Asked to Do More at Check Out Lately?

[Superchief]

I just checked out of Canyon Villas on Saturday and didn't see any communication about stripping the beds, but I didn't check my messages. Since I am usually in a hurry to check out to catch a flight or get on the road, I don't have the time to mess with this. I take out trash, throw towels in tub and load/run dishwasher, but my exorbitant Housekeeping MF's should cover this. If they extend my checkout time an hour, I will gladly do this.

 

[amycurl]

Harbor Ridge is facing headwinds when it comes to housekeeping staff, primarily related to the housing shortage for seasonal workers. While the list is....detailed, at the end of the day, they are asking to do pretty much the same thing that the other resorts discussed here do: load and run the dishwasher, take out the trash and put recycling in the bin in the unit, and strip the beds (the bags actually make this easier, and the detailed directions clear up the kind of questions that many of you have had in this thread.)

The other items are more common courtesy things--replacing the furniture, resetting the temp--many of you have mentioned doing these things as well.

@zentraveler, I hope you enjoy your stay, and that the island is now firmly into black fly season, um, I mean Spring. Check out Peekytoe Provisions, which is open year-round in Bar Harbor, while you are there. Here's a list from the Mount Desert Islander with profiles of other year-round businesses to check-out.

 

[WBP]

Harbor Ridge is facing headwinds when it comes to housekeeping staff, primarily related to the housing shortage for seasonal workers. While the list is....detailed, at the end of the day, they are asking to do pretty much the same thing that the other resorts discussed here do: load and run the dishwasher, take out the trash and put recycling in the bin in the unit, and strip the beds (the bags actually make this easier, and the detailed directions clear up the kind of questions that many of you have had in this thread.)

The other items are more common courtesy things--replacing the furniture, resetting the temp--many of you have mentioned doing these things as well.

@zentraveler, I hope you enjoyed your stay, overall!

I realize that Harbor Ridge is a non-Marriott Vacation Club resort.

I wonder if the Marriott Vacation Club sales force will include these new owner responsibilities as part of their sales presentation?

Actually, it seems that Marriott Vacation Club has new purchasers sign forms attesting to the new owner’s knowledge/acknowledgement of certain Marriott rules/policies/regulations. Personally, I think Marriott Vacation Club should add these new “requests” to their forms, and reassess how their sales have gone, in a few months.

No disrespect intended, but we did not sign up to be Marriott Vacation Club owners to strip beds or do some of the domestic duties of MVC’s choice. We signed up for a lifestyle/vacation lifestyle. What the people of ill-refute who currently lead Marriott Vacations Worldwide, are doing to Marriott Vacation Club, is not to our liking. I maintain that there are growing, potential conflicts of interest, between a timeshare developer/sales and marketing entity, and operations manager/collector of “management fee,” vis-a-vis, MVC as the Developer/Manager devaluing the value of “weeks,” in favor of the Developer’s “money grab” to sell points.

 

[zentraveler]

Harbor Ridge is facing headwinds when it comes to housekeeping staff, primarily related to the housing shortage for seasonal workers.

The woman spoke with also cited fierce competition for seasonal help. There seem to be millions of places to stay, not to mention short term rentals, restaurants etc.

While the list is....detailed, at the end of the day, they are asking to do pretty much the same thing that the other resorts discussed here do: load and run the dishwasher, take out the trash and put recycling in the bin in the unit, and strip the beds (the bags actually make this easier, and the detailed directions clear up the kind of questions that many of you have had in this thread.)I

The two over the top requests are the shower curtains and taking the trash to the dumpster. Stipping the sheets is new for me also since starting to read this thread - have never been asked that. I took out a bag of the remains of our lobster dinner (bought at Hannafords where they will cook it for you while you shop) - the dumpster is old, huge and the lid is so heavy I could barely lift it.

@zentraveler, I hope you enjoy your stay, and that the island is now firmly into black fly season, um, I mean Spring. Check out Peekytoe Provisions, which is open year-round in Bar Harbor, while you are there. Here's a list from the Mount Desert Islander with profiles of other year-round businesses to check-out.

Thanks for the Mt. Desert Islander article! Very helpful. And haven't seen a single black fly yet .

 

[WaikikiFirst]

haven't seen a single black fly yet

It is the ones you don't see ...

two over the top requests are the shower curtains and taking the trash to the dumpster

I think we do a considerate job cleaning up before we leave. Take down shower curtains? NFW. Take a hike. Give me an hour earlier check-in or hour later check-out, then we can talk. Your move, management. Maybe I'll design an "AI" app for that.
Trash to dumpster? Be sure to drip some lobster juice on the lobby carpet on your way. Give the lobby that "authentic Maine" feel.

 

[Superchief]

I think MVC will find that requesting people to strip the bedding prior to check out will actually cause more problems and result in higher cost. I would expect that housekeeping has a good system for how they remove and sort the bedding, and they know exactly how they will be washed. It really doesn't take them any more time to remove the bedding than it does to pick it up off the floor and resort it. This is a bad move by management and will generate negative impact on owner satisfaction, something they seem to be doing a lot of lately.

 

[ljmiii]

Just stayed at Fairway Villas and received no 'Welcome to our hostel' note. Staff and resort were wonderful (as always) and we very much enjoyed our stay.

Also as always I lament the lack of a third trash can in the kitchen and the Master Bedroom handball court that replaced the tub...but these are minor issues.

 

[WBP]

Just stayed at Fairway Villas and received no 'Welcome to our hostel' note. Staff and resort were wonderful (as always) and we very much enjoyed our stay.

Also as always I lament the lack of a third trash can in the kitchen and the Master Bedroom handball court that replaced the tub...but these are minor issues.

Thank you for your humor. “Welcome to our hostel’ note.” Love it.

 

[chunkygal]

We were asked at grand chateau and Summitt watch to take all our trash to the garage, strip the beds, put the linens on the bed. Put all dishes in dishwasher, the ice bin, coffee pot. Was surprised not asked to vacuum.

 

[WBP]

We were asked at grand chateau and Summitt watch to take all our trash to the garage, strip the beds, put the linens on the bed. Put all dishes in dishwasher, the ice bin, coffee pot. Was surprised not asked to vacuum.

Did you miss that “Assignment of Occupant Responsibilities” during your Marriott Vacation Club sales presentation?

This generation of MVC Leadership, in my opinion, is out of their mind, and show no respect for MVCI’s heritage and once values, but, they sure want to ride on the accomplishments/strengths of MVCI’s past (for sales and marketing purposes). If I did not know better, I’d say they were Generation Z.

 

[sea&ski]

I know this discussion has had many responses. We just returned from Mountain Valley Lodge in Breckenridge and at check-in, we were handed the usual papers, incl. activities, maps, etc. but the one that caught my eye was:

"Many of our Owners and guests inquire about how they can assist our Housekeeping Team before checking out..." What follows this blatant fib is everything discussed including the stripping of the bed linens.

If you are one of the "many" who want to assist the HK team, let's have a word.

On the other hand, we have never been asked to an owner's sales talk in the many years we have been visiting. So there's that.

 

[Eric B]

I've decided to start asking how I can assist the Landscaping Team during my vacations. It would be interesting to see if they come up with a good set of suggestions aside from the obvious disposing of trash and recyclables in the proper containers rather than on the ground.

I already know how to assist the pool folks - just pick up all those unattended towels on chairs and turn them in.

 

[Vacay0606]

You would have had a landscaping job at Westgate earlier this year. We were there for 11 weeks and there was a discarded used Tampon applicator on the bark next to a frequently used sidewalk the entire time. Many employees walked past it daily and not 1 seemed to notice it. We joke that when we go back in November, it will still be there.

 

[zentraveler]

"Many of our Owners and guests inquire about how they can assist our Housekeeping Team before checking out..."

I seriously doubt that anyone has EVER asked how they can help the housekeeping staff. If for no other reason, than it’s blatantly obvious how you can help them.

 

[ahdah]

I wonder when this started. I stayed at Marriott Mountainside in January and MountainValley Lodge in March and was not asked to do anything before checkout.years

Years and years ago. We owned at Grande Ocean and if I remember correctly they asked you to strip your bed. I think I left the sheets in the bath room or in front of the front door. They also asked owners to start dish washer and remove trash. Along the way they may have stopped asking, but I have continued to do this. It just help house keeping so that the next people can be in by 4 o'clock. Since I have always done it, and I've been an owner for a long time, it does not bother me to do these little things.

 

[ahdah]

We leave a healthy tip for the housecleaning crew and let them do their work.

I also leave a trip but I also do the few things that help get the next owner in by 4PM.

 

[andre10056]

I understand that every little thing that you might do saves housekeeping time and makes it more likely that the next set of guests can get to their unit at 4 pm. But I guess it's how that favor request is communicated. A friend of mine just stayed at a resort and, upon check-in, was told that he HAD TO strip the beds and place them in the bathtub, wash the dishes (and his B unit didn't have a dishwasher), remove everything from the refrigerator, and throw out all garbage. If he didn't, he was told, he would likely get fined.

Right away, you piss people off even before they get to their unit. I think it would be much nicer to smilingly request that people do so, explain why it would be helpful, and smother them with thanks in advance.

 

[mjm1]

We have taken the bed sheets and pillow cases off for years in lieu of leaving a tip. I remember reading of that idea here on TUG. However, we usually just leave them piled up in the bedroom. We fold the comforter and leave it on the bed or on the dresser or chair, if available.

We’ve been on a long road trip and stayed at various hotels. I asked the housekeeping staff at several stays if it was helpful if guests strip the beds and leave the room as clean as they can if they find that helpful even if the guest doesn’t leave a tip. Without exception the staff each said they really appreciate the help and there are many ways to “leave a tip.”

 

[Superchief]

I have a question regarding stripping the bed. Most MVC resorts now have the comforter that is imbedded in a sheet. Should the sheet be separated from the rest of the comforter? I suspect that sheets are laundered separately so throwing everything into one pile may not help very much.

 

[dioxide45]

I have a question regarding stripping the bed. Most MVC resorts now have the comforter that is imbedded in a sheet. Should the sheet be separated from the rest of the comforter? I suspect that sheets are laundered separately so throwing everything into one pile may not help very much.

I asked the same question in the very first post. Do I remove the duvet from the duvet cover? Do they really wash the duvet itself after every guest? Perhaps they just run it through a hot dryer? I don't know. I need to ask that question the next time we are at a resort and they ask us to strip the bed.

 

[davidvel]

I asked the same question in the very first post. Do I remove the duvet from the duvet cover? Do they really wash the duvet itself after every guest? Perhaps they just run it through a hot dryer? I don't know. I need to ask that question the next time we are at a resort and they ask us to strip the bed.

Unless they have 2x the needed duvets, this seems doubtful. They would need to run the duvets down to laundry, put in druer for x time, then bring them all (about 1/3 each day) back up to the room to be put into the cover and bed made. Highly doubtful.

 

[vacationtime1]

Any resort that requests/demands that a guest strip the bed and deposit the sheets in the hallway before leaving is no longer a 4* resort, or even a 3.5* resort, at least imho.

 

[hajjah]

I've been out of the country and certainly missed this newbie. We're heading back to Grand Vista next Saturday and under no circumstances are we complying with any of this. My maintenance fees have greatly increased in the last few years. I'm not doing anyone else's job. I go on vacation to relax and not concern myself with stripping beds or anything of this nature. I recall very vividly of timesharing in the Poconos and elsewhere back in 1980's onward when it was mandatory to strip beds, count silverware, dishes, pots and pans, etc. Nope, this is a no for us.

I forgot until now to mention that we did not help housekeeping when we checked out of Grande Vista on 5/3. I have no intentions of stripping beds. I did send my nieces to take out the trash, which was on the opposite end of our unit.

 

[WBP]

You would have had a landscaping job at Westgate earlier this year. We were there for 11 weeks and there was a discarded used Tampon applicator on the bark next to a frequently used sidewalk the entire time. Many employees walked past it daily and not 1 seemed to notice it. We joke that when we go back in November, it will still be there.

I would have offered to help the landscapers and groundskeepers dig David Siegel’s grave. But, I missed that opportunity.

Westgate Resorts Mourns Passing of David A. Siegel

Westgate Resorts Mourns Passing of David A. Siegel

www.westgateresorts.com

 

[b2bailey]

You would have had a landscaping job at Westgate earlier this year. We were there for 11 weeks and there was a discarded used Tampon applicator on the bark next to a frequently used sidewalk the entire time. Many employees walked past it daily and not 1 seemed to notice it. We joke that when we go back in November, it will still be there.

I would have brought it to the attention of front desk.