Privacy Policy

SCOPE

This privacy policy is applicable solely to the Ballito Stay website. The website may feature hyperlinks to other sites (‘linked sites’) that are not controlled by Ballito Stay and are not governed by this privacy policy. It is your responsibility to review the privacy policies of these linked sites, and Ballito Stay cannot be held liable for any breaches of those policies by the linked site’s owners. Additionally, the presence of hyperlinks does not imply endorsement, approval, or support of the content, products, or services of the linked sites, and Ballito Stay is not responsible for the content or the privacy and security practices of those sites.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

When you register on the Ballito Stay website, we collect specific information necessary to provide the requested services. This information may include, but is not limited to:

• Full name
• Email address
• Business or home address
• Employer or affiliated organisation
• Contact telephone numbers
• Date of birth
• Reason for accessing the site
• Intended use of the requested information
• Passport number or ID number
• Emails and recordings of phone calls from your interactions with us
• Your voluntary reviews of suppliers

The personal information listed above will be collected either electronically through cookies (as described below) or directly from you when you provide it voluntarily.

PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We prioritise the integrity and confidentiality of your personal information by implementing appropriate and reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent loss, damage, or unauthorised destruction, as well as to protect against unlawful access to or processing of personal information.

In the unlikely event that the security of your personal information is compromised, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible under the circumstances.

To maintain these protective measures, we have established policies, controls, and processes that are regularly reviewed and updated. These controls cover various aspects, including:

• Physical, technical, and network security
• Access monitoring
• Secure storage, destruction, and encryption of personal information records
• Reporting and remediation of personal information breaches

We also enforce security and confidentiality obligations through written agreements with third parties (both within and outside South Africa) who process personal information while providing services to us.

DATA RETENTION AND DELETION

Ballito Stay is committed to ensuring that your information is not retained longer than necessary. We will retain only the minimum amount of information required to fulfil our statutory functions and provide our services.

We will keep your personal information for as long as:

• It is needed to provide our platforms, products, or services to you.
• It is required or permitted by law, in accordance with our internal retention policies.
• It is necessary to uphold the contract between you and us.

Once your information is no longer needed for these purposes, we will securely delete or anonymise it in line with our data retention policies.

DISPERSAL OF INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES

In addition to the policies and procedures we employ to safeguard your data, your information is protected by South African law.

Subject to the provisions of this policy, Ballito Stay will not share your personal information with third parties without your permission, except when required by law enforcement action, subpoena, or applicable law or regulation.

Ballito Stay does not lease, sell, rent, or distribute any information you provide to third parties, except in the following circumstances:

• Booking Processing: If you make a booking with a Supplier, we will pass on all necessary information to facilitate that booking. This may include, but is not limited to:
  • Your first and last name
  • Your contact details, including email address and/or phone number
  • Your country of origin
  • Your passport number or ID number
• Data Transfer: Your personal information may be transferred across borders for data consolidation, storage, and simplified customer information management.
• Third-Party Processing: Ballito Stay may disclose your information to its subsidiaries and third-party suppliers engaged to process data on its behalf. In such cases, Ballito Stay will ensure that South African laws regarding the protection of your information are followed.
• Business Transactions: Should Ballito Stay merge with or be acquired by another business entity or organisation, we may share some or all of your personal information with the merging or acquiring entity. Such entities are not permitted to use your personal information for any purposes other than those contemplated in this policy.

Ballito Stay will not be liable for any damage, loss, or liability arising from any unintentional misuse of your information by such merging or acquiring entity.

REVIEWS OF SUPPLIERS

Ballito Stay may invite customers to review suppliers following their travel experiences. Participation in these reviews is always voluntary.

By uploading, submitting, or otherwise contributing any content in a customer review on the Ballito Stay website, you grant Ballito Stay an unrestricted, worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid license to:

• Use
• Make
• Have made
• Reproduce
• Display
• Perform
• Publish
• Upload
• Post
• Modify
• Create derivative works from
• Transmit
• Distribute
• Sell
• Offer for sale
• Sublicense, or otherwise transfer those materials or information or their modifications.

Additionally, you grant Ballito Stay permission to authorize third parties to perform any or all of the above actions indefinitely.

You represent and warrant that you possess sufficient rights in the materials or information submitted to grant these rights and licenses. Furthermore, you waive any attribution rights to the content you submit.

By contributing content in a customer review on the Ballito Stay website, you also grant Ballito Stay the right to display your full name and country of origin alongside your submitted review content anywhere on the Ballito Stay website.

NEWSLETTER AND COMMUNICATION OPT-OUT

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of all our email communications, which will automatically remove you from the mailing list.

If you wish to have your information removed from our active databases at any time, please contact us directly.

CUSTOMER TRACKING

To enhance our service for customers, we reserve the right to:

• Track User Movements: We may track your movements throughout this website and analyse your interactions using third-party tools, including but not limited to Google Analytics. We may also collaborate with third-party tracking services, such as Google Ads, in good faith, believing that your privacy will be adequately protected.
• Utilise Cookies and Related Technologies: Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your local computer by your web browser. When you visit our website, we may provide your computer with a cookie to facilitate identification during subsequent visits. This helps us tailor your browsing experience to your preferences. Please note that some features of the Ballito Stay website may not function correctly if you disable cookies. Additionally, third-party services employed by the website, such as Google Ads, may also use cookies to track users for improved user experience and advertising performance.
• Collect IP Information: When you access the Ballito Stay website, we may collect information such as your IP address, domain name, type of web-browsing software, operating system, and the URL of the webpage from which you arrived. This information is used to enhance user experience and for general statistical purposes.

NON-IDENTIFIABLE AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION

Ballito Stay owns and retains all rights to the non-personal statistical information collected and compiled by the platform. This information may include aggregate data and analytics that do not personally identify individual users. Such data is utilised to improve our services, enhance user experience, and inform strategic decisions.