Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Dog-Friendly Hotels (“DogFriendlyHotels”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you visit dog-friendlyhotels.com, use our services, or submit information through our partner registration form. We comply with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the EU GDPR where applicable.
Information We Collect
Information you provide directly
- Name and contact details (email address, phone number) submitted via our partner registration or contact form
- Hotel or business name, address, and property details submitted via our Google Form
- Pet policy information you voluntarily provide about your property
- Any correspondence or messages you send to us by email
Information collected automatically
We do not currently collect any data automatically when you visit the Website. In the future, we may introduce analytics or tracking tools (such as cookies or server logs) to help us improve the Website experience. If and when we do, this policy will be updated accordingly and, where required, your consent will be obtained.
Information about hotels from public sources
- Hotel names, addresses, and contact information from publicly available directories
- Publicly stated pet policies from hotel websites
- Images sourced or licensed for use in hotel listings
How We Use Your Information
| Purpose | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Processing partner registration forms and onboarding hotels to the platform | Contractual necessity / Legitimate interests |
| Responding to enquiries and providing customer support | Legitimate interests |
| Verifying and displaying hotel pet policy information | Legitimate interests |
| Sending partner updates, listing notifications, and service communications | Contractual necessity / Consent |
| Improving the Website and services through analytics | Legitimate interests |
| Complying with legal obligations | Where we are required to process or retain data to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax law or a regulatory request |
We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
Sharing Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
- Service providers: Third-party tools we use to operate the Website, including Google (Forms, Fonts), hosting providers, and email platforms — under data processing agreements
- VOKAI verification: Where you have submitted your property for VOKAI-verified badge status, relevant property information is processed for verification purposes
- Legal compliance: Where required by law, regulation, or legal process
- Business transfers: In the event of a merger or acquisition, your data may be transferred — you will be notified before it is subject to a different privacy policy
Google Forms & Third-Party Services
Our partner registration form is hosted by Google Forms. When you complete the form, your responses are stored on Google’s servers and subject to Google’s Privacy Policy.
- Google Fonts: For typography. Google may receive your IP address when fonts are loaded
- VOKAI: AI image authenticity verification for processing and verifying hotel listing images
Data Retention
- Partner registration data: Duration of the partner relationship, plus 2 years after termination
- Contact form enquiries: Up to 2 years from the date of your last contact with us
- Legal and financial records: Up to 7 years as required by applicable law
When data is no longer required, we delete or anonymise it securely.
Cookies & Tracking
We do not currently use cookies or tracking technologies on the Website. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and obtain your consent where required by law.
International Data Transfers
We do not directly transfer your personal data outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). However, some third-party services we use — in particular Google (for Forms and Fonts) — may store or process data on servers located outside the UK/EEA. Google relies on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as the legal mechanism for these transfers, in accordance with UK ICO and European Commission requirements. You can read more about Google’s data transfer practices at policies.google.com/privacy.
Your Rights
Under UK and EU GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@dog-friendlyhotels.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
Children’s Privacy
Our Website and services are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us at info@dog-friendlyhotels.com and we will delete it promptly.
Data Security
We take the security of your personal data seriously. While we are an early-stage platform and do not yet have enterprise-level security infrastructure in place, we take reasonable precautions to protect the information you share with us, including limiting access to personal data to authorised team members only and using reputable third-party services (such as Google Forms) that maintain their own security standards. If you have concerns about your data, please contact us at info@dog-friendlyhotels.com.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify partners by email. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Questions about your privacy?
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, we aim to respond to all enquiries within 30 days.
info@dog-friendlyhotels.com