Marvel a 25% Service Tariff for renting DVC points thru Canadian company?

[Genie+]

This caught me by surprise.

https://dvcrentalstore.com/blog/disney-savings-alert-dont-let-hidden-fees-ruin-your-dvc-rental/

“What Would a Service Tariff Look Like?
To illustrate, let’s compare the costs of booking a two-bedroom villa at Disney’s Grand Floridian from October 1 – October 8:

• DVC Rental Store: $9,746
• Disney Direct: $16,149.41
• Canadian Company: $10,189 (but with a potential 25% tariff = $12,736)

DVC Rental Store is already the most cost-effective choice, but if a service tariff were introduced, the savings gap would widen even more:

• You’d save nearly $3,000 compared to the Canadian company.
• You’d save over $6,500 compared to booking directly with Disney.

What This Means for You…”​

Example appears to be a 443pt VGF booking at $22pp - Standard View 2BR Oct 1-8, 2025 works out to exactly $9,726 (if there was availability left).

Is there enough chance of this happening to make speculating worthwhile?

 

[eticketplease]

I don’t see this happening.

I also think that Canadian company is actually pretty transparent for renters so I’m not sure what hidden fee they are referring to in the article.

They do charge $105 upfront, but will refund it if they are not able to secure the reservation you’re looking for. If they are able to get your reservation that $105 is credited towards your final cost.

They also stayed right on their website that some US credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee.

People generally make decisions based on price, followed by the level of service.

Right now, DVC rental store is cheaper but maybe David’s has better customer service. I don’t know as I’ve never rented points through either of them.

 

[Chuck S]

I don't see how they could even apply a "Service Tariff" especially for DVC Rentals, as it really isn't "the company" that is renting you the reservation, it is still being rented to you by a private DVC Owner.. And "service" isn't a tangible good.

 

[Genie+]

Yeah I don’t see this type of tariff ever coming to fruition.

 

[starry_solo]

Even if it were "goods", the "goods" are originating from, and staying in, the U.S.

 

[ehh]

Literal FUD aimed at a competitor. Shameful.

 

[pzw90]

Literal FUD aimed at a competitor. Shameful.

Is the rental side of things struggling? That they need to resort to such tactics?

 

[Brian Noble]

There is some rumbling that domestic travel is down. For example, Delta revised their 1Q25 guidance down by about half. They specifically mentioned domestic travel as a weakness.

 

[Brian Noble]

And yes, this is extremely disingenuous on the part of DVC rental store.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I don’t see this happening.

I also think that Canadian company is actually pretty transparent for renters so I’m not sure what hidden fee they are referring to in the article.

They do charge $105 upfront, but will refund it if they are not able to secure the reservation you’re looking for. If they are able to get your reservation that $105 is credited towards your final cost.

They also stayed right on their website that some US credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee.

People generally make decisions based on price, followed by the level of service.

Right now, DVC rental store is cheaper but maybe David’s has better customer service. I don’t know as I’ve never rented points through either of them.

I’ve tried to rent through David’s as a renter (I didn’t know what I was doing so requested way too late and didn’t get an actual available rental), and have also rented points through them as an owner. Honestly? They’ve had impeccable service when I have dealt with them. Really honest and open seeming. I have heard there are complaints about pandemic era business handling. I don’t know much about it, but David’s has had amazing communication when I have dealt with them.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

And yes, this is extremely disingenuous on the part of DVC rental store.

Agreed. Shame on them.

 

[reddog21]

And yes, this is extremely disingenuous on the part of DVC rental store.

why?
They clearly state in the article that IF a tariff was introducted this would be your savings. The way things are going would it really be crazy to think this couldn't happen?

 

[eticketplease]

why?
They clearly state in the article that IF a tariff was introducted this would be your savings. The way things are going would it really be crazy to think this couldn't happen?

For one the article it titled "Disney Savings Alert: Don’t Let Hidden Fees Ruin Your DVC Rental"

This certainly implies that there are hidden fees when renting however there are no hidden fees at David's who they are clearly targeting as the "Canadian" company regardless if a tariff was enacted or not.

The other thing I take exception is the quote "The largest and fastest-growing pool of DVC points available (especially after a competitor blindsided its members by failing to alert them of PayPal 1099 tax reporting changes)."

Why should they alert people on PayPal's policies?
If you are an American, regardless if you a DVC owner or not, you should be fully aware that income is taxable and thus proceeds from renting your points is taxable.
It is the owner's responsibility to keep up with that information and should be reported to the IRS whether PayPal sends out a tax form or not.

 

[maui22]

I can't help but wonder what the employees might be saying/doing behind other employees backs.

 

[reddog21]

For one the article it titled "Disney Savings Alert: Don’t Let Hidden Fees Ruin Your DVC Rental"

This certainly implies that there are hidden fees when renting however there are no hidden fees at David's who they are clearly targeting as the "Canadian" company regardless if a tariff was enacted or not.

Its not the company's fault if people only look at headlines. This isn't new, newpapers/internet have been using "clickbait" for a long time. They do an actual decent job of giving you at least a paragraph indicating that there is no current tariff. Better than most.

Why should they alert people on PayPal's policies?
If you are an American, regardless if you a DVC owner or not, you should be fully aware that income is taxable and thus proceeds from renting your points is taxable.
It is the owner's responsibility to keep up with that information and should be reported to the IRS whether PayPal sends out a tax form or not.

I don't disagree; however, it's also good practice for a company to pay attention to any laws that might impact its customers and to pass that information along. It's not that hard.

 

[kilik64]

You can't slap a tariff on a service, literal nonsense article.

 

[Sandisw]

Again, I’m not really sure the point of the article as there are many different resale brokers and all have their own payouts, fees, etc so it’s not all the same.

I guess it’s to help use todays situation to make renters think something that isn’t possible possible?

 

[Sandisw]

And before it happens, posts of a political nature are not allowed….so no discussion of the broader discussion of tariffs.

The controversy subjects thread can be used for that!

 

[reddog21]

You can't slap a tariff on a service, literal nonsense article.

Are you sure about that? There are several countries looking to impliment DST(Digital Service Taxes) for digital services provided across boarders which is exactly what the article implies. While tax is in the name it's regarded as a tariff on services.

 

[eticketplease]

Its not the company's fault if people only look at headlines. This isn't new, newpapers/internet have been using "clickbait" for a long time. They do an actual decent job of giving you at least a paragraph indicating that there is no current tariff. Better than most.

That is correct it's not the company's fault for looking at the headlines but to me the intent is to deceive people that there are these hidden fees at other rental sites which is not the case.

I don't disagree; however, it's also good practice for a company to pay attention to any laws that might impact its customers and to pass that information along. It's not that hard.

Since the company is not US based they use a third party for that so that they don't have to get involved with situations like this. The third party, PayPal is the one that would need to pass on this information if they changed their policies regardless of the reason as they are the one that deal with the disbursement of funds to owners.

Would it be nice for David's to pass it on? Absolutely, but it is ultimately on the owner to read the terms and know about how this will affect them.

Also david's does state on their page "We do not issue any income reporting information to any tax authorities. It is your responsibility to report any personal income you may receive."