Hawkes Bay Holiday Homes – Privacy Policy

Effective date: 28 July 2025

1. About this policy

Hawkes Bay Holiday Homes ("we", "our" or "us") operates holiday home rentals in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you interact with our website, make a booking, contact us or use related services. Transparency about data practices is a legal requirement under New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020, which requires organisations to be clear about how, when and why they collect personal information. It also aligns with best practice guidance in the New Zealand Government Web Usability Standard and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when we process data of residents from the European Union.

This policy covers visitors to our website, guests who make enquiries or bookings, and property owners who engage us to manage or service their homes. It does not cover our employees or contractors, who are subject to internal policies.

2. Information we collect

We collect personal information only where it is necessary for a lawful business purpose. We collect information directly from you wherever possible, and we will tell you what information is needed and why. The types of information we collect include:

Category	Examples	Purpose
Identification and contact details	Name, postal address, email address, telephone number	To manage bookings, communicate with you and verify identity
Booking and stay information	Check-in and check-out dates, property selected, special requests, party size, payment amounts	To reserve accommodation, process payments and fulfil our contract with you
Payment details	Limited payment data (e.g., last four digits of a credit card number) if you pay via our website; full card details are processed securely by a third-party payment provider	To collect and refund payments (we do not store full card numbers)
Demographic and preference information	Age range, travel purpose, preferences and opinions you provide when booking or during stay	To personalise stays, improve services and understand customer trends
Website usage information	IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed and browsing behaviour collected via cookies	To improve our website performance, tailor content and for analytics
Correspondence and feedback	Emails, enquiry forms, reviews and complaints	To respond to questions, handle complaints and improve our services
Homeowner and property information	Name and contact details of property owners, property address, property description and amenities, bank account details for payouts, and service preferences (e.g., cleaning schedules, lawn care requirements)	To manage property management agreements, arrange cleaning and lawn care services, pay owners their rental income and communicate about maintenance

Providing personal information is voluntary, but some information may be required to make a booking. When information is optional, we will make this clear and explain any consequences of not providing it.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purpose it was collected, or for a directly related purpose. Our main uses of personal information include:

Booking management and customer service – to respond to enquiries, confirm bookings, process payments and provide you with holiday accommodation.
Communication – to send confirmation emails, updates about your stay, respond to feedback, and send information you request.
Marketing (with consent) – to send newsletters or promotional offers if you have opted-in. You can unsubscribe at any time via a link in the message.
Improvement and analytics – to analyse website traffic and booking patterns so we can enhance our services. Data is aggregated and does not identify individuals.
Legal obligations and risk management – to comply with laws, handle disputes, enforce our terms of use and protect our rights, property or safety and that of others.
Property management and owner services – for homeowners, we use your information to administer your property management agreement, coordinate maintenance, cleaning and lawn care services at your property, pay you rental proceeds and keep you informed about bookings and property issues.

We will not use your personal information for a new, unrelated purpose without your consent, unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies.

4. Disclosure of personal information

4.1 Within Hawkes Bay Holiday Homes

Our staff access personal information only when required for their job. We limit access to those who need it and train staff about privacy obligations.

4.2 Third-party service providers

We may share your personal information with trusted third parties who assist us to operate our business, such as:

Property owners and caretakers – to facilitate your stay and ensure the accommodation is prepared.
Payment processors – to securely handle payments; we do not store full payment card information.
IT and analytics providers – to host our website, manage bookings and perform analytics.
Professional advisers – such as accountants, lawyers or insurers when necessary for our business.
Cleaning and lawn-care contractors – to organise cleaning, gardening or maintenance services, we may share homeowner contact details, property addresses and service instructions with trusted contractors. These providers are authorised to use information only to perform the contracted service.

We require service providers to use your information only for the purposes we instruct and to protect it appropriately. We do not sell or rent your personal information.

4.3 Legal and safety reasons

We may disclose your personal information if required by law or when we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of our customers or others. For example, the Privacy Act allows disclosure when it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to someone’s health or safety.

4.4 International transfers

If we transfer personal information outside New Zealand (for example, to a cloud hosting provider), we will ensure that the recipient is subject to privacy protections that are comparable to New Zealand’s privacy laws or obtain your consent before making the transfer.

5. Cookies and website analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to recognise your browser, remember your preferences and measure traffic. Cookies are small data files stored on your device. You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies or warn when they are being used; however, some website functions may not work properly. We also use analytics services to collect aggregated statistics about website usage. These services may set cookies on our behalf.

6. Storage and security of your information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse or unauthorised disclosure. These measures include:

Maintaining secure systems and firewalls, and using encryption for data in transit and at rest where appropriate.
Restricting access to personal information to staff and service providers who need it.
Using secure payment gateways so that full payment card details are not stored on our systems.
Regularly monitoring and updating our security practices.

If we experience a serious data breach that poses a risk of harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as possible (within 72 hours) and inform affected individuals where practicable.

7. Retention of personal information

We keep personal information only as long as it is required for the purposes for which it may lawfully be used. In practice this means we retain booking and financial records for the period required by tax or other laws, after which they are securely destroyed or anonymised. We will retain correspondence and feedback for a reasonable period to address any ongoing issues, then delete or de-identify it.

8. Access and correction rights

Under the Privacy Act, individuals have the right to request access to personal information we hold about them and to request correction if they believe it is inaccurate. We will respond to requests promptly and free of charge in most cases. If we do not agree that information should be corrected, you can ask us to attach a statement noting your request. To make a request, please contact us using the details in section 12.

9. Your choices and rights

Opt-out of marketing: You may unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time via the link provided in the email or by contacting us.
Deactivate cookies: You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies; some website features may be limited.
Object to processing or request deletion: If you believe we are using your information unlawfully or you want us to delete your data, please contact us; we will consider your request in line with legal obligations.

10. Special considerations for EU/UK residents

If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, the GDPR applies. Our legal bases for processing your data will be one or more of the following: (i) contractual necessity (to provide booking services); (ii) legitimate interests (to administer our business, communicate with you and improve our services); (iii) consent (for marketing emails); or (iv) compliance with legal obligations. We will inform you of specific rights under the GDPR (such as the right to data portability or to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority) upon request.

11. Data collected from children

Our services are intended for adults and are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us so we can remove it.

12. Contact information

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your rights under the Privacy Act or GDPR, please contact us:

Hawkes Bay Holiday HomesLtd
Email: admin@hawkesbayholidayhomes.co.nz
Postal address: 37 Bristol St,Napier4112, HawkesBay, New Zealand
Telephone: +64277 000 991

You may also lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.org.nz) if you believe we have breached the Privacy Act.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or our business practices. The updated policy will be posted on our website with a revised effective date. We encourage you to review the policy periodically. Significant changes may be communicated to you via email or during booking.

14. Glossary of key terms

Term	Meaning
Personal information	Any information about an identifiable individual, including names, contact details, preferences and opinions.
Processing	Any operation performed on personal information, such as collection, storage, use, disclosure or destruction.
Cookies	Small text files stored on your device that help websites remember your actions and preferences.
Privacy Act 2020	New Zealand law governing the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information, requiring transparency about data practices.
GDPR	European Union regulation requiring transparent and lawful processing of personal data and protecting the privacy rights of EU residents.

This policy was last updated on 28 July 2025.