New door hangers are up at three Disney Vacation Club resorts, along with accompanying changes to security procedures.
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Last week Disney Vacation Club announced that it would provide daily trash removal service to some resorts effective immediately and all locations by early 2018. This news has been linked with separate reports that Disney was instituting new security procedures which mandated staff examination of every hotel room and villa on a daily basis. The perception is that the DVC villa trash removal process and daily room checks are essentially one-in-the-same.
At Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Contemporary Resort, the new procedures are now in place. The previous door hangers which read "Do Not Disturb" have been replaced with placards stating "Room Occupied." The bottom of each card includes the following disclaimer:
"The Disney Resort hotel and its staff reserve the right to enter your room, even when this sign is displayed, for maintenance, security or any other purpose. The Disney Resort hotel staff will knock and announce their presence before entering."
The policy is also being discussed with arriving guests. Guests are advised to remove the "Room Occupied" sign when not in the unit to facilitate the checks and provide the least-intrusive experience. Those who have concerns about staff entering when they are not present may speak to a hotel manager.
On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock fired shots into a Las Vegas crowd from a 32nd floor window of the Mandalay Bay hotel, killing 58 people and wounding nearly 500 others. Paddock spent days stockpiling more than 20 weapons in his hotel room, undisturbed by staff due to the "Do Not Disturb" sign placed on the door.
New Door Hanger (courtesy Tikimanpages Facebook)
Disney will not confirm if the Las Vegas shooting played any role in this decision, telling the Orlando Sentinel that the move was influenced by "...a variety of factors, including safety, security and the guest experience."
Immediately following the Las Vegas shooting, experts began to speculate on how the attack would influence the hospitality industry. Several Las Vegas resorts increased their security screenings to include metal detectors and x-ray machines.
There is no industry standard for the number of days hotels' honor "Do Not Disturb" signs without a courtesy check. Even before the Vegas shooting, a spokesperson for the American Hotel & Lodging Association claimed some resorts perform a "courtesy cleaning" after 24 hours. According to chairman and CEO Steve Wynn, Wynn Resorts Ltd. has adopted a policy of checking on rooms if the "Do Not Disturb" remains posted for more than 12 hours.
Website LoyaltyLobby.com has published alleged policy changes at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, mandating room checks every 24 hours. The post includes a list of talking points used to address guest concerns, along with "suspicious behavior" managers and other staff members should monitor including guests switching rooms a number of times and guests who do not leave the room for an extended period.
Disney Vacation Club has stated that its daily trash removal service will expand to all resorts by January 7, 2018. In a statement to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney claims that it is still "evaluating" whether or not the daily room checks will be performed at resorts beyond the three current locations at Walt Disney World.
