PRIVACY POLICY

Cottage Venture (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to maintaining your privacy and ensuring the protection of your personal data. This Privacy Policy outlines the types of personal information we collect when you visit or interact with our website, cottageventure.com (“Website”), and explains how we handle, use, and safeguard that information in compliance with applicable laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).

1. Commitment to Privacy and Data Protection
We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. We aim to be transparent about how we collect, use, store, and share your information, and we implement robust technical and organizational measures to ensure your data security and privacy.

2. Scope of Policy and Data Controller Role
This Privacy Policy applies to anyone who visits, interacts with, or uses cottageventure.com or communicates with us through any channel, including email, forms, and customer support services.

For the purposes of the GDPR and other applicable data protection legislation, Cottage Venture is the data controller of your personal data. If you have any questions regarding how we process your data, please refer to Section 13 of this Policy.

3. Categories of Data We Process

We may process the following categories of personal data:

– Usage Data: Includes the type of browser and version used, operating system, Internet Protocol (IP) address, device identifiers, referral source, length of visit, and pages viewed. This data is collected to optimize website performance and user experience.

– Account Data: Includes full name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number collected during account registration or when you voluntarily provide it.

– Profile Data: Includes your preferences, past purchases, booking history, and behavior on the Website such as wish-listed properties or favorited items.

– Communication Data: Includes the content of your communications with us, such as email correspondences, customer support requests, and contact history.

– Technical Data: Includes device type, screen resolution, operating system version, browser plug-ins, and network configurations. This data supports technical troubleshooting and compatibility.

– Transaction Data: Includes payment details, billing and delivery information, reservation history, and transaction timestamps.

– Preference Data: Includes your marketing and communication preferences, product or service interests, opt-in consents, and cookie consent selections.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

– Contractual Necessity: Where processing is necessary to fulfill a contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g., to complete a booking or purchase);
– Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests (e.g., to improve services, prevent fraud, monitor and secure the Website), provided such interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights;
– Consent: When you give us clear and explicit consent to process your personal data for specific purposes, such as receiving marketing communications;
– Legal Obligations: Where processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or lawful governmental requests.

5. Your Rights

You have the following rights under applicable data protection laws:

– Right of Access: You have the right to obtain information about the personal data we hold about you and how we process it.
– Right to Rectification: You may request that we correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data.
– Right to Erasure: You may request the deletion of your personal data, subject to legal or regulatory retention obligations.
– Right to Restriction: You may request the limitation of certain types of data processing.
– Right to Data Portability: Where applicable, you may request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format to transfer to another service provider.
– Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
– Right to Withdraw Consent: Where you have provided consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 13.

6. Security Measures

We implement industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal data against unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction. These include but are not limited to:

– End-to-end encryption of data transmissions;
– Access controls based on role-specific permissions;
– Secure storage, regular security audits, and routine backups;
– Training personnel in data privacy principles and secure handling procedures.

7. International Data Transfers

Your personal data may be transferred to and stored outside your country of residence, including to countries that may not offer the same level of data protection as your home jurisdiction. Where this occurs, we will implement appropriate safeguards to ensure a similar degree of protection, such as the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission or adherence to recognized international data transfer frameworks.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or to comply with legal, accounting, or regulatory obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the data category and purpose:

– Usage Data: Retained for 12 months;
– Account Data: Retained for the duration of the account and up to 3 years thereafter;
– Profile and Transaction Data: Retained for up to 7 years for business and tax purposes;
– Communication Data: Retained for 24 months;
– Technical Data: Retained for up to 12 months;
– Marketing Preference Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or until your data is deleted upon request.

9. Cookie Policy

Cottageventure.com uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect and store certain information. The types of cookies used include:

– Essential Cookies: Required for website functionality and secure login.
– Functional Cookies: Enable personalization such as remembering preferences or languages.
– Analytics Cookies: Collect anonymous information about website usage to help us improve user experience.
– Performance Cookies: Monitor the performance of the Website, including page load times and responsiveness.

10. Cookie Management and Legal Compliance

You can manage your cookie preferences by adjusting the settings in your browser or through our Cookie Consent Management tool available on our Website. Under the GDPR and CCPA, you have the right to opt out of non-essential cookies and targeted advertising. We will not deploy tracking technologies until consent is explicitly provided where required.

11. Protection of Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data online from children under 13 years of age. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take prompt steps to delete it from our systems.

12. Policy Updates and Notifications

We periodically review and update this Privacy Policy to ensure it reflects our practices and remains compliant with applicable legal standards. Any significant changes will be communicated via the Website and, where appropriate, via direct notice using the contact information you provided.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]

Our team will respond to all valid requests and inquiries in accordance with applicable privacy laws and regulations.

We are fully committed to protecting your rights under the GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant privacy legislation. For any privacy-related questions, please feel free to reach out to us at the contact address above.