Privacy Policy
Introduction
Your privacy is of the utmost importance, we are therefore committed to safeguarding your personal information. That starts with helping you understand our privacy practices.
This statement describes the personal information we collect, how it is used and shared, your choices regarding this information and applies to any users of our services.
Any reference in this statement to information or personal information is to “personal data” as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation.
Version 1.0
last modified 12/01/2023
Who are we?
We operate a Holiday Cottage business under the name HiddenDevon. If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or Personal Information that we hold about you, including any requests to exercise your rights, please contact our Data Protection Team using the details set out below:
The personal information we collect
We collect the following categories of information:
1. Personal information you provide
For example, this information may be collected when you:
Contact us about any of our services
Enquire about, book or review a holiday or other service
Calculate your travel distance from a property
The type of information we collect from you may include your name, , email address, phone number, postal address.
We may ask for information such as the names and ages of guests in your party, some of whom may be under 18. If you provide us with information for anybody under the age of 18, you are doing so on the basis that you confirm that you are their parent or guardian and you agree to us handling their personal details.
2. Information created when you use our services
The following types of information are created when using our services:
Site management information
For your online experience to function, we set whether you are logged in or out and record anonymous information to maintain your identify across multiple servers. Server logs are collected to monitor technical errors, aid diagnosis and other system activity which may include your device & IP Address.
Session information
So that we can continually improve our service to you we record session information. This data includes booking information, any searches performed and saved, cottages shortlisted along with dates and times for each. It may also include non-personally identifiable information such as your IP address and customer ID, along with your device information such as operating system with browser or app version as applicable.
Analytics information
We use analytics tools to understand how users find, move around and interact with our website to continuously improve and optimise our service.
3. Information from other sources
We may collect information relating to you or products or services you purchase from us from other sources which may include:
Business partners who help us facilitate the services we provide, such as payment providers, email service providers and review partners.
Marketing service providers such as social media and search engines
Other businesses through whom we advertise our products and services
Consultants who provide services to us, such as recruitment agencies
Publicly available sources
Information from these sources may be combined with other information in our possession.
Cookies and third-party technologies
We may also gather information from cookies, web beacons or similar technologies from the internet.
'Cookies' are small text files stored on your computer by your browser or device by websites, apps, online media and advertisements. Like most websites this one uses cookies. To learn more about these technologies, please see our Cookie Policy.
How we use your information
Our main purpose in collecting your personal information is to provide you with the services you requested and those which we believe will improve your experience with us.
We may use your information in the following ways:
Providing services and features
Show you recently viewed, wishlisted items or saved searches.
Understand your onsite behaviour so that we may personalise our marketing service to you
Calculate your travel time and distance from a property
Provide guest or user reviews on our website
To assist you when you contact us
Monitor and improve our services
To perform functions and services otherwise described to you when we collect your information
To fulfil a contract
When you use our services, for example booking a holiday, we will need you to supply us with specific information required to fulfil a contract or related contracts, such as the contract created between the property owner and guest. If you refuse to supply part or all of this information, we may not be able to fulfil these contracts.
Research and development
We may use the information we collect for testing, research, analysis and product development. This allows us to gain better market insights, improve and enhance the safety and security of our services and to develop new features and products. It also enables us to track the performance of our website and the content within it.
Communications between users of our services
We use the information we collect to enable users of our services, including guests, and parties we contract with (such as property owners) to identify one another and communicate. For example, a guest may contact the owner of one of our listed properties prior to their holiday to arrange a late arrival or an owner may contact the guest after the holiday if belongings have been left in the property.
Profiling
We may analyse your information to create a profile about you in order to serve you with relevant content. We may use additional information about you from other sources to help us to do this more accurately and efficiently.
We do not profile in any way that will put you at a disadvantage. We do not profile in any way using sensitive information (such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation).
Marketing communications & advertising
We may communicate with you about our products, services, promotions and news or, where applicable, relevant third parties’ services.
Verifying information
We may use or share your information with third parties to verify its accuracy.
Legal proceedings and requirements
We may use the information we collect to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to your use of our services, or as otherwise allowed by applicable law.
Information sharing and disclosure
We always treat your data with sensitivity and keep it secure. At times we share your information with others where it is either necessary to perform our services to you, where we are required by law to disclose information or where you have given your consent to share information.
Other parties that we share your data with include:
Users of our services
When using one of our services (a guest enquiring about a holiday, for example) we may share details about them with parties we contract with. For example, when booking a holiday, we will share the guest details to cleaners or other staff to ensure the cottages are prepared appropriately.
The general public
When you submit content through public forums such as blogs, social media and independent partners for holiday reviews, any personal information provided in such forums is done so at your own risk as voluntarily provided by you.
Our Service providers
In order to perform or market our services to you, we may provide information to our service providers who act on our behalf, such as mailing houses, research firms and companies offering marketing services/tools. The information we provide will always be limited to that which is necessary for them to fulfil the service they provide us and where we do so, we have appropriate agreements in place to ensure your information is kept secure.
Business Partners
We may share your personal data with our trusted business partners, such as consultants and marketing partners. We do this where we believe we have a legitimate interest, which has been balanced with your interests, or where you have given your consent for us to do so, or in circumstances where it is necessary to fulfil a contract you have entered into.
We will not share your information with any other organisation for their own direct marketing purposes, without your specific consent.
Third party advertising platforms
Where we share your data with third party advertising platforms (such as Google or Facebook) to provide you with relevant and personalised marketing content, this information may be joined with information held within that platform. To opt out or review your privacy settings, please see ‘Your Rights’ below.
With relevant authorities
For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute we may share your information when required or allowed to do so by law. For example, if you use another person's credit card, we may be required by law to share information with that credit card holder, including holiday information.
With your consent
We may share your information other than as described in this statement if we notify you and you provide your specific consent for this purpose.
Safety and security
We know how much data security matters to all our customers and we treat your data with the utmost care.
We adopt best practices and operate secure data networks protected by password protection to safeguard personal identifiable information. Sensitive data such as payment card information is secured by Stripe our payment provider for further information see their policies.
Choice & transparency
Accessing and Correcting Your Information
You can edit the name, phone number, postal address and email address within your account (where applicable) or by contacting us.
Objecting to profiling
We profile using personal information to analyse performance and better personalise advertising and marketing communications. We do not profile in anyway that will put you at a disadvantage. We do not profile in any way using sensitive information (such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation). Please contact us if you would like to object to this.
How long we keep your data for
We will only keep personal data for an appropriate period of time for the purpose(s) for which we are using it. This period will vary and be dependent on our contractual and legal requirements.
Your rights
You have the right to ask us to provide you with the personal information we may hold for you and what we are using this information for. This is known as a “Subject Access Request”. You also have the right to request that we delete your personal information. Upon receipt of such requests we will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible, but at least within one month.
If you believe the personal information we hold for your is incorrect, please let us know and we will rectify this as soon as possible.
If you would like to exercise these rights, please contact us at info@hiddendevon.com
If you are not happy with the manner in which we have used your personal information you have the right to complain to a statutory authority, in the UK this would be the Information Commissioner’s Office.
External links
On our websites you will find some links to external websites. Once you have left our website, our responsibility to you at HiddenDevon ends. Please check the privacy policies on other websites.
Updates to this statement
We monitor and review our privacy statement regularly. If we make significant changes we will endeavour to notify you through the website.
