We at TripStax Hotels recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of personal data or personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) about the individual travelers that we process in our hotel booking systems and the users and visitors of our website and mobile applications. The following Privacy Policy discloses what information we gather, how we use it, and how to correct or change it. Please note, however, that we may update and amend this Privacy Policy from time to time.
TripStax Hotels Booking System
TripStax Hotels recognizes that many countries have adopted laws that apply to Personal Information about individual travelers that we process in our hotel booking systems.
We refer to each of these systems as a “Booking System”.
This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store and process Booking System Personal Information. This Privacy Policy does not cover how travel suppliers, such as hotels (a “Travel Supplier”), handle Personal Information. It also does not cover the Personal Information activities of a travel agency, corporation or other company that subscribes to a Booking System (a “Subscriber”). It also does not include Personal Information about users obtained through our public websites (except where a hotel booking is made via our website, in which case this policy shall apply). We recommend that travelers should carefully review the privacy policies of their Travel Suppliers and Subscribers.
Our Booking System is a technology portal used for the distribution of hotel inventory and other travel services. Many travelers engage traditional or online travel agencies or their own internal corporate travel departments, known in our industry as Subscribers, for assistance in managing their travel. Subscribers use our Booking Systems to identify travel options and to book the traveler’s selection. We then advise the relevant Travel Suppliers about the booking of their services.
International Transfers of Booking System Personal Information
Our Booking System processes Personal Information in data centers located within the European Economic Area.
Your Personal Information will be sent to Travel Suppliers that you select for your travel in order to perform or conclude contractual-related measures related to your current or desired relationship with the Travel Supplier. These Travel Suppliers may be located in a country that may not offer the same level of statutory protection for your Personal Information as your home country nor in countries that are subject to an adequacy decision by the Commission.
Collection, use, and disclosure
TripStax Hotels obtains Booking System Personal Information when a Travel Supplier or a Subscriber submits such data to a Booking System. We also receive Booking System Personal Information when an individual traveler submits data to us directly in circumstances where a booking is made by the individual traveler direct via our website or via our booking tool. The types of Booking System Personal Information that we obtain is the typical information that you provide when you make a hotel booking.
This information may include:
- name;
- gender;
- postal address;
- e-mail address;
- telephone number;
- credit card and payment information;
- travel and accommodation details; and
- special travel requests, such as a request for a disabled room.
If you access a Booking System directly through a website or application, then device type, connectivity and configuration data may also be collected, including device hardware specifications, data regarding the operating system and other device software, IP address, location information, and regional and language settings.
To the extent sensitive personal data (e.g. health or religious data) are processed, the explicit consent or its equivalent will be obtained from the traveler. Such consent can be withdrawn by the traveler at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on such consent before its withdrawal.
We use Booking System Personal Information to help create and perform the underlying contracts between travelers and Travel Suppliers and Subscribers. We consequently disclose Booking System Personal Information to those entities, as well as to the processors that act on their behalf. We also process Booking System Personal Information for our legitimate business interests. More specifically, we use Booking System Personal Information to:
- process travel bookings;
- provide Subscribers and Travel Suppliers with access to travel information;
- make and change travel reservations;
- perform billing and accounting functions related to the travel;
- perform technical operations related to the delivery of TripStax Hotels services;
- perform internal business processes (such as testing and quality assurance and product development and enhancement);
- conduct scientific, statistical, and research activities regarding travel trends (by non-automated means);
- issue booking confirmations and other travel-related documents on behalf of travelers; and
- inform you about other products and/or services available from TripStax Hotels and our group companies (only where you have signed up to receive marketing emails from us).
We disclose Booking System Personal Information to Travel Suppliers and Subscribers, as well as to the processors that act on their behalf, to carry out these activities and to help perform the underlying contracts with travelers.
We also disclose Booking System Personal Information to vendors that perform functions on our behalf, including suppliers of software development services, business processing service providers, contact center service providers, training service providers, and computer maintenance providers. We contractually require these vendors to maintain appropriate protections for Booking System Personal Information and to only process such data in accordance with our instructions.
If you access Booking Systems through a website and other applications, we utilize Google Analytics and the Google Maps API. In using Google Maps API you are agreeing to the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service which can be found at: https://www.google.com/help/terms_maps.html. Details regarding how Google collects and processes data can be found in the Google Privacy Policy which can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy (or any other URL Google may provide from time to time).
We may also process and disclose Booking System Personal Information as required by law, subpoena, or regulation; when requested by government or law enforcement authorities; for credit card processing, authentication, and fraud prevention; or as otherwise required or permitted by law. We do not sell Booking System Personal Information for purposes of allowing third parties to conduct direct marketing for their own products or services.
If you do not provide the data as described in this policy, such action may disrupt, delay, cancel or increase the cost of your travel.
Data security and integrity
TripStax Hotels maintains reasonable measures to protect Booking System Personal Information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. TripStax Hotels also takes reasonable steps – to the extent reasonably possible in the context of our role as an intermediary between Travel Suppliers and Subscribers – to keep Booking System Personal Information accurate, current, complete, and reliable for its intended use.
Data retention
TripStax Hotels retains Booking System Personal Information no longer than is necessary to comply with legal obligations and to fulfill legitimate business and compliance purposes. It is TripStax Hotels ’s policy to keep Booking System Personal Information for a period of no more than 3 years following the end of the year in which the booked travel was completed.
De-personalized data
TripStax Hotels analyzes, uses, discloses, and processes statistical and other data in de-personalized (anonymized) form that TripStax Hotels obtains or generates in connection with its business. This data is used to identify trends and other activities in the travel industry.
Information from minors
TripStax Hotels ‘s Booking System services are not intended for use by minors. We do not knowingly collect Booking System Personal Information from any minor.
Data access and correction requests and other questions
European data privacy laws grant European travelers certain rights with respect to the:
- access;
- rectification;
- erasure;
- portability; and
- restriction or objection to processing of their own Booking System Personal Information.
As a practical matter, travelers may first wish to contact their Travel Supplier or Subscriber as the most efficient means of addressing any issues in these areas. Travelers may direct any other requests, questions or complaints relating to their own Booking System Personal Information to TripStax Hotels at support@tripstaxhotels.com or to the Data Protection Officer at the address specified below.
TripStax Hotels retains the right to use reasonable measures to authenticate the identity of any traveler who makes a request in respect of their Booking System Personal Information or otherwise raises any questions.
Privacy related communications maybe directed to:
TripStax Hotels Oy
Linnoitustie 6
02600 Espoo
Finland
Attention: Data Protection Officer
Alternatively, please email: nikki.matthews@tripstax.com
Once we receive your inquiry we will investigate the matter and respond to you promptly. We will endeavor to do this within 30 days. If this is not possible, we will endeavor to contact you and let you know about a revised timeframe.
Dispute resolution
If any European traveler experiences an issue regarding Booking System Personal Information that the European traveler cannot resolve directly with, such traveler has a right to lodge a complaint with their local Data Protection Authority.
Publication and effective date
This policy is published by TripStax Hotels Oy.
Hotelzon Finland Oy is a company existing under the laws of Finland (Company Registration Number 1497968-6), with its registered office at TripStax Hotels Oy, Linnoitustie 4 B, 00260 Espoo, Finland and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the TripStax Technologies Ltd group of companies.
Last updated: November 2023