Countisbury Lodge Lynmouth

Privacy

This policy details how we use and store your personal information here at Countisbury Lodge, along with why that information is stored and how we protect your privacy when doing so.

We pledge to handle any personal information under our control with a great deal of care, and to keep that information safe whilst respecting your privacy and rights.

It’s our aim to be 100% clear when collecting your information, and how we are going to use it.

Countisbury Lodge is a family-run business offering holiday lets here in Lynmouth and our use of minimal personal information allows us to operate and helps us offer a personal and professional service.

This policy is effective from 1st Sept 2022.

Who are we?

In terms of this privacy policy, ‘Countisbury Lodge’, ‘we’ or ‘our’ means: Countisbury Lodge - a business in Lynmouth, North Devon.

How we collect and store information about you

We collect and store information about you in a couple of different ways.

Information you provide to us directly

You may get in touch with us to make an enquiry, or to book a self-catering holiday either over the phone or via email.

When you’re using our website, we also collect personal information using what’s known as cookies (see below) and other methods of tracking.

This means we’ll receive information regarding the type of device you’re using to access our site, and the settings your device may provide us with additional details about the type of device you’re using, the specific model and operating system you’re using, your device settings. This is in accordance with common website practice.

For more details on the the information available to us through your device, check with your manufacturer or OS provider.

Information you provide to us indirectly

Your information may be passed onto us by third parties.

For example, when you book one of our properties through Airbnb.com, your contact details will be provided once a booking is confirmed.

We would advise you to check any privacy policy that has been provided when you place a booking through a third party website i.e:

Information from social media

If you contact us through messaging in one of the social media platforms, we may have access to publicly available information you have posted in your account.

Your privacy settings for social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram might be set up so that you give us permission to access certain information from those platforms - for example, tagging us in a post or photo.

The personal information we collect

We may store, collect and use the information detailed below:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your address and contact details (mobile number and/or landline)
  • Details of your booking (including the number of guests in your party)
  • Your bank or payment details where you’ve provided these to make a payment
  • Any queries or requests you’ve submitted to us
  • Any other personal information you’ve provided to us

How we use your personal data

We’ll use your personal information in the following ways:

  • Take bookings for your stay as a guest in one of our properties
  • Keep a record of your relationship with us
  • Contact you regarding your booking or property
  • Respond to any complaints or queries you get in touch with us about
  • Better understand how to improve the services we provide by analysing data
  • Send correspondence to you
  • Protect us
  • Practice due diligence
  • Audit and administration of our accounts
  • To meet legal obligations, such as fulfilling a contract with you, or our obligations to regulators, government and/or bodies of law enforcement
  • Establish, enforce or defend legal claims

How we use cookies

Cookies are basically little text files placed on your computer by the websites you visit, and are essential to ensure a website is functioning optimally. Often they contain a unique number which can recognise your computer when you return to a website you’ve been to before.

They also collect statistics to ensure maximum site functionality.

Third party cookies set by Countisbury Lodge

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to measure how people are using our website via cookies. This information then helps us improve our website for visitors. We may also use it to measure how effective our website is.

If you’ve explicitly opted into Google’s data privacy policy, Google will also be able to identify you across multiple devices by associating your IP address with other data they hold, so you can be identified across multiple devices. To refuse the use of cookies, select the appropriate settings on your browser (instructions on how to do this below).

There’s also a Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on (external link) which is available to install. Installing this add-on will stop the transmission of information generated by cookies regarding your use of any website and of your IP address to Google.

Read the Google Analytics privacy policy (external link).

Disable cookies on browsers

If you want to disable cookies on your web browser (such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer), just click the ‘Help’ menu in the toolbar. This should guide you on how to change the settings on your browser, and how to disable cookies completely. For more guidance, click this link to AllAboutCookies.org (external link).

How we protect your information

We ensure that the appropriate technical and organisation safeguards are in place in order to protect your personal data. This includes using a secure network.

Sharing your information with other organisations

We’ll never pass or sell your information onto third parties for their marketing efforts. Please see below about cookie use.

Keeping your information updated

If you wish to let us know of a change in your contact details, just get in touch via our phone number or email address above. We will update our records accordingly and appreciate you informing us of any changes.

How long we keep hold of your data

We have specific guidelines in place to determine how long we keep hold of your personal data. These are determined by both legal and operational considerations. As an example, we’re required to keep some of your information for tax purposes.

Changes to this policy

There may be future changes to this privacy policy. If any significant changes occur regarding the way your personal information is handled, we’ll make this clear via our website - or by contacting you via email.

Your rights

According to UK data protection law, you have rights over any personal information that is held about you. We’ve broken these down for you below:

The right to access your personal information

It’s your right to request access to any personal data we hold about you. It’s also your right to request a copy of that information from us - which we will provide to you unless legal exceptions dictate otherwise.

If you wish to access your information, please just contact us.

The right to have incorrect personal information corrected

It’s your right to get any inaccurate or incomplete information we hold about you amended.

If you think the information we hold about you might be wrong or incomplete, just provide us with the details and we’ll investigate and correct any inaccurate information.

The right to restrict use of your personal information

It’s your right to ask us to restrict the processing of some or all of your personal information if:

  • Some information we hold about you is incorrect
  • We’re not legally allowed to use it
  • You require us to retain your information in order to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
  • You believe your right to privacy outweighs our interests to use your information for a specific purpose and you object to this

The right to be forgotten

It’s your right to request that we delete some or all of your personal information from our system. We will carry out this request as long as there are no legal exceptions preventing us from doing so.

The right for your personal information to be portable

If we’re processing your personal information by automated means (either to carry out a contract with you or having received your consent to do so) it’s your right to request we provide you or another service provider with that information in a digital or machine-readable format.

The right to object to the use of your personal information

If we happen to be processing your personal information based on our own interests or for research or statistics, you have the right to object to your information being used in this way.

If we’re processing your information for the purposes of direct marketing, and you decide to object, we’ll stop processing your information as soon as possible.

You can exercise any of the above rights at any time. To do so, please contact us.

It’s possible we may need to request further information and/or proof of your identity However, all requests will be responded to within one month - unless we contact you to state otherwise.

Please bear in mind that exceptions will apply to several of the above rights, and not all rights will be applicable in all circumstances. For more details, it’s recommended that you check the guidance outlined at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (external link).

Contact us

If you would like to get in touch with us for any reason (whether to ask a question, leave a comment, suggest a change or make a complaint) please contact us via or give us a call on 07508 763893.

You can also reach us by post:

Countisbury Lodge
Tors Park
Lynmouth
Devon
EX35 6BN