We’ve beforehand addressed Walt Disney World housekeeper shortages in What’s Up with Mousekeeping? That prompted plenty of questions on safety checks and different insurance policies. This takes a deeper dive into considerations about “hassles” visitors are having in resort rooms. (Up to date February 21, 2025.)
The newest improvement comes courtesy of a publish on reddit that has gone viral, which shares a horror story about what’s just about the worst-case situation with room inspections. The refrain of prime feedback there supply their very own experiences. All of this sounded acquainted. That is basically certainly one of two frequent complaints about housekeeping, with the opposite being early-morning knocks on departure day.
The truth is, if you happen to learn by way of the feedback right here, you’ll discover comparable tales. One other frequent grievance is early morning departure day door knocks, waking them up previous to their 11 am checkout time. Over the previous few years, readers have reported points with this as regularly because the room inspections.
Many different followers have been skeptical of those claims, sharing that they’ve accomplished many Walt Disney World resort stays through the years, and have by no means skilled something like this. Others prompt placing up the “Do Not Disturb” signal as a easy approach to resolve the issue and as a standard courtesy to housekeeping employees. As at all times, it’s foolish to imagine that simply because one thing has by no means occurred to you, it’s not occurring.
We thought it’d be price revisiting this subject as of 2025 to see how issues are going. We’ll begin with departure day early wake-ups, and comply with that up with room inspections…
Early Morning Departure Day Door Knocks
Over time, now we have additionally skilled the ~9 am knocking on our departure day. This has occurred regardless of having the “Room Occupied” signal on our door. (Walt Disney World not does “Do Not Disturb” indicators.) Every time this has occurred, it has been rapidly and simply resolved by certainly one of us politely letting the housekeeper know after we deliberate on leaving.
In each single circumstance, they had been overly apologetic. My assumption was and is that it’s more and more frequent as a result of housekeepers are being anticipated to show over extra rooms as a consequence of labor shortages. That coupled with rising occupancy numbers ends in precisely this–housekeepers needing to wash extra rooms earlier than 11 am.
We’re joyful to report that this has not occurred to us as soon as within the final year-plus. In fact, we’re a pattern dimension of 1, so we’d be well-advised to level to our personal sentiment on the prime of this publish that it’s foolish to imagine that one thing not taking place to us means it’s not taking place to anybody.
Nonetheless, however we are able to’t assist however surprise if whether or not there’s been some aid. Revenge journey has exhausted itself, and Disney has acknowledged that lodge occupancy has been decrease within the final yr. On prime of that, staffing shortages have been resolved, that means that there must be extra housekeepers and fewer rooms to wash.
On prime of that, Walt Disney World launched “Specific Room Checkout” within the My Disney Expertise app. When you have a bank card on file—or you’ve a zero-dollar steadiness—it’s straightforward to take a look at of your room, without having to cease by the Entrance Desk. We’ve reliably obtained push notifications through the app prompting us to checkout, and extra individuals utilizing this function means housekeeping ought to have higher perception into which rooms are empty with out knocking. They’ll then prioritize these rooms for cleansing, and go away the others till later within the morning.
All in all, it could appear that circumstances have developed to a degree the place these early morning knocks aren’t as “obligatory” for housekeepers to make it by way of their enormous slate of rooms to wash. We’re not suggesting it by no means occurs anymore–once more, pattern dimension of 1!–nevertheless it does appear far much less frequent than at its peak in mid-2021 by way of early 2023. (To that finish, we’d love to listen to additional suggestions from readers who’ve or haven’t skilled this–it’d be good to have anecdotes past our personal.)
Our expertise on departure mornings has been downright constructive within the final yr. There have even been occasions after we’ve been working behind on checkout day and didn’t go away our rooms till shortly after 11 am. In these situations, not solely did housekeepers not rush us out of the room, however they weren’t even lingering round within the hallways close by. We most likely may’ve stayed till nearer to midday with out problem. (To be clear, we’re not endorsing a casual late checkout as a technique!)
The massive motive we’re not endorsing it is because that it creates much more of a possible burden from already overburden housekeeping Solid Members. There’s a motive they’re (or had been) doing the early morning knocks, and it was out of necessity–to not agitate or anger visitors. (It’s at all times a good suggestion to consider the why of one thing earlier than being upset about it.) Suffice to say, it was not the Solid Members doing the knocking who had been/are the issue.
It’s price underscoring that housekeepers have robust jobs. Housekeepers all work one shift, from 8 am to 4:30 pm. They’re assigned to wash a set variety of rooms relying upon the resort tier, starting from 16-18 rooms on common. Checkout time is 11 am, which is midway by way of that shift, so merely ready for all rooms to empty with the day’s departures just isn’t a viable strategy.
Though many visitors go away earlier and do the Specific Room Checkout, there’s typically no means of figuring out who has left and who’s opting to sleep late until Solid Members can see into the room by way of the window or really witness the visitors departing their room. The “Room Occupied” signal is a sign, however even empty rooms can nonetheless have this up, making it an inconclusive one. Presumably, that is one unintended consequence of Disney’s Magical Specific ending and why there was an uptick of those incidences. In any case, housekeepers are anticipated to have all of their rooms cleaned by 4:30 pm, regardless.
In an illuminating Twitter thread, Ben Wszalek, former WDW Housekeeping Supervisor (at Grand Floridian, Fort Wilderness, All Star Motion pictures & Sports activities) shared that housekeeping is without doubt one of the solely jobs at Walt Disney World that requires no English language data in anyway. A majority of housekeepers are from Puerto Rico or Haiti, many are older, and a few have minimal formal training.
Wszalek put it finest with this tweet: “Hskp are a number of the most joyous, loyal, laborious working individuals you’ll ever meet. Hskp provides nice hours, respectable pay, Disney advantages, and requires little training/expertise. Nevertheless it’s additionally an especially demanding job. You most likely couldn’t do it.”
To anybody who has interacted with housekeepers, most of that is possible apparent. As somebody who drinks an excessive amount of espresso, I’m typically on the lookout for their carts within the morning/noon/afternoon and asking if I can have extra Okay-cups. Our conversations aren’t precisely lengthy, however they’re at all times exceedingly pleasant and chipper. Similar goes after we change morning pleasantries.
As Wszalek additionally factors out, all of this is usually a recipe for “messy interactions.” Whereas now we have by no means–not as soon as–had something however constructive experiences with housekeepers, I don’t doubt that this occurs. You mix a language barrier with visitors who may not precisely be nice about being woken up early and really feel like they’re being pushed out of a room they paid $500+ per evening for…it’s straightforward to check situations the place that ends poorly.
Whatever the specifics of those interactions between visitors and housekeepers, that misframes the difficulty. No matter the issue and potential resolution, the fault lies with Walt Disney World’s protocol and procedures. And as we’ve additionally stated earlier than, the frontline Solid Member with whom you’re interacting just isn’t the one who carried out the insurance policies with which you’re taking problem, nor are they those pocketing the nightly room charge.
The housekeeper didn’t make the choice that resulted in them knocking on the door of occupied rooms at ~9 am. It’s honest to say they don’t get pleasure from confrontation with visitors or waking individuals up early…they’re simply attempting to do their job. The basis trigger is administration, which establishes requirements, even unworkable ones, and fails to provide you with artistic options when it’s clear that there are points.
So what are the potential options right here? The primary and most evident is restoring the “Service Your Means” present card for declining housekeeping that started in ~2017 when the housekeeper scarcity first cropped up.
That was discontinued when the motels reopened post-COVID. That call made sense on the time; occupancy was low and rooms didn’t should be turned over the identical day as departure. That’s not the case, so this incentive must be introduced again.
Walt Disney World may incentivize early checkouts or use of that Specific Room Checkout app function with present playing cards. Most individuals most likely wouldn’t modify their checkout occasions in consequence, however sufficient would voluntarily report once they could be leaving their room with that carrot to make a distinction, and enhance issues for housekeepers and people sleeping in.
Once more, this isn’t consistent with the “spirit” of current modifications at Walt Disney World, however it could cut back friction and enhance visitor satisfaction for a number of the firm’s costliest merchandise. It’s a really small worth to pay within the grand scheme of issues, particularly if it improves satisfaction or probability to return/suggest metrics.
Room Inspections
We’ve additionally obtained plenty of questions concerning the “Room Occupied” indicators and room inspections at Walt Disney World resorts. That is really nothing new. This coverage began again in December 2017, and was first rolled out on the Polynesian Village Resort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Modern Resort, and Bay Lake Tower.
On the time, the corporate declined to touch upon why it swapped “Do Not Disturb” with “Room Occupied” indicators at that handful of motels. Walt Disney World solely indicated that they made the choice for a wide range of components, together with security, safety and the visitor expertise.
Walt Disney World has by no means formally acknowledged the explanation for this variation–even when it’s apparent primarily based on the timing. The tighter safety measures got here a few months after the Las Vegas bloodbath, the place a gunman step by step assembled an arsenal of weapons over the course of a number of days earlier than killing 58 individuals from the thirty second ground of the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel tower.
Shortly after that, Hilton Inns additionally modified its safety coverage. That chain now recommends that staffers alert a safety or responsibility supervisor after 24 hours of consecutive Do Not Disturb signal utilization. Wynn Resorts made an identical coverage change, as did many others on the Vegas strip and in different high-rise areas that now require “welfare checks” after a sure period of time. Disneyland Paris had already modified its coverage to scan all baggage upon coming into its motels through airport-style x-ray machines.
The Room Occupied hanger itself says that the “Disney Resort lodge and its employees reserve the best to enter your room, even when this signal is displayed, for upkeep, security, safety or another goal.” When the change was introduced, the coverage was {that a} lodge staffer should knock and determine themselves earlier than coming into if the “Room Occupied” signal is out. Arriving visitors are/had been purported to be notified concerning the new right-to-entry tips, per the corporate.
At any time when the subject of those room inspections come up, Walt Disney World visitors inevitably say that this occurred regardless of them having the “Room Occupied” indicators up. In actuality, they’ve it backwards: the room inspections are occurring as a result of they’ve these indicators up!
Room inspections happen within the occasion that housekeeping studies being unable to service a room for a set period of time. To the most effective of my data/recollection, that is two days. It’s not at all times constant, and as with something, a component of human error is feasible. That means that perhaps you didn’t have the enroll, however a housekeeper marked that you just did.
It additionally doesn’t assist that the majority Walt Disney World resorts not have each day housekeeping. Should you’re staying at a Worth or Reasonable Resort, even temporary use of the “Room Occupied” signal may end in a room inspection. At a Disney Trip Membership resort, you could discover that the protection checks are actually unavoidable.
Regardless, the best approach to keep away from triggering a room inspection is by not utilizing the “Room Occupied” signal–or by utilizing it sparingly. When you have babies who will need to take noon naps, this may be difficult. You may be inclined to place up the signal to make sure that your room isn’t being cleaned if you return to it. However alternatively, you additionally ought to need to keep away from having a room inspection interrupt naptime.
Again when the “Room Occupied” signal change was made and the random safety inspections started, it was a sizzling and controversial subject amongst Walt Disney World followers. Some contended that security must be the highest precedence, trumping privateness and all else. Others argued that the inspections had been intrusive, occurred at inopportune occasions, and had been typically not dealt with in a tactful means by safety.
That is only a temporary abstract of a number of the many diverse arguments for and in opposition to safety checks. The debates spanned a whole lot of pages on Walt Disney World boards, eliciting many impassioned responses. That is hardly a complete recap of the professionals & cons, however I’m not significantly eager on relitigating all of that.
What I’ll say is that I can see each side of this. Safety is paramount, however an unsupported cry of “safety” can’t merely shut down all additional dialog or counterpoints. It’s okay to have wholesome skepticism, particularly given how a lot of America’s post-9/11 historical past is dotted with safety theater masquerading as precise security measures.
There’s additionally the unlucky actuality that many company insurance policies quantity to authorized legal responsibility CYA greater than the rest. Implementing such insurance policies at floor degree rooms within the bayou at Port Orleans Riverside inside steps of the car parking zone doesn’t strike me as narrowly tailor-made to perform any significant security targets. That’s not the identical as a theme park view room in Bay Lake Tower.
Past the safety coverage on its face, there’s the human implementation. We’ve got been topic to those safety checks extra occasions than I can depend at Walt Disney World. With out fail, they nearly at all times appear to coincide with noon breaks or afternoon naps.
They’re often completely nice and temporary, however about 1 of 10 occasions, that’s not the case. (Inside the final yr or so, we’ve had just a few Solid Members politely inform us that they will’t examine the room whereas it’s occupied, which is okay by us. We’ve given them a time we’d be out of the room and, presumably, they returned then.)
Greater than the rest, my quibbles with this coverage are its ham-fistedness and inconsistency. To my recollection, we’ve by no means been suggested of the coverage at check-in. It typically happens through the center of the day. The approaches differ extensively, as does the demeanor of these doing the checks. (I don’t doubt visitors are regularly impolite to those Solid Members, however now we have by no means been, and somewhat graciousness when demanding entry to our room could be appreciated.)
In a whole lot of lodge stays since October 2017, now we have actually by no means had a difficulty with this wherever however Walt Disney World. The checks have occurred in different actual world motels, however they’ve by no means been even a distant problem. In terms of each of the problems on this publish and so many different issues, I feel it’s honest to ask: why is that this not a widespread problem with motels outdoors of Walt Disney World?
In the end, that’s the place we land with each of those subjects, in addition to many different resort insurance policies and protocol at Walt Disney World. For a corporation with such an enormous room stock and a popularity for visitor service, Disney is surprisingly unhealthy hotelier. There’s minimal consideration to element from a hospitality perspective, as the main focus is usually on effectivity above all else.
I like plenty of issues about Walt Disney World, however don’t view it as one of many world’s nice operators of motels. While you pay the massive bucks for a resort at Walt Disney World, it’s for theme, location, transportation, and perks–not luxuriousness. Even the Deluxe Resorts can’t compete with similarly-situated actual world motels in that regard.
Hopefully this helped you perceive how a few these housekeeping insurance policies work, and methods you’ll be able to try and keep away from working into the worst of the problems. Once more, it’s not the fault of the frontline Solid Members who’re merely following the orders of their leaders–it’s a top-down drawback. Administration sees spectacular occupancy numbers and is aware of that they don’t have to do higher, even when there are apparent and remediable factors of friction for visitors.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your ideas concerning the “Room Occupied” indicators, safety checks, and ~9 am departure day door knocks? Assume Walt Disney World may provide you with higher and extra guest-friendly options to all of this, or are the complainers overreacting? What have been your current experiences with housekeeping or safety in motels at Walt Disney World–and past? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
