Your privacy is important to us. We value your trust and are committed to protecting and safeguarding any personal information you give us. This Privacy and Cookies Policy, which we update from time to time, governs the manner in which Balkan Beds Ltd. (“BalkanBeds”) collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the https://www.balkanbeds.com website (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by BalkanBeds. The policy will also explain how you can contact us if you have any questions about your personal information.

Balkan Beds Ltd. (“BalkanBeds”) provides online travel and accommodation related services through its own websites and mobile apps and through other online platforms such as affiliate partner websites and social media. The information that follows applies to all of these platforms.

Privacy

Personal identification information

We may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways in connection with activities, services, features or resources we make available on our Site. Users may visit our Site anonymously. We will collect personal identification information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personal identification information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site related activities.

Non-personal identification information

We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about the User’s means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system, IP address, the Internet service providers utilised and other similar information.

 How does BalkanBeds collect, use and share your personal data?

• Reservations: We use your personal data to complete and administer your online reservation and forward your reservation details to the accommodation provider/host.
• Customer service: We provide international customer service in more than 5 languages. Sharing your details with our global customer service representatives allows for a quick response when you need us – including helping you find appropriate services and any questions you might have about your reservation.
• Guest reviews: We may use your contact information to invite you to write a guest review after your stay. This can help other travellers choose a place to stay that suits them best.
• Account administration: We provide a user account facility on our website. We use the information that you give us to enable you to maintain your personal profile, manage your listings and bookings, take advantage of special offers, make future reservations share content, amongst other information about accommodations and destinations. It also allows you to see any reviews that you’ve submitted about the places that you’ve stayed in. The type of information that you can share on this platform includes your photo, profile details, bookings, reviews and other information about services and destinations.
• Marketing activities: We also use your information for marketing activities, as permitted by law. For example::
  • When you make a reservation with us or set up a user account, we may use your contact information to send you news about similar travel-related products and services. We also tend to send our customers regular newsletters by email. You can opt out, or unsubscribe, from marketing communication at any time.
  • Based on the information you share with us, individualised offers may be shown to you on the BalkanBeds website, in mobile apps or on third-party websites, including social media sites.
  • When we believe that a particular offer may be of interest to you, we may decide to make contact with you by phone.
• Other communications: There may be other times when we get in touch by email, by post, by phone or by texting you, depending on the contact information you share with us. There could be a number of reasons for this:
  • We may need to respond to and handle requests you have made.
  • If you haven’t finalised a reservation online, we may email you a reminder to continue with your reservation. We believe that this additional service is useful to you because it allows you to carry on with a reservation without having to search for the service items again or fill in all the reservation details from scratch.
  • When you use our services, we may send you a questionnaire or invite you to provide a review about your experience with BalkanBeds.
  • We may also send you other material related to your reservation, such as how to contact us if you need assistance while you’re away, or a summary of previous reservations you made using BalkanBeds.
• Market research: We sometimes ask our customers to take part in market research. Any additional personal details that you give us as part of the market research will only be used with your consent.
• Fraud detection and prevention: We may use personal data for the detection and prevention of fraud and other illegal or unwanted activities.
• Improving our services: Finally, we use personal information for analytical purposes, to improve our services, enhance the user experience, and improve the functionality and quality of our online travel services.

How does BalkanBeds use social media?

We use social media to promote our service provider listings, in addition to promoting, improving and facilitating our own products and services. We have integrated social media login support into our website, allowing you to register with your social media account. Once you register via a social media account, information is shared with your social media provider, and possibly presented on your social media profile to be shared with others in your network. We only collect your public profile data with your consent that you grant before initiating the social login feature on our website. This data includes your first name, last name, email address which is used to create your user profile. You can revoke this consent at any time by sending us an email at support@balkanbeds.com or by using the ‘Delete account’ feature built into the ‘My Profile’ section of the User dashboard. Your social media provider will be able to tell you more about how they use and process your data in such cases.

How does BalkanBeds share your data with third parties?

In certain circumstances, we may share your personal data with third parties. The following scenarios explain how this may occur:

• The accommodation you booked: In order to complete your reservation, we need to transfer relevant reservation details to the service/accommodation provider. This may include information like your name, contact details, the names of guests travelling with you and any other preferences that you specified when making a booking.
• Third-party service providers: We may use third-party service providers to process your personal information on our behalf for the purposes specified above. For example, we may use service providers to send the reservation information on our behalf to the service you just booked, or we may instruct third parties to contact you. We also work with third-party payment service providers to facilitate payments or payment guarantees. We also work with third-party advertisement networks to market our accommodation and services on other platforms, or involve third-party providers for analytical purposes. These third parties involved in any of these services will be bound by confidentiality agreements and will not be allowed to use your personal information for any purposes other than those specified above.
• Support partners: We work with a network of affiliated support partners around the world to distribute or advertise our services and to help our support partners distribute and advertise their travel and accommodation related services. This may mean that their services are integrated into our website or they have been granted permission to show a customised advertisement on our website – or we are advertising on theirs. When you make a reservation on our site, certain support partners may receive your personal data from us as outlined in ‘The accommodation you booked” paragraph.

How does BalkanBeds use mobile devices?

We have free apps for a variety of mobile devices and use versions of our regular website that have been optimised for mobile. These apps and mobile websites process your personal details in a similar way as our website does – and they also allow you to use location services to find services nearby.

Cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data that is placed in the browser of your computer or on your mobile device. This Privacy and Cookies Policy applies to cookies and similar technologies (hereafter together referred to as “cookies”).

Why are cookies used?

Web pages have no memory. If you are surfing from page to page within a website, you will not be recognised as the same user across pages. Cookies enable your browser to be recognised by the website. So cookies are mainly used to remember the choices you have made – choices such as the language you prefer and the currency you use. They will also make sure you are recognised when you return to a website.

How are cookies used?

Our Site uses “Cookies” to enhance the User experience. The User’s web browser places the cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about their usage of our Site. A User may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.

How long do BalkanBeds cookies stay active?

The cookies we use have varying lifespans. You can erase all cookies from your browser any time you want. To remove our cookies from your browser, simply follow your browser’s instructions on how to delete cookies and other website related data.

Does BalkanBeds use third-party marketing and analytics cookies?

Yes, BalkanBeds uses the services of trusted and recognised online advertising and marketing companies. BalkanBeds may also use third-party providers for analytical purposes. To enable their services, these companies need to place cookies.
The providers we use are committed to building consumer awareness and establishing responsible business and data management practices and standards.

When it comes to online advertising and marketing companies, we strive to only work with companies that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and/or the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Members of NAI and IAB adhere to industry standards and codes of conduct. NAI and IAB members allow you to opt out of their behavioural advertising. Visit www.networkadvertising.org and www.youronlinechoices.com to identify the NAI members that may have placed an advertising cookie file on your computer. To opt out of an NAI or IAB member’s behavioural advertising program, simply check the box that corresponds to the company from which you wish to opt out.
In order to control the collection of data for analytical purposes by Google Analytics, you may want to visit the following link: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Who has access to BalkanBeds cookie data?

Only BalkanBeds has access to BalkanBeds cookies. Cookies placed by third parties can be accessed by these third parties.

Does BalkanBeds use web beacons?

In addition to using cookies, BalkanBeds sometimes uses web beacons. A web beacon is a tiny graphic image of just one pixel that’s delivered to your computer either as part of a web page request or in an HTML email message. Either directly or through service providers, we use these pixels as part of our online advertisements either on our website or on third-party websites to learn whether a user who is being shown an online advertisement also makes a reservation; to track conversion with partner websites and to analyse a user’s traffic patterns in order to optimise the travel-related services that we strive to deliver to you.

Security

What security procedures does BalkanBeds put in place to safeguard your personal data?

In accordance with European data protection laws, we observe reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorised access and the misuse of personal information.

We use appropriate business systems and procedures to protect and safeguard the personal information you give us. We also use security procedures and technical and physical restrictions for accessing and using the personal information on our servers. Only authorised personnel are permitted to access personal information in the course of their work.

We use a third party payment processor to process payments made to us. In connection with the processing of such payments, we do not retain any personally identifiable information or any financial information such as credit card numbers. Rather, all such information is provided directly to our third party processors, Stripe or PayPal, whose use of your personal information is governed by their privacy policy, which may be viewed at https://stripe.com/us/privacy and https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.

Children

The services offered by BalkanBeds are not directed at children under 18 years old. The use of any of our services is only allowed with the valid consent of a parent or a guardian. If we receive information from a child under 18 years old, we reserve the right to delete it.

Contact

How can you control the personal data you have given to BalkanBeds?

You always have the right to review the personal information we keep about you. You can request an overview of your personal data by emailing us at support@balkanbeds.com. Please write “Request personal information” in the subject line of your email and include a copy of your identity card to help us prevent unauthorised individuals from accessing your personal data.

If the personal information we have for you is incorrect, we will update it at your request. You can also ask us to remove your personal data from our customer database by sending an email to support@balkanbeds.com with “Request for removal of personal information” in the subject line. However, we may need to retain certain information, for example, for legal or administrative purposes, such as record keeping or to detect fraudulent activities.

Who is responsible for the processing of personal data on the BalkanBeds website and apps?

BalkanBeds controls the processing of personal data on its websites and mobile apps. Balkan Beds Ltd. is a private limited liability company, incorporated under the laws of the United Kingdom and has its administrative offices located at:

128 City Road
London, EC1V 2NX
United Kingdom

Changes to this privacy policy

BalkanBeds reserves the right to update this privacy policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We encourage Users to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of any modifications.

Your acceptance of this policy

By using this website, you confirm your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please refrain from using the website. Your continued use of this website following any changes made to this policy will be considered as validation of your acceptance of those changes.

If you have any questions regarding this privacy and cookies policy, please send an email to support@balkanbeds.com with “Privacy Policy” in the subject line.

Last updated May 2019.