No More Room Assigners at Resorts

[Rinderoo]

Hi all - love your boards. Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Rumor has it that Disney is no longer having a room assigner in the resorts, and the computers are doing it. So no more room requests? Anyone at the resort level have info about this?

Not going to be very magical for the people who booked several rooms, each individually, and they're not near each other. I feel sorry for the CM at check in who has to tell a guest that they can't change rooms because they're full.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[Big Wallaby]

I don't know if we have anyone here who works at a resort front desk. If we do, I apologize right now for not having seen that in your profile. I have a friend, though, that I will check with and get back to you if no one does sooner.

In the meantime,

:sgthello:

[sunsweet12]

You're partially right. It is true that LILO is "supposed" to do automatic room assignments based on what the gst requests. BUT there are still back office cms assigning rooms which is good since LILO leaves hundreds of rooms unassigned. IT IS A TOTAL NIGHTMARE. When a gst comes up to my window and says they are a magical gathering I want to cry bc 85% of the time they are no where near each other. And then it takes FOREVER to get it fixed bc LILO is SO SLOW. Which makes the gst oh so happy. :( In time I believe it should be worked out but until we figure out all the quirks of LILO it's not so fun for all involved. It's actually ironic now bc I absolutely detest when 2, 3, 4, 5 families think I have to check in all of them at the same time so they'll be near each other. With DPMS they were 95% pre-blocked and I would be soooo annoyed with them barking at me before I even know their last name "we need connecting rooms". Well join the club lady EVERYONE wants connecting rooms. Ok off my soapbox. :) But now with LILO it's a crapshoot and I find myself making their families join me so I know who I have to find. But yes in time I think it will be fine it's just at the moment a tad rough. :(

[kurtisnelson]

But now with LILO it's a crapshoot and I find myself making their families join me so I know who I have to find. But yes in time I think it will be fine it's just at the moment a tad rough. :(

Management knows its slow and painful right now and are working on it. A room assignor will always be needed, as a computer can't handle prioritizing who gets a connecting room over others and such. But yes, LILO is meant to cut down on the room assignment labor that is needed. We have a shortage of FSAs and check in folks, so no one should lose their job.

[Rinderoo]

You're partially right. It is true that LILO is "supposed" to do automatic room assignments based on what the gst requests. BUT there are still back office cms assigning rooms which is good since LILO leaves hundreds of rooms unassigned. IT IS A TOTAL NIGHTMARE. When a gst comes up to my window and says they are a magical gathering I want to cry bc 85% of the time they are no where near each other. And then it takes FOREVER to get it fixed bc LILO is SO SLOW. Which makes the gst oh so happy. :( In time I believe it should be worked out but until we figure out all the quirks of LILO it's not so fun for all involved. It's actually ironic now bc I absolutely detest when 2, 3, 4, 5 families think I have to check in all of them at the same time so they'll be near each other. With DPMS they were 95% pre-blocked and I would be soooo annoyed with them barking at me before I even know their last name "we need connecting rooms". Well join the club lady EVERYONE wants connecting rooms. Ok off my soapbox. :) But now with LILO it's a crapshoot and I find myself making their families join me so I know who I have to find. But yes in time I think it will be fine it's just at the moment a tad rough. :(

Thank you SO MUCH for this info! I'm a TA and the whole room thing and what I read on another board this morning was rather disconcerting. I go to great lengths to ensure my guests have TWIDs on their reservation and continuing reservations, just so it at least has a chance of showing up at the resort with some semblance of order. Of course getting DRC to put those room requests on sometimes means playing CM Roulette because they say they're on there, but my fax confirmation does not have it, which means another phone call.

I know its rough at the resorts now with the "enhancement". Are the problems at the front desk because guests don't bother to become a GG or don't hook up for a TWID behind the scenes? What helps things go better at check in? Its pretty rare for me to have a guest with a room issue, even with multiple rooms, and the thought of a computer assigning things and removing the human who thinks will contribute to unhappy guests.

[darph nader]

To sunsweet and rinderoo,,,,Welcome. Have a beverage. :coke: :pepsi:

[yvettedem]

I was there 12/7-12....I made my ressie 2 months in advance with a live operator...voiced my concerns about having to walk long distances since i have back and knee probs....when i was there in august for a chiropractic convention, i had mentioned this to the front desk as well as my mom using a walker and we were placed on the other end of the earth..not even parking by the building was an option..it was still a horrible walk...this time since i mentioned at the time of the ressie and checked in online, i was in the 50's bldg right near the parking lot (handicapped) it was awesome! I can't thank them enough for taking the extra time to make sure that my request was honored...btw regular reservation peeps couldn't even touch the ressie...i had to go to a special dept :)

[pbb]

We made a special request at BLT for our stay 11.27 thru 12.3. We requested a north view, outside ring for our Lake view reservation. It was our 25th Wedding anniversary. We arrived and sure enough we had south interior ring view. I had called ahead and to make sure and I was told that it would happen. In fact, the DVC group called to make sure of the same thing. I asked for a manager and the room was changed. The fact you take the time and ask and it is ignored completely is not good customer relations.

Heck, I could not even get the baker to make a special cake for our dinner at California Grill. I called and left a voicemail. Three days later after receiving no return call I called again. I was told I could get a frozen cake for $ 20 and they would write Happy Anniversary. I did not want this. I had to email the baker. I sent him an email and asked him for ideas or suggestions. I did not want anything fancy but I did not want a frozen cake (I could go to Publix or Pepperidge Farm) I asked him for recommendations or suggestions. Instead of doing this, he put it back in my court to design the cake. LOL. At that point, I gave up. The funny thing is DVC tried to get involved and asked them to do something special for our dinner. What did they do special ??? A frozen cake.........

Listening to a customer or SG is important. Especially if you want them to return or spend their money. I am sorry to see management decide to let a computer make a decision than a trained person. I have to admit I have been twice to WDW this year and although we have annual passes and we can go again next year we won't. I thought the last part of Eisner's reign was bad........This regime is worse. Oh, that is right he ran a cable company and we all know how good customer service there is........ :)

Sorry to be down..........We stopped at Waffle House and my wife had her Anniversary button that said 25 years and they made us feel more welcome than any restaurant we ate at WDW. What a shame.....It was so much fun.....I hope it comes back one day.

[Deb]

We made a special request at BLT for our stay 11.27 thru 12.3. We requested a north view, outside ring for our Lake view reservation. It was our 25th Wedding anniversary. We arrived and sure enough we had south interior ring view. I had called ahead and to make sure and I was told that it would happen. In fact, the DVC group called to make sure of the same thing. I asked for a manager and the room was changed. The fact you take the time and ask and it is ignored completely is not good customer relations.

Heck, I could not even get the baker to make a special cake for our dinner at California Grill. I called and left a voicemail. Three days later after receiving no return call I called again. I was told I could get a frozen cake for $ 20 and they would write Happy Anniversary. I did not want this. I had to email the baker. I sent him an email and asked him for ideas or suggestions. I did not want anything fancy but I did not want a frozen cake (I could go to Publix or Pepperidge Farm) I asked him for recommendations or suggestions. Instead of doing this, he put it back in my court to design the cake. LOL. At that point, I gave up. The funny thing is DVC tried to get involved and asked them to do something special for our dinner. What did they do special ??? A frozen cake.........

Listening to a customer or SG is important. Especially if you want them to return or spend their money. I am sorry to see management decide to let a computer make a decision than a trained person. I have to admit I have been twice to WDW this year and although we have annual passes and we can go again next year we won't. I thought the last part of Eisner's reign was bad........This regime is worse. Oh, that is right he ran a cable company and we all know how good customer service there is........ :)

Sorry to be down..........We stopped at Waffle House and my wife had her Anniversary button that said 25 years and they made us feel more welcome than any restaurant we ate at WDW. What a shame.....It was so much fun.....I hope it comes back one day.

You know, you are kind of sounding like a SG. Requests are just requests. Unless you are Robert Iger and make it known you want X room at Y resort. And if you are a DVC member, you sound like one of the DVC members from Heck. You know, those kind. "I paid a lot of money for this and I expect to be treated better than anyone else. "

[pbb]

You know, you are kind of sounding like a SG. Requests are just requests. Unless you are Robert Iger and make it known you want X room at Y resort. And if you are a DVC member, you sound like one of the DVC members from Heck. You know, those kind. "I paid a lot of money for this and I expect to be treated better than anyone else. "

I am just a husband trying to make a special personal event as good as I can make it for my wife. We have been married to me for 25 years and she has nursed me through 4 back surgeries the last 5 years. If that makes me a SG, that is fine. WDW is not the only hotel or resort with people making special request. If the manager had come out and said we were sold out and I have no other rooms available that would be one thing. However, he came out and instantly put me in a room we had requested. So, it was a computer or a staff member not paying attention to the reservation. If making a special request request makes me a stupid guest.......that is fine. What I believe the hotel employees have to remember is that they are in the hospitality industry.

Yes, I am a DVC member who paid up his vacations in advance and whose annual dues help keep the CM's employed through our annual dues even during up and down cycles in the economy such as 9/11 and right now. Did you notice how no DVC hotels were shut down after 9/11?

I have had some truly wonderful vacations at WDW and many of these experiences were created by caring and helpful CM's. Unlike, the CM who I purchased $ 150 earrings from at Bay Lake Gift Shop and I asked for gift wrapping. It looked like it was wrapped by a five year old. Her comment was she wanted it to make it look like it came from me...... LOL. Sorry, I was insulted because I could do better than that. It is the little things that keep customers/guests coming back or staying away.