Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 30 October 2026

1. Operator and Scope

These Terms & Conditions govern the use of the website www.pool.berlin and, where validly incorporated into the respective contract, the services offered by The Pool, including venue rentals, event registrations and related services.

The website is operated by:

Heinsen und Steinbuch GbR
Operating as The Pool

Rollbergstraße 28A
12053 Berlin
Germany

Represented by Anna Heinsen and Mario Steinbuch

Email: hangbythepool@gmail.com
Phone: +49 173 7147096

These Terms apply to both consumers and business customers unless expressly stated otherwise.

Specific written agreements, booking confirmations or individually negotiated conditions take precedence over these Terms in the event of a conflict.

Membership arrangements may be governed by separate membership agreements.

2. Website Use

The Pool provides information about its venue, events, creative activities, membership opportunities and related services.

Visitors may use the website for lawful purposes, including exploring the venue, requesting information, submitting enquiries and registering for available events.

Visitors must not intentionally interfere with the security or operation of the website, attempt to gain unauthorised access to its systems or misuse forms and other interactive functions.

We aim to keep website information accurate and up to date. However, descriptions, availability, prices and event information may change.

Website content is provided for general information and does not, by itself, constitute a binding contractual offer unless expressly indicated otherwise.

3. Venue Rental Enquiries and Bookings

The Pool offers its venue for workshops, meetings, gatherings, artistic activities, private events and other agreed uses.

Submitting an enquiry through our website, by email or through another communication channel does not automatically create a binding booking or reserve the venue.

A booking becomes binding once the parties have agreed on the essential contractual details and the booking has been expressly confirmed by The Pool, or when a contract is otherwise concluded in accordance with applicable law.

Relevant booking details may include:

Date and duration of use
Purpose and type of event
Expected number of participants
Rental price and additional charges
Included equipment and services
Access, setup and departure arrangements
Payment and cancellation conditions
Any additional requirements or restrictions

Customers must provide accurate information relevant to their proposed use of the venue.

Material changes to an agreed booking require coordination between the parties and may require an amendment to the original agreement.

4. Rental Prices and Payment

Venue rental prices and optional service charges are described on the website or provided through an individual offer.

The final agreed price, payment schedule and any additional charges will be specified in the relevant booking agreement or confirmation.

Where applicable, prices for consumers must be presented in accordance with statutory price transparency requirements, including required taxes and mandatory charges.

Additional services, such as catering, event support, equipment, cleaning or extended usage, are charged only where included in the agreed booking or subsequently authorised by the customer.

Any deposit, advance payment or security deposit must be expressly agreed, including the amount, purpose and conditions for its return.

Payments must be made by the agreed due dates and through the payment methods communicated during the booking process.

Statutory rights concerning disputed claims, payment delays and other contractual matters remain unaffected.

5. Cancellation and Changes to Venue Bookings

Unless different cancellation conditions have been individually agreed, the following cancellation policy applies to confirmed venue rentals:

Cancellation at least 7 days before the booking:
The customer is entitled to a full refund of amounts paid towards the cancelled venue rental.

Cancellation less than 7 days but at least 24 hours before the booking:
The customer is entitled to a refund of 50% of the agreed rental price.

Cancellation less than 24 hours before the booking:
The financial consequences are governed by any validly agreed individual cancellation conditions and applicable statutory law.

Where a cancellation charge constitutes a fixed assessment of compensation, the customer retains the right to demonstrate that no loss occurred or that the actual loss was substantially lower.

Any legally required deduction for expenses saved or income obtained through alternative use of the venue remains applicable.

Cancellation requests should be communicated to:

hangbythepool@gmail.com

The relevant time is the receipt of the cancellation notice by The Pool.

If The Pool is unable to provide a confirmed booking for reasons within its responsibility, the customer's applicable statutory rights remain unaffected. Where a booking cannot be performed and no suitable alternative is agreed, payments will be refunded to the extent required by law.

6. Venue Use and Responsibilities

Customers are responsible for using the venue with reasonable care and in accordance with the agreed purpose.

During a rental, customers must:

Respect the agreed occupancy limits and usage times.
Comply with applicable laws, building regulations, fire safety requirements and reasonable venue instructions.
Keep emergency exits and access routes clear.
Use equipment and furnishings appropriately.
Respect neighbouring premises and applicable noise restrictions.
Avoid activities that create unreasonable risks to people or property.
Report relevant damage, defects or safety incidents promptly.
Return the venue in the condition required by the agreed booking arrangements, allowing for normal wear and tear.

Customers organising events are responsible for obtaining any licences, permissions or approvals required for their own activities, insofar as these are not expressly provided by The Pool.

This may include permissions relating to music, public performances, ticketed activities, catering or other regulated event activities.

The Pool will fulfil its own applicable legal and contractual responsibilities as the venue provider.

Customers are responsible for the conduct of participants and other persons they admit to the venue to the extent provided by applicable law.

7. Damage and Liability for Venue Use

Customers are responsible, in accordance with applicable statutory law, for damage caused through a breach of their contractual obligations or other legally attributable conduct.

Customers are not responsible for ordinary wear and tear resulting from the agreed use of the venue.

Where damage occurs, any claim for compensation will be assessed according to the actual circumstances, causation, responsibility and applicable law.

The Pool may request appropriate documentation or evidence where reasonably necessary to assess damage.

Nothing in these Terms creates unlimited liability for customers or excludes rights or defences available under applicable law.

8. Events and Ticket Registrations

The Pool hosts and supports various cultural, artistic, community and private events.

Some events are organised directly by The Pool, while others may be independently organised by third parties renting or using the venue.

The event description or booking information should identify the relevant organiser and applicable conditions.

For events organised by The Pool, registration and ticket purchases are subject to the event-specific information provided before registration or purchase.

This may include the event date, admission price, included services, participation requirements and applicable cancellation conditions.

For independently organised events, the organiser's own contractual conditions may apply.

A registration or ticket purchase becomes binding according to the terms communicated during the relevant registration or checkout process.

If an event organised by The Pool is cancelled, affected participants will be informed using their available contact information, and any applicable statutory refund rights will be respected.

If an event is postponed or materially changed, the relevant contractual and statutory rights of participants remain unaffected.

9. Memberships and Community Participation

The Pool may offer various forms of membership, community participation and shared use of the venue.

Membership may provide access to specific benefits, activities, discounts, shared resources or participation opportunities.

The precise benefits, membership contributions, payment conditions, responsibilities and termination arrangements are defined in the relevant membership offer or separate membership agreement.

Submitting a membership enquiry does not automatically establish membership or create a payment obligation.

Where a membership agreement is concluded, the relevant agreement will determine the membership structure, commencement, duration, contributions and termination conditions, subject to mandatory law.

These general Terms do not themselves establish recurring membership fees or grant rights to use the venue without a confirmed membership agreement.

Any additional governance arrangements for collective or co-created membership structures must be expressly agreed and do not arise merely from use of the website.

10. Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

Consumers may have a statutory right of withdrawal for certain distance or off-premises contracts under German law.

Where such a right exists, The Pool will provide the legally required withdrawal information and, where applicable, the statutory model withdrawal form before the consumer becomes contractually bound.

For contracts relating to leisure activities provided on a specific date or during a specified period, the statutory right of withdrawal may be excluded under Section 312g(2) No. 9 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

Whether this exception applies depends on the actual nature of the contracted service.

It does not automatically apply to every venue rental, membership or other service offered by The Pool.

Contractual cancellation arrangements remain separate from statutory withdrawal rights.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits a statutory withdrawal right where one exists.

11. Changes, Interruptions and Unforeseen Circumstances

We aim to provide our agreed services as scheduled.

Events or bookings may be affected by circumstances outside the reasonable control of the parties, including serious safety incidents, official restrictions, infrastructure failures or other extraordinary events.

Where such circumstances occur, we will communicate relevant information and assess available alternatives.

Any cancellation, postponement, contractual adjustment or refund will be handled in accordance with the agreed contract and applicable law.

These Terms do not exclude statutory rights arising from impossibility, disruptions in performance or other legally relevant circumstances.

12. Safety and Conduct

The Pool aims to provide a welcoming and respectful environment.

Visitors, participants, organisers and renters are expected to treat other people, staff, neighbours, equipment and the premises with respect.

Harassment, violence, unlawful discrimination, deliberate property damage and other unlawful or seriously disruptive conduct are not permitted.

The Pool may take reasonable and proportionate action to address safety risks or serious misconduct, including requesting that a person cease the conduct or leave the premises where legally justified.

Any contractual and statutory rights to refunds or other remedies remain unaffected.

13. Photography, Video and Intellectual Property

The website contains photographs, texts, designs, artwork, logos and other materials protected by intellectual property laws.

Unless otherwise indicated, such materials may not be reproduced or commercially exploited without permission from the relevant rights holder, except where legally permitted.

Visitors and event participants retain their applicable rights concerning their own images, creative work and other protected material.

Attendance at an event does not, by itself, constitute unrestricted consent to the publication or commercial use of a person's identifiable image.

Where photography or video recording takes place, any required notices, permissions or other legal bases must be addressed separately.

Event organisers remain responsible for their own documentation activities and any necessary permissions, unless otherwise agreed.

14. Third-Party Services and Links

Our website may link to external websites or use services provided by third parties.

The availability, content and contractual conditions of independently operated third-party services are determined by their respective providers.

Where we engage third parties to perform services owed by us under a contract, our contractual responsibilities remain governed by applicable law.

Personal data processing is addressed separately in our Privacy Policy.

15. Liability of The Pool

The Pool is liable without limitation for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence by The Pool, its legal representatives or its agents.

The Pool is also liable without limitation for damage arising from injury to life, body or health caused by negligent or intentional breaches of duty for which The Pool is legally responsible.

In cases of slight negligence involving a breach of an essential contractual obligation, liability for other damage is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract, to the extent such limitation is legally permissible.

Essential contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment is necessary for the proper performance of the contract and on whose fulfilment the contractual partner may regularly rely.

In other cases of slight negligence, liability is excluded only to the extent legally permissible.

Liability under mandatory statutory provisions, including applicable product liability law and liability arising from an expressly assumed guarantee, remains unaffected.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts liability where such exclusion or restriction is prohibited by law.

16. Data Protection

The processing of personal data through our website, contact forms, event registration functions and related communication channels is described in our Privacy Policy.

The current Privacy Policy is available at:

https://www.pool.berlin/privacy-policy

17. Amendments to These Terms

We may amend these Terms to reflect changes in our services, operational requirements or applicable law.

Amended Terms will be published on our website with an updated effective date.

Changes do not automatically modify existing contracts or membership agreements.

Any modification to an existing contractual relationship requires a valid contractual or statutory basis.

18. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

For consumers, this choice of law does not deprive them of mandatory protections applicable under the law of their country of habitual residence where such protections apply under relevant conflict-of-law rules.

The place of jurisdiction is determined by applicable statutory provisions.

No exclusive jurisdiction agreement applies to consumers unless legally permissible.

19. Severability

If an individual provision of these Terms is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain effective to the extent permitted by law.

The statutory provisions apply in place of any invalid or unenforceable provision.

20. Contact and Complaints

For questions regarding these Terms, bookings, events or services, please contact:

The Pool — Heinsen und Steinbuch GbR