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.

 

Who are we?

This website is operated by Terence Mason trading as The Old Watch House. Our website address is: www.theoldwatchhousemousehole.co.uk.

All references to “we” “our” or “us” within this statement within this statement are deemed to refer to The Old Watch House.

Our address is Dunnett Cottage, Rackley Lane, Compton Bishop BS26 2HJ.

ICO Reference number: ZA769923

 

Data controllers

For your reference the data controller is:

Terence Mason of Dunnett Cottage, Rackley Lane, Compton Bishop BS26 2HJ who can be contacted at [email protected].

 

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
  • Create or update your account
  • Subscribe to a newsletter
  • Enquire about, book or review a holiday or other service
  • Calculate your travel distance from a property
  • Browsing our website

The type of information we collect from you may include your name, date of birth, passport and/or drivers licence number, email address, phone number, postal address and account password.

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 will be asked to 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, holiday properties 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 websites and apps 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
  • Businesses that collect, collate and supply information to us, such as marketing list and database providers
  • Other businesses through whom we advertise our products and services
  • Consultants who provide services to us, such as online payment portals
  • 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 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
  • Verify your eligibility for any products or services we offer
  • 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 book a holiday letting through us we will need you to supply us with specific information required to fulfil a contract or related contracts, such as the contract created between you (as the guest) and us (as the property owner). 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 you and us to identify one another and communicate. For example, a guest may contact us prior to their holiday to arrange a late arrival or we 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.

We may also provide you with relevant advertising and content about our services through third party providers as well as tracking performance of this advertising.

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:

Guests and property owners

When enquiring about a holiday we are required to share details about the guests with the owner to arrange the booking. When booking a holiday, we will share both the guest details to the owner and the owner’s details to the guest.

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 both the guest details to the owner and the owner’s details to the guest.

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 third party payment portals, 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. If one of our service providers is based outside the European Economic Area (EEA) we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

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, (1) 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, or (2) there has been criminal damage done to the holiday property which we report to the police.

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 limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We adopt best practices and operate secure data networks protected by industry standard firewall and password protection to safeguard personal identifiable information. Sensitive data such as payment card information is secured by SSL encryption. Any session requests to our servers are monitored to detect and prevent any suspect activity, fraudulent behaviour or site attacks.

We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.

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.

Marketing Opt-Outs

You may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us at [email protected], writing to us at Dunnett Cottage, Rackley Lane, Compton Bishop BS26 2HJ or by calling +44 (0) 7850428484.

You can also opt out of certain marketing communications through the following means:

  • Email:
    By following the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each marketing email or updating your preferences in your account (where applicable). Please note that if you do opt out, you may still be sent non-marketing messages, such as booking confirmations or balance reminders that would be relevant to the service we are providing to you.
  • Post:
    By following instructions from within the mailing itself or sending back to the sender address
  • Advertising on third party websites:
    You can opt out of personalised marketing from us on third party websites or apps by visiting the following links:
    Google: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences

Please remember that if you change your preference it may take a short time for those preferences to become effective.

Objecting to profiling

We profile using personal information to analyse performance and better personalise advertising and marketing communications. 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). 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 [email protected], writing to us at Dunnett Cottage, Rackley Lane, Compton Bishop BS26 2HJ or by calling +44 (0) 7850428484.

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 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 or through others means, such as email.