Disney property. They should be called "CYA checks".

I’m checking out at 11. There is no need to enter my room at 9.

 

[71 Truck]

The person said "They check each room daily." Not "they enter always when the deadbolt is on."

But they did. weather it was housekeeping or a room check it was 9am some people are still asleep if they only want to do a room check I would think it could be a little later in the morning.

That just doesn't seem terribly safe.




Well yes, if you don't answer then they'll think it's OK to come in.

If the dead bolt is on then it is not ok to just come into the room. If a person is in the bathroom they can't answer the door. What if they just come in just as some one is walking out of the shower and might not be dressed.

My first stay at WDW, in 2010, they started knocking very early. This is not new.

My wife and I visit Disney several times a year and have been since 1990 so yes knocking on the door is not new, by passing the deadbolt appears to be something new. Once again it was 9am not 10:45 am.
I could understand a little more if it was 10:45 that they either wanted to clean the room or just do a room check but not 9am..

That's you. It's not everyone. Plenty of people leave very early and don't tell anyone.

Just because plenty of people leave early does not mean everyone dose. As I have said when the deadbolt is on the light on the door should flash red. That means the room is occupied. Housekeeping should not just bypass the deadbolt. As I said what if you are not in a position to answer the door before they decide to just enter.


On my next trip to Disney World I am going to have a conversation with the housekeeping manager and the front desk manager to find out what exactly is going on. If they claim to know nothing about the deadbolt being by passed so "housekeeping entering the room to clean" then I will be having a conversation with a security manager. If that goes nowhere then I will have a conversation with the resort general manager.

 

[Tbella]

This last March, I checked into the Boardwalk Villas alone as my husband was coming the next night. The next morning I went for a run and came back to find a cast member in front of my room blocking the entry way. I asked what was going but the man did not speak English well and I couldn't understand him. He wouldn't let me into my room and I heard several voices coming from my room. I took my phone and started filming this. He stuck his head into my room and said something to the group inside. Two women and one man came out of my room and just walked by me and didn't even stop to address the "what were you doing in my room" inquiries I was throwing at them. I stepped inside my room and immediately called the front desk, only to remember that the call is being routed to a central call center. I hung up and went to the front desk and asked for a manager. The front desk manager had no idea what was going on and said she would get back to me. I went back to my room and received a phone call from the house keeping manager. She told me that they were training new housekeeping cast members. I explained that I just checked in the day before and wasn't do for trash removal or any type of cleaning that day. She had no explanation for that. I explained that this made me very uncomfortable and less then safe. I didn't receive much of an explanation that made sense to me. This is the first time I felt unsafe at Disney in 37 years.

 

[71 Truck]

This last March, I checked into the Boardwalk Villas alone as my husband was coming the next night. The next morning I went for a run and came back to find a cast member in front of my room blocking the entry way. I asked what was going but the man did not speak English well and I couldn't understand him. He wouldn't let me into my room and I heard several voices coming from my room. I took my phone and started filming this. He stuck his head into my room and said something to the group inside. Two women and one man came out of my room and just walked by me and didn't even stop to address the "what were you doing in my room" inquiries I was throwing at them. I stepped inside my room and immediately called the front desk, only to remember that the call is being routed to a central call center. I hung up and went to the front desk and asked for a manager. The front desk manager had no idea what was going on and said she would get back to me. I went back to my room and received a phone call from the house keeping manager. She told me that they were training new housekeeping cast members. I explained that I just checked in the day before and wasn't do for trash removal or any type of cleaning that day. She had no explanation for that. I explained that this made me very uncomfortable and less then safe. I didn't receive much of an explanation that made sense to me. This is the first time I felt unsafe at Disney in 37 years.

If that were me, as they came out of the room ignoring me when I asked who they were and what were they doing in my room, the first thing I would have done was call 911 to file a police report.
What if something was missing.
I read a few months ago about a guest that had some very expensive prescription medications go missing while her and her family were out of the room. I never heard what the outcome was.
I am not saying they were in your room doing anything illegal however people have to remember bad things can happen at Disney.

You do not know who these people are If they refused to identify themselves by ignoring you as they left your room, you have no idea why and for what reason they are in your room if they ignore you.
The other question I would have asked is why was the housekeeper blocking your room door and why won't they let you in your room.
If anything that was just rude for ignoring you.