1. Introduction
HomestayOnline ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to it. When you use our website and services, you trust us with your personal information, and we take that responsibility seriously.
2. Information We Collect
Personal Information You Provide: When you create an account, make a booking, or contact us, we collect information such as your name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth, and payment information.
Booking Information: We collect details about your stay preferences, check-in/check-out dates, number of guests, special requirements, and communication with hosts.
Automatically Collected Information: When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and interaction data.
Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing behavior. See our Cookie Policy for more details.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information to:
- Process and manage your bookings and reservations
- Facilitate communication between guests and hosts
- Send booking confirmations, reminders, and updates
- Process payments and prevent fraudulent transactions
- Personalize your experience and provide tailored recommendations
- Improve our website, services, and customer support
- Send marketing communications (with your consent)
- Comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes
4. How We Share Your Information
We may share your information with: Hosts (necessary booking details to fulfill your reservation), Payment Processors (to process transactions securely), Service Providers (analytics, email delivery, customer support tools), and Legal Authorities (when required by law or to protect our rights).
We never sell your personal information to third parties. We never share your data for advertising purposes without your explicit consent.
5. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures including SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmission, encrypted storage of sensitive data, regular security audits and penetration testing, access controls and authentication protocols, and employee training on data protection best practices.
6. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the right to: access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, delete your data ("right to be forgotten"), restrict or object to processing, data portability, and withdraw consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@homestayonline.com. We will respond within 30 days.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. After account deletion, we retain certain data for up to 7 years to comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations. Anonymous analytics data may be retained indefinitely.
8. International Transfers
Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and compliance with applicable data protection frameworks.
9. Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information promptly.
10. Contact Us
For privacy inquiries: privacy@homestayonline.com
Data Protection Officer: dpo@homestayonline.com
HomestayOnline, 42 Wanderer's Lane, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1012 AB
