Effective Date: July 7, 2020
This privacy statement (“Statement”) applies to Travel Choice USA.com, its subsidiaries, parent company (ies) and any and all of its associated web sites partners. We have developed this Statement to explain our practices regarding the personal information we collect from you or about you on our sites or via our apps, through written or verbal communications with us, when you contact us or from other sources. By using any of our products or services and/or by agreeing to this Statement (e.g. in the context of registering for any of our products or services) or contacting our office via email, phone call or text, you agree to the collection and use of personal information as described in this Statement.
Personal Information We Collect
At every touch point or guest interaction, and in conducting every aspect of our business, we may collect personal information. This personal information may include: your contact information; information related to your reservation, stay or visit to a property or promotional sales office; participation in a contest, sweepstakes, or marketing program ; information related to the purchase and receipt of products or services; personal characteristics, nationality, income, passport number and date and place of issue; social security or similar national identification number, travel history; payment information, such as your payment card number and other card information, as well as authentication information and other billing and account details associated with mobile billing; guest preferences; marketing and communication preferences; family composition, frequency of travel and other vacation history information, information about vehicles you may bring onto our properties; reviews and opinions about our collection of resorts or properties (if they are identified or associated with you); frequent flyer or travel partner program affiliation and member number; resort, airline and rental car packages booked; groups with which you are associated for stays at resorts or hotels; information provided on membership and account applications; and other types of information that you choose to provide to us or that we may obtain from third parties.
We may ask for details on joint travelers, including their names and frequent flyer numbers, and the age of the driver of the rental car. We may also collect information related to conversations, including recording or monitoring customer service calls and other communications such as in-app messages and SMS (i.e., text messages).
In addition, we collect other personal information in certain cases, such as:
• Surveys: We may request demographic data or other personal information in customer or prospective customer
• On-property & Off-property contact and Collection: We may collect additional personal information during registration/check-in and during stays at our properties or visits to our or our client’s or affiliate’s sales offices including such information as may be required by local laws. We may also use closed circuit television and other security measures at our properties that may capture or record images of guests and visitors in public areas, as well as information related to your location while on our properties (via keycards and other technologies). We may also use closed-circuit television and other technologies that record sound or video for the protection of our staff, guests and visitors to our properties or sales locations or those of our clients or affiliates. In addition, we may collect personal information in connection with on-property services or visits, such as concierge services, sign in and registration forms, health clubs, spas, activities, child care services, and equipment rental.
• Event Profiles: If you plan an event with us or one of our clients or affiliates, we collect meeting and event specifications, the date of the event, number of guests, details of the guest rooms, and, for corporate events, information on your organization (name, annual budget, and number of sponsored events per year). We also collect information about the guests that are a part of your group or event. If you visit us as part of a group, we may have personal information about you provided to us by the group and may market to you as a result of your stay with a group or attendance at an event. If you visit us as part of an event, we may share personal information about you with the event planners. If you are an event planner we may also share information about your event with third-party service providers who may market event and other services to you.
• Online Contact: If you submit an online “pre-application” for a timeshare or if you submit a reservation or information request form online, or participate in an online “click-to-chat” type feature, we may ask you to provide your contact information, contact preferences, annual income range, reservation information, marital status and whether you own a home or have a major credit card.
• Social Media: If you choose to participate in one of our or our affiliates’ sponsored social media activities or offerings, we may collect certain information from your social media account consistent with your settings within the social media service, such as location, check-ins, activities, interests, photos, status updates and friend list. We may also allow you to enter into contests to provide photos, such as of your stay with us, which you may share with your connections on social media for votes, shared offers or other promotions.
• Forward-to-a-Friend: From time to time, we may offer a feature that allows you to send an electronic postcard or otherwise share a message with a friend, whether via the Internet, a stand-alone kiosk or mobile device. If you choose to use this feature, we will ask you for the recipient’s name and email address, along with the text of any message you choose to include. By using this feature, you represent that you are entitled to use and provide us with the recipient’s name and email address for this purpose.
In addition to the information we collect from you directly, we may also infer information about you based on the information you provide to us or from Other Information we collect.
Personal Information We Collect from Third Parties
We may also collect information about you from third parties, including information from your social media services consistent with your settings on such services; from credit reporting agencies; from data information verification providers, and from other third-party sources. We may append this information to the information we have on file for you and share it with others consistent with this Statement.
Use of Personal Information Collected About You
We use your personal information in a number of ways, including to provide and personalize the services you request and expect, to offer you the expected level of service while in contact with any of our staff or affiliate staff, conduct direct marketing and sales promotions and as set forth below in more detail:
• Service Administration: We use your personal information to administer programs in which you participate, including providing you with access to your account or reservation information, and offers for which you are eligible or for which you have registered; to fulfill services that are part of such program(s); to enable direct communication between staff, affiliate staff, vendors and third parties; and to facilitate payments and collections.
• Meeting and Event Planning: We may use your personal information to provide you with information about meeting and event planning.
• Marketing and Communications: We may use your personal information to provide or offer you newsletters, promotions and featured specials, as well as other marketing messages. We also use your personal information to provide in-stay or on-property or off-property messaging, account alerts, and reservation confirmations; and to conduct surveys, sweepstakes, prize draws, and other contests. We may provide these communications via email, postal mail, online advertising, social media, telephone, text message (including SMS and MMS), push notifications, in-app messaging, and other means. We also use user-generated content (such as photos) from social media services to deliver display advertising on our website and apps.
• Payment Card Marketing: We may also collect information from your payment card, which can be appended to personal information and used by Travel Choice USA.com, its owners, affiliates and business partners to recognize what type of card you have, such as whether or not it is a co-branded card and/or the bank or network of the card, and present and/or send you targeted marketing messages based on your payment method. We may also partner with third parties to learn whether a visitor to our site has a cash-back offer associated with their payment card and to deliver the visitor advertising and information that explains how to take advantage of that offer.
• Service Improvements: We may use your personal information to improve services and to ensure that our site, products, and services are of interest to you. We also use your personal information to provide you with the expected level of hospitality and service throughout any of our client or affiliate properties or sales offices.
• Data Correctness, Analytics and Personalization: We may aggregate your personal information with data from third-party sources for purposes of keeping information up to date, for analytics and for appending missing or incorrect information. We also rely on information from third parties in order to provide better, more personalized service. For example, if you connect your social media services or other accounts to our services, we may use this information to make your experiences with us more personal and social, or share and use it as described elsewhere in this Statement.
Personal Information We Share
In order to offer you the expected level of hospitality and service, we may share your personal information among our staff, clients and affiliates, our service providers, third parties and others as set forth in detail below:
• Group Events or Meetings: If you visit one of our presentations or programs as part of a group event or meeting, information collected for meeting and event planning may be shared with the organizers of those meetings and events, and, where appropriate, guests who organize or participate in the meeting or event.
• Business Partners: We may partner with other companies to provide you with products, services, or offers based upon your experiences at our presentations or properties and may share your information with our business partners accordingly. For example, we may help to arrange rental cars or other services from our business partners, and share personal information with our business partners in order to provide those services. We may also share your personal information, such as your email address, with our travel partners, clients or affiliates to help them assess compliance with travel policies or participation in special rate plans or to engage in co-branded marketing with our travel partners. We may also work with third parties, such as our airline, hotel, resort, cruise and car rental partners, to allow us and our partners to deliver advertisements to our shared customers. Our partners may be able to provide more relevant offers to you based upon anonymous information that we share about your experiences at our presentations or properties. Additionally, we may allow third-party partners to recognize you when you visit that partner’s website or app, or to recognize you as one of their customers when you visit websites or apps so that they may provide more relevant offers to you. We may share your email address with third parties using available security measures that may match it with their own email addresses so that they can send online and email advertisements to you on our behalf.
• Co-Sponsors of Promotions: We co-sponsor promotions, sweepstakes, prize draws, competitions or contests with other companies, and we provide prizes for sweepstakes and contests sponsored by other companies. If you enter one of these sweepstakes or contests, we may share your information with the co-sponsor or third-party sponsor, client or affiliate.
• On-property Services: We may share personal information with third-party providers of on-property services such as sign in and registration forms, concierge services, spa treatments, golf, or dining experiences.
• Service Providers: We rely on third parties to provide services and products on our behalf and may share your personal information with them as appropriate. Our service providers are contractually obligated to protect your personal information and may not otherwise use or share your personal information, except as may be required by law. We may use service providers to communicate news and deliver promotional and transactional materials to you, including personalized online and mobile advertising. Please see our Cookies Statement for more information. We may also share information with service providers to allow you to, exchange or cancel a confirmed reservation or for other products and services, create itineraries by selecting sites, activities, and restaurants from lists that we have personalized for you based on your preferences and third-party data.
• Business Transactions: As we develop our business, we might sell, buy, restructure or reorganize businesses or assets, or cease being the manager of a promotion or presentation or resort that is currently a client or affiliate. In such circumstances, we may transfer, sell or assign information collected, including, without limitation, Other Information and personal information, to one or more affiliated or unaffiliated third parties. To the extent that local laws require it, we will provide notice of our intent to transfer personal data to a third party for this purpose, and explain how you can object to such transfer.
• Telemarketing: If you participate in one of our promotional offer or register one of our forms or stay at one of our affiliate hotels or resorts we may share your telephone number and other contact information for purposes of telemarketing. We may also receive your contact information from our other partners or from other sources, which we may use for telemarketing purposes, electronic mail, text message (including SMS and MMS), push notifications, in-app messaging, and other means.
• Other: In addition, we may disclose personal information in order to: (i) comply with applicable laws, (ii) respond to governmental inquiries or requests from public authorities, (iii) comply with valid legal process, (iv) protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of Travel Choice USA.com, site visitors, guests, employees or the public, (v) permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain, (vi) enforce our websites’ terms and conditions, and (vii) respond to an emergency.
Other Information
When you visit and interact with our websites and apps, we collect other, non-personally identifying information about your use of the site, such as a catalog of the site pages you visit, and the number of visits to our sites (“Other Information”). We use Other Information, as well as data received from third parties, to deliver you email, online (on our sites and other sites) and mobile advertisements. We may also use Other Information to allow third-party partners to recognize you as a participant in one of our programs or solicitations when you visit the partner’s website or app, or to recognize you as one of their customers when you visit our websites or apps.
We use cookies and other technologies to collect this information. At this time, we do not respond to Do Not Track signals or other, similar mechanisms. Please see our Cookies Statement for more information, including how to opt out of interest-based advertising.
We may use information we have collected and aggregated, or anonymized personal information received from third parties, to understand more about our users (for example, we may use aggregated information to calculate the percentage of our users who have a particular telephone area code). This includes demographic data, such as date of birth, gender and marital status, inferred commercial interests, such as favorite products or hobbies, and other information we may collect from you or from third parties.
Because Other Information does not personally identify you, such information may be disclosed for any purpose. In some instances, we may combine Other Information with personal information. If we do combine any Other Information with personal information, the combined information will be treated by us as personal information in accordance with this Statement.
Sensitive Information
The term “sensitive information” refers to information related to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health or sex life, criminal background or trade union membership. We do not generally collect sensitive information unless it is volunteered by you. We may use health data provided by you to serve you better and meet your particular needs.
Personal Information From Children
We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18 years of age. As a parent or legal guardian, please do not to allow your children to submit personal information without your permission.
Mobile and Location-Based Services
We may provide mobile apps that can be downloaded to your smartphone or mobile device. These apps have a variety of functionalities that enhance the customer and participant experience. In addition to providing services, our apps may collect personal and Other Information that will be used in accordance with this Statement. We provide a link to this Statement to customers prior to their downloading of any of our apps.
If you allow our mobile apps to access your location information on your device, our mobile apps may use your mobile device’s Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and other technology (such as wireless transmitters known as beacons) to provide you with information and offers based on the location of your device. Beacons allow us to collect information about your location within participating resorts by communicating with mobile devices that are in range. We may use this location information to enhance your on-property or off-property experience by delivering push notifications and other content to your mobile device, providing navigation assistance as you move around our locations, and sending you information and offers about products, services, or activities we believe may be of interest to you. We may share this information with third parties, including business partners and service providers, to provide information, offers, and services that may be of interest to you. To the extent any location data is combined with personal information, that information will be treated as personal information in accordance with this Statement. You may prevent or limit collection of location information by changing the settings in your device’s settings.
For certain promotions, sales seminars and properties, we may also make available real-time or virtual “concierge” features, which may be pre-loaded onto our or an affiliate device, or downloadable to your web-enabled mobile device. For example, you may be able to communicate directly with a hotel or resort partner; order services, such as room service or valet parking; access our websites; access third-party websites, including local attractions and social media; and book a reservation. We may have access to and use your personal information (such as your name, confirmation number, check-in and checkout dates, and room number) in providing concierge and other services. If you request SMS (i.e., text message) communications, you will be asked to provide your phone number and carrier. We may also communicate with you by means of third-party digital messaging apps. If we do so, the privacy policies of those services apply.
Links to Third-Party Websites and Services
Our site and our mobile applications may contain links to third parties’ websites. Please note that we are not responsible for the collection, use, maintenance, sharing, or disclosure of data and information by such third parties. If you provide information on and use third-party sites, the privacy policy and terms of service on those sites are applicable. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of websites that you visit before submitting personal information.
We may also partner with a limited number of Internet providers to offer Internet access to our guests or participants in one of our promotions. Your use of on-property Internet service is subject to the third-party Internet provider’s terms of use and privacy policy. You can access those terms and policies using the links on the service sign-in page, or by visiting the Internet provider’s website.
Protecting Personal Information
Travel Choice USA.com will take reasonable measures to: (i) protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction, and (ii) keep personal information accurate and up-to-date as appropriate. We also seek to require our affiliates and service providers with whom we share personal information to exercise reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of personal information about you. For online transactions, we use reasonable technology to protect the personal information that you transmit to us via our site. Unfortunately, however, no security system or system of transmitting data over the Internet can be guaranteed to be entirely secure.
For your own privacy protection, please do not send payment card numbers or any other confidential personal information to us via email.
We will not contact you by SMS/text messaging or email to ask for your confidential personal information or payment card details. We will only ask for payment card details by telephone when you are booking a reservation, promotional package or otherwise making a payment toward a product or service you have agreed to purchase. If you receive this type of request, you should not respond to it. We also ask that you please notify us regarding any such activity or experience.
Changing and Accessing Your Personal Information
To the extent required by applicable law, you may be able to request that we inform you about the personal information we maintain about you and, where appropriate, request that we update, correct and/or suppress personal information about you that we maintain in our active database. We will make all required updates and changes within the time specified by applicable law and, where permitted by law, may charge an appropriate fee to cover the costs of responding to the request. Such requests must be submitted in writing to the following address: Travel Choice USA.com, Box 90702, Austin, TX, 78709 . To protect your confidentiality, we can only respond to such requests to the email address that you have registered or otherwise provided to us. Please remember that if you make such a request, we may not be able to provide you with the same quality and variety of services to which you are accustomed.
In addition, in some circumstances based on applicable law, you may request that we cease sharing personal information about you with our business partners or cease using personal information about you on the grounds that such personal information was acquired by unjust means or used in violation of law by sending your written request at Travel Choice USA.com, Box 90702, Austin, TX, 78709 . We will seek to honor those requests consistently with applicable law.
Retaining Personal Information
We retain personal information about you for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Statement, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by applicable law.
Choices – Marketing Communications
We may inform you about our products and services or invite you to events via email, online advertising, social media, telephone, text message (including SMS and MMS), push notifications, in-app alerts, postal mail, our customer service call center, and other means (including on-property and off-property messaging)
You may opt-out of receiving marketing messages from us. If you prefer not to receive email marketing materials from us, you may opt-out at any time by using the unsubscribe function in the email you receive from us. Opt-out requests can take up to ten business days to be effective.
To opt out of text messages, reply “STOP” to the message you received.
To be added to our internal do not call list, send a message to info@travelchoicetexas.com
You may also write to us to us (and including your email address, phone number or other information that you want to be removed from marketing communications) at Travel Choice USA.com, Box 90702, Austin, TX, 78709 . You may control whether our mobile apps send you push notifications by changing your notification settings on your mobile device. If we engage in sending you in-app messages, we will allow control for those in our apps’ settings. For more information about cookies and interest-based advertising and to learn about how to manage these technologies, please see our Cookies Statement.
Please note, however, that if you change the communications you receive from us as described above, we will not be able to remove your personal information from the databases of affiliates, or business partners with whom we have already shared your personal information (i.e., to whom we have already provided your personal information as of the date of your opt-out request).
Special Notification for California Residents. Individual customers who reside in California and have provided their personal information to us may request information about our disclosures of certain categories of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. Such requests must be submitted to us at the following address: Travel Choice USA.com, Box 90702, Austin, TX, 78709 . Within thirty days of receiving such a request, we will provide a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for third-party direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the names and addresses of these third parties. This request may be made no more than once per calendar year. We reserve our right not to respond to requests submitted to addresses other than the addresses specified in this paragraph.
Statement Modifications
We may modify this Statement from time to time. When we make material changes to this Statement we will post a link to the revised Statement on the homepage of our site, and if you have registered for any of our products or services we may also inform you through a communications channel that you have provided. You can review when this Statement was last updated by looking at the “Last Updated” date provided at the date at the top of the Statement. Any changes to our Statement will become effective upon posting of the revised Statement on the site. Use of the site, any of our products and services, and/or providing consent to the updated Statement following such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Statement then in effect.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Statement or how we processes your personal information, please contact us at Travel Choice USA.com, Box 90702, Austin, TX, 78709 . Travel Choice USA.com Privacy Statement Revisions As stated above, we may modify this Statement from time to time. To help you track the most significant changes, we will include a history of changes, below, so that you are aware of modifications to our Statement.
Issue Date: July 7, 2020
