Asked to Do More at Check Out Lately?

[GrayFal]

 

[sea&ski]

View attachment 110369View attachment 110370

yep. It's those "many" guests and owners we need to sit down with. I did like the suggestion to start offering help to the landscape crew..

 

[hangloose]

We have noticed the additional 'asks' at a few resorts recently.

To each their own, but we leave our villa fairly clean.

• We consolidate and take out the trash/recycling.
• We run the dishwasher with all final dirty dishes.
  • We'll put the dishes away, if it's done prior to our departure.
• We put all dirty towels in a pile(s), often in a bathroom tub/shower.
• We do not strip any sheets.

Our hope is that our small actions, help get next owner into their villa on-time (or early). Nothing worse than showing up after a long day of traveling and not having a villa ready on-time. Especially with kids and groceries in tow.

 

[Dean]

I've found the hand wringing interesting. The resorts are offering options and a valid reason. I could see being upset if they were demanding or punishing us in some way. For the most part these are things we routinely do every trip anyway. The one thing we'd gotten away from was stripping the beds largely because some of the resorts we go to had asked this not be done saying it really didn't help much.

 

[Eric B]

I've found the hand wringing interesting. The resorts are offering options and a valid reason. I could see being upset if they were demanding or punishing us in some way. For the most part these are things we routinely do every trip anyway. The one thing we'd gotten away from was stripping the beds largely because some of the resorts we go to had asked this not be done saying it really didn't help much.

Not sure I'd really characterize it as hand wringing. It seems more like just belly aching to me. As you mention, they aren't making any of this mandatory so there really isn't anything substantive to get upset about. Instead, I think people are more annoyed that a corporation that has a profit motivation is trying to motivate them to clean up after themselves and do a variety of chores by saying "you asked for these hints as to what you can do that we would otherwise be paying someone else to do" - I'm sorry - "Many of our Owners and guests inquire...." It could be that the valid reason for passing on those options is due to someone really asking for them. It could also be that they have other motivations for putting out that message. I don't have any insight into whether it is really a valid reason and am not convinced that we will see earlier check in times as a result of our efforts. I just don't like being pandered to this way. YMMV.

 

[kozykritter]

As an overthinking champion, I can recognize the behavior here on this thread I've learned not to bring future potential problems into the present and disturb my own peace. My advice is to relax and enjoy your travel experience and do whatever you might normally do or can do without feeling obligated.

 

[Dean]

Not sure I'd really characterize it as hand wringing. It seems more like just belly aching to me. As you mention, they aren't making any of this mandatory so there really isn't anything substantive to get upset about. Instead, I think people are more annoyed that a corporation that has a profit motivation is trying to motivate them to clean up after themselves and do a variety of chores by saying "you asked for these hints as to what you can do that we would otherwise be paying someone else to do" - I'm sorry - "Many of our Owners and guests inquire...." It could be that the valid reason for passing on those options is due to someone really asking for them. It could also be that they have other motivations for putting out that message. I don't have any insight into whether it is really a valid reason and am not convinced that we will see earlier check in times as a result of our efforts. I just don't like being pandered to this way. YMMV.

I'm not sure I'd make a difference between the 2 characterizations, regardless it seems like a lot of discussion about a non issue. And I do believe that they have inquiries about what should be done at check out. Whether the wording overstates the request, I can't say. IMO it's just common sense to tidy up and do some things that make it easier to get ready for the next guest.

 

[EagleFan]

I am not sure I understand the towels in the tub. Are they saying they leave "clean" towels on the rack between guests? Neatly folded count as clean?

Lol, I think every towel leaves the room so, again, how does "soiled towels" in the tub work?

 

[jp10558]

As an overthinking champion, I can recognize the behavior here on this thread I've learned not to bring future potential problems into the present and disturb my own peace. My advice is to relax and enjoy your travel experience and do whatever you might normally do or can do without feeling obligated.

My only disagreement with this is sometimes I can stop future potential problems from being a problem if I know they're coming and can either advocate changes or adapt myself in advance.

 

[pedro47]

Not all timeshare owners and exchanges leave their villas in an orderly manner. Some owners and exchangers leave their trash at their door or in the hallway or at the elevator door.

 

[clifffaith]

Not all timeshare owners and exchanges leave their villas in an orderly manner. Some owners and exchangers leave their trash at their door or in the hallway or at the elevator door.

That would be us when the big trash receptacles are “blocks away”. We simply tie the bag up and leave it in the kitchen (after emptying bathroom trash into it). If the big bins are remotely accessible as we haul our vacation crap loads out to the car on multiple trips, we’ll toss it. Otherwise no trash hauling and no bed stripping.

 

[gln60]

We stayed at the Custom House last week and had daily tidy service from housekeeping every day…fresh towels..toilet paper..if needed as well as trash removal which was very nice…we left a hefty tip which was well deserved..there was never any mention of asking us to do anything before checkout…imo…Custom House has the best customer service of any MVC we have been to…and we have been to quite a few.

 

[vistana101]

I've seen this on both the Marriott and Vistana resorts. The other thing I've noticed a lot of recently is more restrictions on towels, both in-room bathroom towels and pool towels (the latter more with Marriotts for now).

Some give you one free towel refresh before charging, others charge with any request.

And for pool towels, I've seen resorts leaving a select allotment of pool towels (around 4 per bedroom) and charging if you want more. I'll take the towel machines over this any day - especially considering sometimes it takes two just to cover the chair. I find the pool towels get dirty quickly with all the sunscreen etc, so that would require a lot of washing over a week's period.

 

[latertater]

I noticed this years ago at independent timeshare resorts, which tend to have an extremely small staff. There would be a checklist of tasks such as stripping the beds and leaving the linens in a large plastic bag, placing the dishes in the dishwasher and turning it on, taking the trash to the dumpster and recycling to the respective receptacle. I ran into the housekeeping manager at one location who lamented how difficult it was to hire seasonal staff, exacerbated by the lack of housing. I was prepared to be asked to do extensive tidying when we stayed at an independent resort on Cape Cod earlier this month(Holly Tree), but after it received some recent spicy commentary / negative reviews about it on Tripadvisor it looks like they ceased that practice(we did it for them anyway). At one chain I saw they had instructions on what to do with unused towels in an effort to be more environmentally conscious, as well as to decline housekeeping if that was a preference. I have read that can have the opposite effect in that it can take more time to make up the lodging, depending on the guest.

 

[slip]

Oppps

 

[b2bailey]

I found it interesting that the various Marriott resorts had slight variations in instructions. As we are rushing out the door to catch an early flight, with two under three in tow....I don't anticipate consulting the list of tasks.

That being said, we were at Ko-Olina a few weeks ago, and I appreciate they still do a midweek tidy. And I don't recall seeing the task list while there.

 

[jellen613]

The only thing added to this list that did not occur previously (at my home resort at least, Barony beach) is the stripping of beds. We stayed recently in Fort Lauderdale. The instructions were to strip the beds, leaving the soiled sheets on the bed, and putting the towels in the bathroom on the sink vanity. I think they are trying to decrease back injuries by having the linens on the sink vanity and the sheets on the bed (less bending down to pick up dirty sheets and towels). As we have owned since 2008 and the only thing added is stripping the beds, I am fine with that especially if it helps to ensure on time or even early check in.

 

[vacation dreaming]

Marriott.com considers the Marriott Vacations Clubs to be part of the “Premium” category which is one step lower than luxury. I understand owners do not receive daily housekeeping but asking owners to perform this level of housekeeping at check-out is not a “Premium” experience. When I purchased my units I was expecting a “premium” experience similar to staying at a Marriott or Westin since Marriott and Westin were managing and marketing the units. These changes are another form of decreasing the value of our units. Maybe some of Marriott units have no resale value anyway, but I am talking about Hawaii and ski locations which do have value. Personally I do not want to check in to a unit where I am relying on the previous tenant to clean. I want all of the towels replaced, not just the “dirty” ones. I realize everyone does not feel the same way about these things, but when I purchased, I saw the Westin and Marriott name as providing a level of service I might not receive at an Airbnb or other private rental. This is a big downgrade to the product in my opinion.

 

[jp10558]

Marriott.com considers the Marriott Vacations Clubs to be part of the “Premium” category which is one step lower than luxury. I understand owners do not receive daily housekeeping but asking owners to perform this level of housekeeping at check-out is not a “Premium” experience. When I purchased my units I was expecting a “premium” experience similar to staying at a Marriott or Westin since Marriott and Westin were managing and marketing the units. These changes are another form of decreasing the value of our units. Maybe some of Marriott units have no resale value anyway, but I am talking about Hawaii and ski locations which do have value. Personally I do not want to check in to a unit where I am relying on the previous tenant to clean. I want all of the towels replaced, not just the “dirty” ones. I realize everyone does not feel the same way about these things, but when I purchased, I saw the Westin and Marriott name as providing a level of service I might not receive at an Airbnb or other private rental. This is a big downgrade to the product in my opinion.

And while I don't currently own any MVC - I will say these posts make me think it's more comparable to Regal Vistas at Massanutten. Not bad at all, fancy furnishings, but way overpriced for that compared to competitors. I think this really only makes the value traders into MVC make financial sense - again, at $1,000 MF or less I'm happy to strip beds etc. At $2k+ I'm really not, and would like the offer of a mid week tidy.

 

[Lakeshore]

Marriott.com considers the Marriott Vacations Clubs to be part of the “Premium” category which is one step lower than luxury. I understand owners do not receive daily housekeeping but asking owners to perform this level of housekeeping at check-out is not a “Premium” experience. When I purchased my units I was expecting a “premium” experience similar to staying at a Marriott or Westin since Marriott and Westin were managing and marketing the units. These changes are another form of decreasing the value of our units. Maybe some of Marriott units have no resale value anyway, but I am talking about Hawaii and ski locations which do have value. Personally I do not want to check in to a unit where I am relying on the previous tenant to clean. I want all of the towels replaced, not just the “dirty” ones. I realize everyone does not feel the same way about these things, but when I purchased, I saw the Westin and Marriott name as providing a level of service I might not receive at an Airbnb or other private rental. This is a big downgrade to the product in my opinion.

I fully agree..it’s not what we bought into with Marriott Vacation Club. Vacation is in the name…we are on vacation..we should not have to do housekeeping’s jobs. A few years ago, at NCV, they had a big sign at the entrance that stated they were hiring housekeeping starting at $24/hour. My young adult children, one who was getting his masters and the other his bachelors, were interning that summer making less than that with great companies in highly competitive STEM fields. They both just graduated summa and manga cum laude. But now we need to do the work of the housekeepers who are making $24+tips an hour??? Has it helped anyone get into their unit earlier? We always have to wait for the text at 4pm to get into our unit, regardless of the time we check in. Housekeeping standards have gone downhill, and if we enable them by doing their jobs, this will continue to get ridiculous. There should be a standard of cleanliness for each and every unit, done by housekeeping, not left to the guests. How are we supposed to be assured that everything really is clean, if they only replace what looks like was soiled and not the entire unit?

We of course, keep our unit neat, clean and take the garbage out. I also appreciated the spray bottle of cleaner they USED to have under the sink, to wipe off the kitchen counter and table since there wasn’t a daily tidy, but they stopped doing that about 6 years ago, which is strange. That to me was fine for a vacation club, because it allowed us to keep it clean during our stay. But as for check out, it should be thoroughly cleaned by housekeeping with strict standards. We pay maintenance fees for that cleaning…it’s part of housekeeping’s job. Just my two cents.

 

[Hindsite]

We pay maintenance fees for that cleaning…it’s part of housekeeping’s job. Just my two cents.

Thankfully we only pay the costs incurred, so if they underspend, that surplus, if it doesn't get gobbled up on something else, rolls forward to future years.

 

[claraj]

I’m at Hyatt Coconut Cove this week and I found the same letter with “strip the linen” language.

 

[Lakeshore]

Uggg, just got to NCV this weekend and received this upon check in….in addition, we can’t exchange bath towels(they said that was housekeeping now and there would be a charge), so we also must wash our bath towels ourselves.

 

[claraj]

I find it interesting that the dirty towels are asked to be put in the bathroom sink vs the tub or shower floor. I guess they figured out it was easier than fishing them out of a bathtub?

 

[dioxide45]

I've also seen reference in this thread and on some papers at a couple resorts to "terry linen". While I've heard the term I had to Google that to see what it was and it never really specified exactly what context the resort might be using it in. Why not just say bath towels. Whoever writes up these things needs to think about the terms the customer uses, not what they call it.