We also used
www.dvcrequest.com to rent points at Boardwalk Villas last October. We were very pleased and had no issues.
Like @
Minthorne outlined, there are a few downsides/differences between points rental Ana conventional resort reservation.
1. Pre-planning: In order to rent DVC points, they recommend making your reservation at 12 months out. I booked in November 2011 for my October 2012 trip and did NOT get my first choice resort (AKL). At DVC Request you had to pay a non-refundable $90 fee for them to search for the room. If you booked the room, the money was credited toward your balance but if you did not book, you lost the $. Not a big deal if you are flexible on where you stay....see number 2.
2. You need to be flexible with where you end up staying: At DVC Request you have to (or maybe are just encouraged to) list second and third choice resorts. There are a much more limited quantity of DVC rooms than regular resort rooms and DVC resorts can completely book up months in advance. If you have your heart set on a certain resort and are traveling in December 2013, the odds are NOT in your favor for booking a room at Beach Club. But hey, Disney magic happens everyday and you may get lucky!
3. Once you book the points, you cannot cancel or move the date: I learned this the hard way when I booked a year in advance and before the 2012 school calendar was approved. Our Fall Break was moved from its customary first week in October; the week I had booked at WDW. My boys had a two week Fall Break that year!
4. DVC rooms are not identical to the regular resort rooms: DVC studio rooms have only bed and a sofa bed. A one bedroom has a dedicated bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. Be sure to check out pictures of the DVC rooms before you book. Their decor may not be identical to the regular resort rooms either. The Boardwalk Villas rooms had very outdated and kinda shabby decor. It was fine with me because I knew ahead go time what the room looked like. But if you arrive thinking your room should look like a regular Boardwalk Inn room, you may be disappointed.
5. No or limited housekeeping at DVC resorts: This may or may not be a big deal to you, but you need to be aware. It wasn't a deal-killer for me, but it was kind of a bummer to come back late at night to the same messy room that you left hours before. On day 7 (I think), they did clean our room and change the sheets. Stays less than 7 or 8 days do NOT get housekeeping.
6. You cannot take advantage of Free Dining or other discounts: Probably not a big deal for you because I am pretty sure they don't offer Free Dining in December. You CAN still book and pay for the Disney Dining Plan, but the DVC owner has to do it for you. I bought Disney gift cards for the amount of the DDP cost and emailed the codes to DVC Request who then sent them to the owner. Once we checked in at the resort, I visited the Concierge desk where they transferred my paper park tickets and DDP on to my KTTW card. I assume it will still work that way with the Magic Bands.
Even with all the "downsides", I would still rent DVC points again in a heartbeat! I could never have stayed at a Deluxe resort for a little over $100 per night and the location was PERFECT! We were treated just like DVC owners by the resort staff and had absolutely no difficulties with our reservation or stay.
