Changes in terms and conditions

New Privacy Policy

Table of contents

General provisions

  1. In order to protect the right to privacy of users of the animalhotels.com Website and Application and to comply with legal requirements, animalhotels.com provides Users of the Website and Application with this Privacy Policy, which explains and informs how Users’ personal data is processed and secured.
  2. Animalhotels.com processes personal data in accordance with applicable laws, including Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (GDPR), the Polish Act of 18 July 2002 on Providing Services by Electronic Means, and—where applicable—local personal data protection laws in force outside the European Economic Area, such as the UK GDPR (United Kingdom), CCPA/CPRA (United States – California), PIPEDA (Canada), LGPD (Brazil), APPI (Japan), or POPIA (Republic of South Africa).
  3. Animalhotels.com has implemented the following principles:
    • data is collected for specific, explicit and legally justified purposes and is not further processed by animalhotels.com in a manner incompatible with those purposes (“purpose limitation”);
    • at the start of data collection, the person whose data is processed should always be informed in a clear and transparent manner of the purposes for which the data is processed (“lawfulness, fairness and transparency”);
    • only data that is adequate and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed is collected (“data minimisation”);
    • data should be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date (“accuracy”);
    • data is stored in a form which permits identification of the data subject for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed (“storage limitation”);
    • data is processed in a manner ensuring appropriate security, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (“integrity and confidentiality”).
  4. Before using the animalhotels.com Website and/or Application or registering an account, the User should read this Privacy Policy.

Definitions

Policy – this Privacy Policy.

Animalhotels.com – a limited liability company with its registered office in Łódź (90-318 Łódź, ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza 72), entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs kept by the District Court for Łódź-Śródmieście in Łódź, 20th Commercial Division of the National Court Register (KRS) under KRS number 0000934860, REGON 520527265, NIP 7252314345, share capital PLN 116,200.00.

Application – the animalhotels.com mobile application for Android and iOS made available to Users.

User – a natural person whose personal data is processed by animalhotels.com in connection with using the animalhotels.com Website and/or Application.

Personal data – any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”).

GDPR – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC.

Pet Service – paid services related to caring for an animal/animals, provided by the Petsitter to the Pet Owner.

Website – the animalhotels.com website made available to Users at https://animalhotels.com.

I. Collection and processing of data

  1. The controller of personal data provided by the User while using the Website and/or Application is Animalhotels.com.
  2. As a result of using the Website and/or Application, Animalhotels.com may process in particular the following personal data: first and last name, address data, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, tax identification number (NIP), date of birth, image/likeness, message content, and review content.
  3. Animalhotels.com enables its Users to use the Website and/or Application anonymously; however, in order to obtain full access to the services offered via the Website and/or Application, it is recommended to register by completing the registration form. Providing data by the User is voluntary, although providing certain data is necessary to create an account or use certain functionalities of the Website and/or Application, e.g. receiving the newsletter. Where data is collected to comply with a legal obligation, providing data is mandatory.
  4. After registration and logging into their account, the User may provide additional personal data that may facilitate the use of services.

Provision of services

Animalhotels.com processes personal data to enable the delivery and management of Pet Services, as well as other services provided via the Website and/or Application, including educational services (e.g. courses, trainings). Processing is necessary to provide these services and includes, among other things, sending the User information related to bookings or orders, such as confirmations, reminders, changes, and-where applicable-proofs of purchase and/or payment.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (acceptance of the Website and/or Application terms and conditions);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Marketing communication

Operational communication related to the provision of Pet Services

Animalhotels.com provides the User with information, instructions and guidance necessary to facilitate the provision of Pet Services-data will be processed for the period necessary to perform the contract, and after its completion for the period resulting from archiving regulations and regulations on pursuing claims. The information provided may include, among other things, instructions on using the Website and/or Application, guidance on providing Pet Services, and operational communications facilitating performance.

Direct marketing communication (newsletter, updates, offers)

Animalhotels.com provides the User with newsletters and marketing information regarding Services, new functionalities and updates related to the Website and/or Application—personal data is processed on the basis of the Controller’s legitimate interest in conducting direct marketing. Data will be processed until consent is withdrawn or an objection to processing for direct marketing purposes is raised. The User may withdraw consent at any time via Account settings or via the unsubscribe link included in each marketing message.

Personalised advertising

Animalhotels.com shares personal data with advertising partners (in particular Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Google Ireland Limited and Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited) for marketing activities using custom audiences and for matching ads to Users.

Personal data (e.g. e-mail address, phone number or online identifiers) is processed based on the User’s consent. Before being shared with advertising partners, the data may be hashed or pseudonymised, which limits the possibility of direct identification of the User by an external entity. This data is used solely to match existing User profiles in advertising systems and to display personalised advertisements to them, in accordance with the rules of the relevant provider.

Data is processed until consent is withdrawn or it becomes no longer useful. The User may withdraw consent for advertising-related processing at any time via Account settings, cookie settings, advertising settings on external platforms (e.g. Meta, Google), or by contacting Animalhotels.com.

Sharing data with advertising partners located outside the European Economic Area may involve a transfer to a third country; in such a case, appropriate safeguards are applied, including standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions in accordance with GDPR.

Personal data is processed for the provision of the above services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is:
    • for operational communication – Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract),
    • for direct marketing communication – Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of the controller) and—where electronic communications are used—Article 10 of the Polish Act on Providing Services by Electronic Means and Article 172 of the Polish Telecommunications Law (User’s consent),
    • for personalised advertising – Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (User’s consent);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Animalhotels.com processes data where necessary to fulfil obligations arising from legal provisions. In certain cases, it may be necessary to reuse data for the purposes of:

  • handling and resolving claims and legal disputes,
  • dealing with potential supervisory investigations,
  • enforcing the Website terms and conditions with respect to online bookings,
  • complying with legally issued requests from law enforcement authorities,
  • ensuring compliance with laws and regulations applicable to Animalhotels.com.

Animalhotels.com may be required to collect and disclose personal data of Users providing Pet Services to tax authorities, in accordance with applicable laws, including the DAC7 Directive and the national laws implementing it within the European Union. This obligation may include identification data, contact data, tax identification number, payment data, and information on the amount of income earned.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(c) GDPR (compliance with legal obligations incumbent on animalhotels.com);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Ensuring the security and functionality of the Website and/or Application

Animalhotels.com processes personal data where necessary to ensure the security of information processing within animalhotels.com and to manage ICT systems.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and a high quality of services);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Communication between Users of the Website and/or Application

Animalhotels.com collects message content and information provided by the User via this functionality.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b), (d) and (f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com and ensuring protection for Users—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and explaining any incidents related to communication between Users);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Reviews and ratings of Users

Animalhotels.com processes data from User reviews and ratings in accordance with the Terms and Conditions in order to monitor the quality of Pet Services, verify User satisfaction, maintain a high standard of communication between Users, and identify and prevent undesirable behaviour. This data may also be used to profile Petsitters to ensure better matching to the Pet Owner’s request.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and a high quality of services, and improving service quality);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Handling enquiries from Users of the Website and/or Application

Animalhotels.com processes personal data to consider complaints related to the operation of the Website and/or Application, to contact the User or a third party using the Website and/or Application, and to take appropriate explanatory or corrective actions, as well as to clarify any service-related incidents and improve service quality.

Animalhotels.com deletes data created in this context when its storage is no longer required, or restricts processing where statutory retention requirements apply.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(c), Article 6(1)(b) and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and a high quality of services, improving customer service, and clarifying incidents related to User support);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Pursuing or defending against potential claims

In the event of potential claims against Users or the need to defend against claims, animalhotels.com may process User data obtained via the Website and/or Application.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—defending against claims or pursuing claims);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Newsletter

Animalhotels.com processes Users’ personal data to conduct correspondence containing the ordered Newsletter. Processing and sending the newsletter requires the User’s consent.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) GDPR;
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Promoting safe and trustworthy services and preventing fraud

Animalhotels.com processes personal data to prevent fraud, detect illegal or undesirable activities, and ensure pet safety and trust in the Website and/or Application. In justified cases, such as reported booking issues, processing may include temporarily suspending a booking until the situation is clarified.

The scope of processed data includes, among other things, contact data, booking information (including cancelled bookings), location data, account data, reviews, browsing and communication data, as well as information provided by the User or third parties.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and a high quality of services);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

Improving services

Personal data of Users using Animalhotels.com may be used for:

  • analytical purposes (performance analysis, better understanding of how services are used, and consequently);
  • ensuring the safety of Website and/or Application Users;
  • preventing breaches of the terms and conditions and legal abuse;
  • resolving technical issues;
  • improving functionality and the quality of provided Services;
  • using artificial intelligence technologies and automated data processing systems. In addition to statistics regularly generated by Animalhotels.com for monitoring purposes, this data is also used to test functionalities and resolve technical issues. This includes, among other things, analysing how the Website is used, measuring operational performance, identifying behavioural patterns, and improving functionalities and services related to Pet Services.

Animalhotels does not make decisions concerning Users that are based solely on automated processing of personal data, including profiling, which would produce legal effects concerning them or similarly significantly affect them.

The main purpose of processing in this area is to analyse service performance, better understand how it is used, and consequently optimise and personalise the online platform and application to make them more user-friendly and functional.

Personal data is processed for the provision of services in accordance with applicable data protection laws:

  • within the European Union, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest of animalhotels.com—ensuring the operation of the Website and/or Application and a high quality of services);
  • outside the European Union, processing is based on local national laws ensuring a level of protection equivalent to GDPR.

The User has the right to object at any time to processing based on legitimate interest (Article 21 GDPR).

III. Data retention period

  1. Animalhotels.com stores Users’ personal data only for as long as necessary to achieve the purposes for which the data was collected. After that time, the data is deleted or anonymised so that it is not possible to identify the User.
  2. Personal data may be stored longer if such an obligation arises from law or if it is necessary for animalhotels.com to defend or pursue claims against Users.
  3. Data processed on the basis of consent will be processed until consent is withdrawn.

IV. User rights

  1. Right of access to personal data – upon the User’s request, animalhotels.com will confirm what personal data it processes and will provide a copy of such data. Regardless of the above, a registered User has access to the personal data they provided to animalhotels.com via the User account in the Website and/or Application.
  2. Right to rectification – where the User’s personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, the User may request that animalhotels.com rectify it and/or complete it. Regardless of the above, a registered User may correct their personal data via the User account in the Website and/or Application.
  3. Right to restriction of processing – the User may request a temporary restriction of processing in certain situations.
  4. Right to erasure – in certain situations, the User may request the deletion of personal data processed by animalhotels.com.
  5. Right to receive personal data in a structured, commonly used format and the right to data portability, where processing is based on consent and is carried out by automated means.
  6. Right to withdraw consent – where personal data is processed on the basis of consent, the User may withdraw it at any time.
  7. Right to object – the User may object to processing of personal data on the basis of legitimate interest or for statistical purposes (due to their particular situation), or to processing for direct marketing purposes.
  8. Where the User believes that processing of personal data breaches data protection laws in the User’s country, the User has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority—particularly the authority of the EU Member State of the User’s habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

    For Users in Poland, the competent authority is the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) with its seat in Warsaw. Details on lodging complaints are available at: https://uodo.gov.pl/pl/83/155.

V. Profiling

Users’ personal data processed for marketing purposes will be subject to automated decision-making processes, including profiling. This means that based on personal data held by animalhotels.com and information about services purchased by the User or cookies stored on the User’s device, animalhotels.com will infer the User’s preferences and interests, which may be used to build the User’s marketing profile.

Profiling may also include matching advertising content displayed to the User in third-party advertising systems, in particular Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram), Google and Microsoft.

VI. Cookies

  1. Animalhotels.com uses cookies.
  2. Cookies are IT data, in particular text files, stored on the User’s end device and intended for using the animalhotels.com websites. Cookies typically contain the name of the website they come from, the storage time on the end device, and a unique number.
  3. The entity placing cookies on the User’s end device and obtaining access to them is the Website operator.
  4. Cookies are used for the following purposes:
    • remembering the User’s cookie consent preferences, implemented via CookieScriptConsent (https://cookie-script.com/legal/privacy-policy). Data retention period: 1 month;
    • maintaining the User session (after logging in), thanks to which the User does not have to re-enter login and password on each subpage. Data retention period: 1 year and 1 month;
    • statistical purposes, implemented using analytical tools such as Google Analytics and Hotjar. These tools may process information about how the Website is used, including online identifiers, device data and activity information. Such data may be processed in anonymised or pseudonymised form in accordance with the rules set by tool providers. Further information is available at:
    • https://policies.google.com/privacy;
    • https://www.hotjar.com/privacy/;
    • marketing purposes, implemented using third-party advertising tools, in particular Meta Ads Pixel (Meta Platforms Ireland Limited), Google Ads (Google Ireland Limited) and Microsoft Bing Ads / Microsoft Clarity (Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited). These tools may process information about the User’s activity on the Website, enable the creation of audiences and ad matching. Data may be processed in anonymised or pseudonymised form under the rules set by the provider.

    When using Meta Ads Pixel, information about the User’s activity in the Website (such as visited subpages or actions performed) is collected for analytical and marketing purposes. This information may constitute personal data under data protection laws and is processed based on the User’s consent to marketing cookies. Meta Platforms may combine this information with data it holds in accordance with its own privacy policy. Providers’ policies are available at:

  5. Two basic types of cookies are used on animalhotels.com: “session cookies” and “persistent cookies”. Session cookies are temporary files stored on the User’s end device until logout, leaving the website or switching off the browser. Persistent cookies are stored on the User’s end device for the time specified in cookie parameters or until deleted by the User.
  6. Animalhotels.com also uses Local Storage objects in the HTML5 standard, which are saved on the User’s computer. These objects store necessary data regardless of the browser used by the User and do not automatically have an expiry date set. To prevent the use of HTML5 storage objects, use the browser in private mode.
  7. Web browsing software (a web browser) typically allows cookies to be stored on the User’s end device by default. Website Users may change settings in this respect. The browser allows cookies to be deleted. It is also possible to block cookies automatically. Detailed information is available in the help or documentation of the browser.
  8. Restrictions on using cookies may affect certain functionalities available on animalhotels.com websites.
  9. If the User does not wish to receive cookies, they may change browser settings. Animalhotels.com reserves that disabling cookies necessary for authentication, security and maintaining user preferences may hinder, and in extreme cases may prevent, the use of the websites.
  10. Cookie retention periods vary and can be accessed via the browser.

VII. Data sharing

  1. Animalhotels.com may disclose Users’ personal data at the request of public authorities or other entities entitled to access such data under the law, in particular where necessary to ensure system security or the rights of other Users, as well as at the request of Users or where necessary to perform services offered by animalhotels.com.
  2. Data may be disclosed only to trusted recipients, including business partners and providers of advertising and analytics systems (e.g. Meta Platforms, Google, Microsoft) who process data under personal data processing agreements. All entities to whom data is disclosed are obliged—under such agreements, to the extent necessary to provide services to Animalhotels.com (in particular measuring marketing campaign effectiveness, creating audiences and matching ads), or directly under data protection laws—to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure an appropriate level of data security. Personal data is processed for no longer than necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed, or for the period directly required by law.
  3. Some of Animalhotels.com service providers may store Users’ data outside the European Economic Area. In such cases, Users’ data may be stored in countries providing an adequate level of personal data protection or in countries that do not provide such a level. Animalhotels.com safeguards Users’ data by entering into agreements with animalhotels.com service providers containing Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, which guarantee adequate protection of Users’ data in third countries.
  4. Animalhotels.com transfers data (including phone numbers) to the SMS service provider Apifonica for the purpose of delivering verification codes and SMS notifications.

Where services offered by animalhotels.com redirect to other websites or applications, those newly opened links do not operate under this Privacy Policy. You should read the privacy policy published on those other websites or applications to learn about their procedures for collecting, using and disclosing personal data.

IX. Use of social media plugins

This website uses social media plugins from various providers. Without the User’s interaction, these buttons do not send any data to the respective social media services when visiting the Website and/or Application. Only after clicking a given button is a direct connection established with the server of the relevant social media service, and it may then collect data and use cookies.

X. Data security

Animalhotels.com uses comprehensive technical and operational safeguards to protect the User’s data against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or access by unauthorised persons. As technology progresses, the safeguards used by animalhotels.com are regularly reviewed and updated.

XI. Selected methods of personal data protection

  1. Login and personal data entry areas are protected at the transmission layer (SSL certificate). As a result, personal data and login data entered on the website is encrypted on the User’s computer and can be read only on the target server.
  2. User passwords are stored in hashed form. The hashing function works one-way—it is not possible to reverse it.
  3. Animalhotels.com periodically changes its administrative passwords.
  4. To protect data, animalhotels.com regularly performs backup copies.
  5. All software and development components used by animalhotels.com to process personal data are regularly updated.

XII. Changes to the Privacy Policy

Animalhotels.com strives to ensure that the Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance remain up to date. In the event of changes to laws, court rulings, guidelines of authorities responsible for supervising personnial data processing, changes in technology, methods, purposes or legal bases for processing Personal Data, animalhotels.com will make appropriate changes to this Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance documentation. Users will be informed via an e-mail message sent to the address provided by the User or via an SMS message to the User’s phone number, and via a notice displayed in the Website and/or Application.