Terms of use

Coble is run by the business named on our legal page. When this page says “Coble”, “we” or “us”, it means that business.

You can write to us at the address on our legal page.

Coble is a booking system and a directory for independent places to stay and to hire — cottages, rooms, holiday lets and halls. Each place is run by its own owner, not by Coble. We provide the software that shows their availability, takes the booking and sends the confirmation.

When you book, the contract for your stay or hire is between you and the owner of the place — the business named on its page and in your confirmation, with their address. They are responsible for the place, for its description and photographs, and for honouring your booking.

Coble is not a party to that contract, and is not a travel agent or a tour operator. Payments go straight to the owner’s own account through Stripe; they do not pass through Coble.

The price you are shown includes every charge you have to pay, such as a booking fee. Anything optional — an add-on you choose — is shown before you pay, and the full total is shown before you enter your card. Where the owner charges VAT, it is included.

When you continue to payment, your dates or times are held for you for a short while — the booking page says how long — so nobody else can take them while you pay. Your booking is confirmed when the payment succeeds, and a confirmation is emailed to you. If the payment does not go through, nothing is booked and nothing is taken.

Some owners take a deposit when you book and the rest before you arrive. Where they do, you are told the amount and the date before you pay, and again in your confirmation.

The owner’s cancellation terms apply. They are shown in full before you pay and are repeated in your confirmation. Refunds are made by the owner, to the card you paid with.

There is no 14-day cooling-off period. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a right to cancel most things bought online within 14 days, but not accommodation or leisure services booked for a specific date or period (regulation 28(1)(b)). The owner’s terms take its place.

If the owner cancels your booking, you are entitled to your money back in full.

• Give accurate details, including a working email address for your confirmation.
• Be 18 or over to make a booking.
• Keep to the number of people you booked for and to the owner’s house rules.
• Keep your account password to yourself, if you have an account.

You do not need an account to book. If you make one, it keeps your stays together in one place. You can download what it holds, or delete it, at any time from your account.

After a stay you may be invited to review the place. Reviews must be honest and about your own stay, and our reviews policy applies to them.

We provide the booking system with reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for the owner’s part — the place itself, or whether the owner honours a booking — although we will help you reach them if something goes wrong.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law does not allow us to limit. Your statutory rights are not affected.

About a stay or a hire: please contact the owner first. Their details are on the place’s page and in your confirmation, and they are the one who can put it right.

About Coble itself, or if you cannot resolve something with an owner: write to us at the address on our legal page.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in your own courts.

We may update these terms; the date at the top says when they last changed. A booking is governed by the terms in force when it was made.