Optional Housekeeping No Longer An Option For DVC Members | Opinion

Until further notice is a phrase we’ve heard a lot over the past year, but brace yourself. . . . . ‘cause it’s not going away any time soon. In fact, even as some things start to relax around the Walt Disney World Resort, others are slipping into the category of “gone until further notice”. One such item on that list is the optional housekeeping for Disney Vacation Club Members staying at DVC villas.

Now, before we get too deep into this topic, let’s take a second to cover some basics. Chances are, since you’ve materialized here today, you’re already aware that Disney Vacation Club [DVC] is a membership program. In a nutshell, ‘cause we could be here all day going over the details of DVC Membership, DVC Members have purchased a real estate interest [also referred to as a contract] that allots them a certain number of points they can use to stay at Disney Vacation Club Villas around Walt Disney World. [Memberships do much more than that, but again. . . in the interest of not eating up the rest of your day we’ll move on.]

Staying in a Disney Vacation Club Villa isn’t quite the same as staying in a regular Walt Disney World Resort hotel room; even if it’s in the same resort. The rooms tend to be larger and have some different amenities, such as a full size coffee pot and/or laundry basket. They are also designed for longer stays, which is why they’re equipped with a kitchenette or even a full size kitchen. There are other differences too, such as the way your rooms are serviced during your stay.

Unlike other Walt Disney World Resort hotels, Disney Vacation Club Members staying at Disney Vacation Club Villas do not get daily housekeeping during their stay. Instead, they receive some form of service every 4th day. For example, guests staying 4 days will get “Trash & Towel Service” on the 4th day. Guests who stay more than 8 days will get a full room cleaning [including bed linens being changed] on the 4th day and “Trash & Towel Service” on the 8th day. [There’s an entire conversation we could have around this too, but we’ll save that for another day.]

Up until this week, there was also the option for opt-in or add-on housekeeping services. This would allow Disney Vacation Club Members staying in DVC Villas to pay for additional housekeeping during their stay. “Trash & Towel Services” would cost anywhere from $15 to $35 and a full room cleaning would be between $30 and $75; all depending on the size of your room. However, this option has been eliminated.

This change to the housekeeping policy, or more specifically the until further notice elimination of the policy, is what I want to take some time to talk about today.

When it comes to the topic of housekeeping at DVC Villas there are, as you might imagine, a mixed bag of opinions. From those who are up in arms about this change to those who think DVC Members should feel lucky to have towels and linens in their room at all [yep. . . we’ll get back to this here in a bit], we’ve seen people take a lot of different positions on this topic in the past few days while trying to learn more. Though it might seem like people are all over the place with this one, it actually makes perfect sense. This is because the experience you’ll have staying in a Disney Vacation Club Villa [in terms of housekeeping] will vary depending on the way you’re renting it. As I mentioned earlier, DVC Members staying on Member Points or Member Cash Discounts will receive some sort of housekeeping service every 4 days. Rental guests, including non-Members and Members not booking through Membership, receive partial service every other day. Combined with the variety of DVC Villa types that are available, this can make it difficult for some to understand why eliminating the option for additional housekeeping would be an issue. That being said, let’s get into some of the reasons that eliminating opt-in housekeeping is having some DVC Members raise an eyebrow: myself included.

There are a lot of places where we could start this discussion, but we’re going to knock out some of the basics first. So let’s start with something that I’m sure everyone can identify with. . . . needing a little bit of extra help. Look, just because you’re at Disney World doesn’t mean that life itself takes a vacation. Maybe something gets spilled, dirty or needs some attention [accidents do happen. . . . even at Disney] and you need bed linens changed or your towels laundered. If you’re on the 4th day of your stay then you’re good to go, because a full cleaning of your room is scheduled. The same can’t be said if you’ve already passed that point. Unless you’re capable of waiting another 8 days for another full cleaning of your room, your options become a bit more limited. While those Disney Vacation Club Members staying in 1 bedroom villas or larger have the ability to launder their own items with in-room washers and dryers, those staying in a Deluxe Studio do not.

The fact that you don’t have in-room washers and dryers in a Deluxe Studio dramatically changes the impact laundering your own items will have on your day. Whereas you can pop a load of laundry in before heading to the parks and rotate it at your leisure while staying in a larger room, this isn’t an option in a Deluxe Studio. Not only will you have to dedicate a chunk of your day to doing your laundry, but you’ll also have to take it down to the nearest laundry room. In some cases, this laundry room might be in your building or at your nearest pool. However, this isn’t always the case. At some of the DVC Villas, laundry isn’t available nearby and you’ll need to walk to another part of the resort in order to have access to the laundry room. This was the case during my last stay at Disney’s Beach Club Villas.

There are a few other things worth mentioning also. For example, while some DVC Villas allow DVC Members to use self serve laundry services free of charge, others do not. This means that guests can expect to pay at least $6.00 for each of load that they’d like to wash; more if it’s a heavy load that needs more than 30 minutes in a dryer. DVC Members who are staying in a Deluxe Studio will also need to provide or purchase their own laundry detergent, as it’s only provided for guests with in-room washers and dryers. They may also need to call down to request a laundry basket so that they can get their laundry down to the laundry room and back again. [NOTE: Laundry baskets are not provided and/or available at all DVC VIllas.] Though this is what you might consider standard daily chores, I think it’s fair to say that it’s not quite in the same league as doing laundry at your own home day to day. After all this is a Walt Disney World vacation we’re talking about here and you’ve likely spent hundreds of dollars to enjoy the day in at the parks. . . . which you can’t do if you’re tied up waiting for laundry to finish at the resort. Quite frankly, the idea that we’re even bringing up the concept of having to decide whether or not you’ll be doing one or the other is absolutely ridiculous to me, but I digress.

Another reason that Disney Vacation Club Members are frustrated with this change is because it’s another cutback of something that we are [or have been] paying for. [NOTE: This is not exclusive to DVC. Things like this have been happening in other areas too, but for the sake of this discussion we’re going to stay on the topic of DVC and DVC Members. . . . so bear with me here.] When you become a Disney Vacation Club Member, you’re not only paying tens of thousands for the real estate interest [or contract], you’re also paying dues. Disney Vacation Club Annual Dues are fees that you’ll pay annually. You can either pay in a lump sum or monthly. These dues start at $105 per month, or $1260 annually, and increase depending on the number of points you have and the DVC Resort at which you have then.

The dues paid by Disney Vacation Club Members go towards a number of different resort related expenses to include administrative expenses, refurbishment expenses and real estate taxes. They also cover maintenance and upkeep, to include housekeeping. For this reason, dues increase annually. Like the price of points themselves, the percentage that these dues will increase by depends on the resort in question. Some might have a relatively small increase, while others could see that increase be as much as 10%. With such an increase, many DVC Members expect to see the same level of service and benefits that they’ve had in the past. Rightfully so. However, this is not always the case. There are times when staying in a Disney Vacation Club Villa can mean being in a run-down room with appliances that are in disrepair or altogether broken having some DVC Members wonder where their dues had been going. Combined with the pullback or complete elimination of benefits and options, such as the opt-in housekeeping services, DVC Members have another reason to question what it is that they’re paying for and why cuts are being made while dues are being increased.

Opt-in housekeeping isn’t the only cutback or new policy DVC Members are being subjected to either. Since the parks reopened nearly a year ago, DVC Members have had a limit placed on the number of points that they can use. Though this was initially done as a way to help more people enjoy the parks while capacity and hotel space was limited, the policy has not changed even as other health and safety policies have been relaxed and more resorts have been opened. In fact, when inquiring about this with a DVC Representative recently there doesn’t seem to be an end to this limitation in sight. We’ll be getting more into the specifics of these limitations in a future discussion, but as you might imagine this doesn’t sit well with some members. . . . . and why should it? Members pay significant amounts of money for the benefits and perks that were advertised to them.

At the end of the day, it seems like there are 2 questions that present themselves in situations like this; how upset should we be and what can be done? While I might not have a solid answer to either, there are a few suggestions I’d like to make. Right at the top of that list. . . . . . we need to start paying closer attention right about now!

The past year, since Walt Disney World Resort welcomed guests back after the extended closure, has been a bit of a whirlwind. From limited capacity to plexiglass, there have been changes made in the name of health and safety during this unprecedented time as we all adapted to adjustments that would be in place until further notice. Though not all of them were fun and others seemed to make absolutely no sense at all, lots of us adapted knowing that these clunky policies were temporary. Thing is, sometimes adapting to adjustments can be confused for accepting change. . . . and this is where we run into our problems. While it was absolutely important to give businesses and companies the opportunity to learn how to navigate this new territory we all found ourselves plopped into more than a year ago, the “we’re not quite sure what we’re doing here” excuse shouldn’t be accepted until further notice.

Now, it’s important to keep in mind that we are still on the path towards normal and haven’t reached the finish line as of yet. Resort hotels around Walt Disney World has still not completely opened back up yet and there are still protocols in place to keep everyone safe. However, as things continue to be relaxed, this isn’t the time to turn a blind eye on some of the changes that are being made or excuse them away as necessary without question. It’s the time to understand your benefits and keep an eye on the changes that are being made, especially with some of them being made quietly. Of course, we know that this isn’t the easiest thing to do. That’s why we do our best to stay as up to day as we can and share that information with you as it becomes available so that you know where to look and what you might want to be looking for.

This change to the housekeeping policy for DVC Members staying in Disney Vacation Club Villas is one that will impact different people in different ways, which is why we’d love to know what you think. Are you a DVC Member and/or do you stay in DVC Villas regularly? Have you ever used the opt-in housekeeping services that they have available? Let us know your thoughts be joining the jamboree and telling us all about your experiences.