Privacy Policy
At Lettoch Cottages we take the privacy of our guests seriously. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it and the choices you have about your information.
Who we are
Lettoch Cottages is the trading name of our self-catering holiday accommodation business.
For data protection purposes, Lettoch Cottages is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
If you have any questions about your information or this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Email: stayatlettoch@gmail.com
Trading name: Lettoch Cottages
What information we collect
When you make an enquiry or booking, we may collect information including:
• your name;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• postal address where provided;
• dates of your stay;
• the cottage booked;
• number of guests;
• payment and booking information;
• arrival and departure information;
• messages or correspondence relating to your booking;
• information you choose to give us about your stay, such as particular requirements or preferences.
We may receive this information directly from you or through a booking service such as HomefromHomePerthshire, Booking.com or Airbnb.
If you contact us through our website, Facebook, email or another communication service, we may retain information from that correspondence where it is relevant to your enquiry or booking.
We do not normally receive or store your full payment-card details. Online payments are handled securely by our payment provider.
Why we use your information
We use personal information where necessary to:
• respond to an enquiry;
• take and administer a booking;
• arrange and process payment;
• send booking confirmations and information about your stay;
• provide directions, check-in and check-out information;
• answer questions before, during or after your stay;
• organise cleaning, laundry and changeovers;
• deal with cancellations, refunds or amendments;
• maintain accurate booking and financial records;
• comply with legal, tax and accounting requirements;
• protect our business and deal with complaints, disputes or suspected fraud.
For most booking-related information, our lawful basis is that the processing is necessary to enter into or perform our contract with you.
Where we need to keep information to comply with tax, accounting or other statutory requirements, we rely on our legal obligations.
We may also use limited information where necessary for our legitimate interests in operating and protecting the cottage business, provided those interests do not override your privacy rights.
Guest preferences and additional information
You may choose to tell us information that helps us make your stay more comfortable, for example that you require a particular bed arrangement or expect to arrive late.
We only use this information where it is relevant to your stay.
We do not seek to build detailed personal profiles of our guests.
If you voluntarily provide sensitive information, such as information relating to a health or accessibility requirement, we will use it only as necessary to respond to that requirement and will not retain it longer than reasonably necessary unless there is a lawful reason to do so.
Our website and Wix
Our website is hosted and operated using Wix.
When you use our website or submit information through a contact form, Wix may process and store information on our behalf, including contact details, enquiry information and technical information relating to your visit.
Information submitted through our website contact forms may therefore be stored within Wix's contact and form-submission systems.
Wix acts as a service provider/data processor in relation to information it processes on our behalf, although it may also process certain information under its own privacy arrangements.
How bookings are managed
We use Smoobu as our central booking and property-management system.
Smoobu may hold information including:
• guest names and contact details;
• reservation dates;
• cottage booked;
• number of guests;
• booking values;
• correspondence relating to a reservation;
• payment and booking status;
• other information necessary to administer a stay.
Smoobu processes this information on our behalf as part of providing its booking-management service.
Depending on how you book, your information may also be processed through:
• HomefromHomePerthshire;
• Booking.com;
• Airbnb.
These organisations may also process your information under their own privacy policies when you use their services.
Our property managers and cleaning team
We use authorised people to help us manage the cottages, including our property managers and cleaning team.
They may have access to information reasonably necessary to:
• manage your booking;
• communicate with you;
• prepare the cottage;
• organise your arrival and departure;
• deal with issues arising during your stay.
They are not permitted to use guest information for unrelated purposes.
Payments
Online payments for direct bookings may be processed using Stripe.
Stripe processes payment information securely in order to complete the transaction. We do not normally receive or store your complete debit or credit-card details ourselves.
Where you book through HomefromHomePerthshire, Booking.com or Airbnb, payments may instead be processed according to that provider's own payment arrangements and privacy policy.
Marketing
We do not add guests to a general marketing mailing list simply because they have stayed with us.
We do not routinely use guest email addresses or telephone numbers to send promotional marketing campaigns.
We may communicate publicly about Lettoch Cottages through our website and social-media pages, including Facebook, but this does not involve using private guest contact information for marketing.
If this approach changes in future, we will update this policy and ensure that any marketing complies with applicable data-protection and electronic-marketing rules.
How long we keep information
We retain booking and transaction records for as long as reasonably necessary for accounting, tax, legal and business-record purposes.
We may retain a basic record of previous stays for longer where this helps us manage repeat bookings and maintain an accurate guest history. This may include information such as:
• the guest’s name;
• the cottage stayed in;
• dates of previous stays;
• booking source;
• relevant booking details;
• basic contact information where it remains useful.
We do not retain unnecessary personal information simply because a guest has stayed with us.
Information that is specific to an individual stay — particularly sensitive information, detailed correspondence or temporary requirements — will be deleted when there is no longer a reasonable need to keep it.
We periodically review the information we hold and remove or anonymise information that is no longer needed.
International processing
Some of the technology companies and booking platforms we use operate internationally.
Personal information may therefore be processed in the UK, European Economic Area or other countries.
Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we expect our service providers to use safeguards required by UK data-protection law.
Keeping your information secure
We take reasonable steps to protect guest information against loss, unauthorised access, misuse or disclosure.
Access to booking systems and guest information is limited to people who need it to operate the cottages and manage reservations.
Our external technology and booking providers are also responsible for applying appropriate security measures to information processed through their systems.
Cookies and our website
Our Wix website and booking system may use cookies and similar technologies necessary for functions such as security, booking and website operation.
The website may also use optional analytics or other non-essential cookies.
Where consent is required for non-essential cookies, you will be given a choice through the website's cookie-consent system.
You can change or withdraw your cookie choices where the website provides that facility.
Your rights
Under UK data-protection law, depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
• ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct inaccurate information;
• ask us to delete information where we no longer have a lawful reason to retain it;
• ask us to restrict how information is used;
• object to certain uses of your information;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where we are relying on consent.
These rights are not absolute in every circumstance. For example, we may need to retain booking and payment records to comply with legal and accounting obligations.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact:
Complaints
If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first and we will try to resolve the matter.
You also have the right to complain to the UK data-protection regulator:
Information Commissioner’s Office , Wycliffe House , Water Lane , Wilmslow , Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy when our booking systems, service providers or legal obligations change.
The latest version will always be published on the Lettoch Cottages website.
