What Cottages.com does

Cottages.com is a UK online marketplace and booking platform for self-catering holiday accommodation, offering access to over 18,000 cottages across England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It operates as the consumer-facing brand of Awaze Vacation Rentals Ltd (registered in England and Wales, headquartered at Trinity House, Lowestoft, Suffolk) and has been active in the market since 1979. The platform segments its catalogue through themed collections including Dog Friendly (12,000+), Luxury (4,500+), Hot Tub, Glamping, James Collection, Coastal, Family, Large Group, Last Minute, Short Breaks, Pub Walk, Unique, Accessible, Eco-Friendly, EV Charging and Coolcation cottages, supported by destination landing pages and a content library covering UK regions and travel themes.

The underlying technology comprises a consumer-facing website (cottages.com), a property search and booking engine with filtering by destination, date, guests, and amenities, and a mobile application available on iOS and Android. Distribution is direct-to-consumer: customers discover properties through organic search, content marketing, email, and social channels, then book online, via app, or by phone, with options including a £25 deposit, monthly payment plans, and flexible cancellation. Trust signals include ABTA membership, quality-checked listings, Trustpilot reviews, 24/7 UK-based support, and Google Preferred Source status.

Cottages.com generates revenue primarily through transaction commissions on bookings made through its platform, acting as a managed holiday letting agency within the Awaze group. Property owners list cottages via the Awaze owner platform and pay management/commission fees on bookings facilitated. Additional revenue comes from ancillary services such as the yhangry private chef add-on. The customer base is entirely B2C — individual UK staycation holidaymakers — and the company is privately held with no public ticker, no disclosed funding rounds, and no revenue figures in the public source material.

Name

Cottages.com

Legal name

Awaze Vacation Rentals Ltd t/a Cottages.com

Website

https://cottages.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Cottages.com is a UK online marketplace and booking platform for self-catering holiday cottages, offering over 18,000 properties across England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. It serves UK staycation holidaymakers via direct consumer booking and property owners through a managed letting service, operating as the consumer brand of Awaze Vacation Rentals Ltd.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holiday Cottage Booking Marketplace

NAICS

Other Traveler Accommodation (72119), All Other Traveler Accommodation (721199)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Cabins & Cottages (THAMAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote/Alternative Accommodation Management (Cabins, Tiny Homes, Glamping) (BPAJAIAG), Cabins & Cottages (THAMADAA), Family & Group-Friendly Rentals (Large Homes, Multi-Unit Compounds) (THAGANAI), Family & Kid-Friendly Homes (THAMAAAK)

Keywords

• Holiday cottage rentals
• Self-catering accommodation
• UK staycation booking
• Vacation rental marketplace
• Holiday letting agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Barnoldswick

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Holiday cottage booking commissions: Cottages.com acts as a managed holiday letting agency, earning commissions on bookings made through its platform. Property owners list cottages via Awaze and pay a management/commission fee for bookings facilitated through the platform. The company also offers holiday home owner services ('Let your property') as a revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cottages.com is an online marketplace and booking platform for UK self-catering holiday cottages, aggregating over 18,000 properties across England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Property owners list their cottages via the Awaze platform, and Cottages.com earns commissions on bookings made through its consumer-facing website and mobile app. The offering includes themed curated collections (Dog Friendly, Hot Tub, Luxury, James Collection, Pub Walk Collection, Coolcation, Glamping), flexible booking mechanics (£25 deposit, monthly payment plans, flexible cancellation), ABTA-backed consumer protection, 24/7 UK-based support, and add-on services such as a private chef experience via a yhangry partnership.

Product overview

Cottages.com is a UK-wide online marketplace and booking platform for self-catering holiday cottages, offering access to over 18,000 properties across England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. The platform operates as a unified booking portal with multiple specialized sub-brands and collections including Dog Friendly Cottages (12,000+ properties), Hot Tub Breaks, Luxury Collection (4,500+ properties), Glamping Holidays, James Collection (premium/exclusive properties), Cottages with Pools, Coastal Cottages, Family Cottages, Large Group Cottages, Short Breaks & Weekends, Last Minute Cottages, Pub Walk Collection (in partnership with The Ramblers), Unique Cottages (1,000+ properties), Accessible Holiday Cottages, Eco-Friendly Cottages, and EV Charging Cottages. The platform also offers a mobile app with exclusive deals and a holiday letting service for property owners. Through a partnership with yhangry, the platform enables guests to book private chef experiences directly to their cottage. Pricing features include low deposit booking (£25), flexible cancellation options, monthly payment plans, and promotional offers such as 3-for-2 and 4-for-3 deals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cottages.com Platform Online marketplace and booking platform for UK self-catering holiday cottages, offering over 18,000 properties across England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Designed for UK consumers booking domestic staycation accommodation and for holiday home owners listing properties.
• Cottages.com Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling consumers to discover, save favourites, and book UK holiday cottages on the go, with app-exclusive deals and promotions.
• Holiday Letting Services (Let Your Property) Managed holiday letting service allowing UK property owners to list and rent out their holiday cottages via the Awaze platform, with the Cottages.com consumer audience as the demand side.
• Private Chef Experience (yhangry) Add-on dining service enabling cottage guests to book a private chef to cook in their holiday cottage, delivered through a partnership with yhangry.
• Coolcation Cottages Collection

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The RamblerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCottages.com partnered with The Ramblers, Britain's walking charity, to identify lesser-known walking routes for the Pub Walk Collection. This curated collection brings together hand-picked cottages, pub walks, and independent pubs across Britain, co-developed with The Ramblers to offer distinctive walking holiday experiences.
• yhangryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCottages.com partnered with yhangry to offer private chef experiences at cottages. Guests can book a private chef to come to their cottage, elevating the self-catering holiday with in-cottage dining. This partnership is promoted on the cottages.com promotions page and adds a premium service to the cottage booking experience.
• ABTAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCottages.com is an ABTA member (Membership Number L4801) and as such is bound by ABTA's Code of Conduct. ABTA membership provides consumer protection for bookings and is a key trust signal for customers. The company also works with ITC Compliance Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, to provide insurance and compliance services.
• ITC Compliance LimitedminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAwaze Vacation Rentals Ltd t/a Cottages.com is an appointed representative of ITC Compliance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registration number: 313486) and is permitted to advise on and arrange general insurance contracts as an intermediary.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Canopy & Stars: A UK-based curated holiday rentals brand focused on unique and boutique stays including cabins, treehouses, and glamping. Overlaps with Cottages.com's boutique/glamping/unique collections and targets a similar design-conscious traveller.
• Coolstays: A UK specialist in unique and unusual holiday properties, including cabins and glamping. Competes with Cottages.com's Glamping and Unique Cottages collections for the niche 'experiential' staycation segment.
• The Landmark Trust: A UK heritage-focused letting charity offering cottages, castles, and historic properties. Overlaps with Cottages.com's coastal and unique heritage portfolio, particularly for the boutique/unique staycations segment.

Direct peers

• Holidaycottages.co.uk: A UK specialist letting agency offering a curated portfolio of self-catering holiday cottages. Operates a very similar direct-to-consumer booking model to Cottages.com and competes for both supply (owners) and demand (UK holidaymakers).
• Sykes Cottages: One of the UK's largest cottage letting agencies with a comparable portfolio of self-catering holiday cottages and a direct-to-consumer booking model. Sykes is the closest head-to-head competitor to Cottages.com in the UK managed cottage category.
• Hoseasons: A sister UK holiday letting brand also owned by Awaze Vacation Rentals, offering lodges, parks, and coastal properties. Hoseasons overlaps directly with Cottages.com's managed-letting proposition and shared parent supply.

Broad incumbents

• Vrbo (Expedia): Global vacation rental marketplace operated by Expedia Group, with UK cottage inventory and a similar whole-home focus to Cottages.com. Direct competition for UK family/group holiday bookings, particularly in peak summer periods.
• Airbnb: The largest global short-term rental marketplace, hosting UK cottages alongside broader accommodation. Competes with Cottages.com on supply acquisition and demand-side search, but offers an unmanaged host model versus Cottages.com's managed letting.
• Tripadvisor: Major travel discovery and reviews platform with vacation rental listings. Competes for top-of-funnel travel inspiration and booking referral traffic in the UK, adjacent to Cottages.com's content-led acquisition model.
• Booking.com: The world's largest accommodation OTA, carrying UK cottages alongside hotels and apartments. Competes for the same UK leisure traveller demand and increasingly aggregates short-term rental inventory.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cottagescom
• Facebookfacebook.com/cottagescom
• Instagraminstagram.com/cottages_com
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cottages-com

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cottages.com