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| Your privacy is extremely important to us! |
| Our Privacy Policy describes the information that we, VacationPads LLC ("VacationPads"), collect from you and how we use that information. |
| NOTICE: Click here for important information about safe surfing from the Federal Trade Commission. |
| The practices set forth herein apply to the services available at the domain and subdomains of vacationpads.com (the "Site"). Your use of this Site confirms that you have read, understood and agree to all conditions, terms and disclaimers contained herein. If you do not agree to these terms, conditions and disclaimers, you must not use this Site. |
| The Information We Collect |
Registration.
When you register for services at the Site, you are required to enter your name, address (including city, state (if applicable), country and zip code), home telephone number and country associated with this number, email address, a unique member id (community handle/username), and a password. This information is collected for several reasons including (a) contact and identity; (b) customer service; (c) to customize the Site's content; (d) to validate authenticity of guest feedback and settle any disputes; and (e) to use services such as property advertisements, myPads, and other membership-related benefits.
You will always have the option not to disclose information by not using the features of the Site that require personal information. In general, you can remain anonymous in the Site's community and browse the site without entering personal information. Once you choose to enter personal information, you are no longer anonymous to us.
Certain fee-based services, such as listing a vacation rental and signing up for special advertisements, require that you enter financial information such as credit card information (including card number, card type, and expiration date) and billing address. This information is used to validate your personal information and bill you for these services.
Your email address is used to send confirmation of your membership, confirmation of purchases, and to contact other Site members.
As a member, you also have the option of receiving occasional emails from VacationPads pertaining to Site feedback, surveys, specials/last minute specials, new VacationPads services, special offers, and other noteworthy news items. You will always have the option to opt-in or opt-out of these emails by specifying your preference in the Preferences section of the members-only area on the Site.
If you choose to advertise your vacation rental properties on the Site, your email address is also used to send you emails from parties inquiring about your vacation rental. Interested parties may also contact you via phone if you have indicated that you want to be contacted by phone. Your phone numbers will not be displayed on your property's listing pages unless you specifically indicate this preference when you register a property. You can always edit your listing's contact information in the membership section to change this preference.
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Computer-specific Information.
IP Addresses. VacationPads collects and stores IP Addresses (the location of your computer on the Internet) for system administration and troubleshooting purposes.
Cookies. A cookie is a small piece of information which is created by a web server during a user's visit to a web site. We use cookies to help ensure a smooth user experience across multiple pages, and to serve advertisements and promotions. There are two kinds of cookies — "persistent" and "transient."
Persistent cookies are small pieces of information stored in text format on your computer's hard drive. We use persistent cookies for a number of purposes including to store your preferences for certain kinds of information, to retrieve information you have provided us previously, etc.
Persistent cookies are available only to VacationPads or to certain agents of VacationPads who are performing services or hosting specific web sites on our behalf.
Most of the cookies used on the Site are transient, or session-based, cookies, which are automatically deleted when your session expires (typically 30 minutes from the time of your last activity, or when you close your browser entirely). Transient cookies contain information that identifies you and allows you to navigate on our site from one page to another without requiring you to log in again on each page. Transient cookies are not stored on your hard drive and are not available to anyone other than VacationPads.
Cookies are automatically enabled on most browsers but may be disabled in your browser's preferences; disabling cookies may prevent you from accessing certain services offered by the Site. If you configure your web browser to alert you regarding the presence of cookies, you may receive a notice that a web server wishes to set a cookie.
To access some information on our Site, you'll have to set your browser to enable cookies.
Other. VacationPads collects and stores information about your browser (including type (such as Netscape or Explorer) and version), the URL you entered the Site from (whether this is a Site-based URL or not), and the URL you visit next (whether this is a Site-based URL or not). This information is used for internal research purposes by VacationPads to provide you with a smooth and efficient user experience.
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Other Information.
If you choose to contact vacation rental owners/managers using the email form available for each listing, we collect and store all the details of your message. We use this information to track misuse of the email feature, as well as provide vacation rental owners/managers with an online record and history of all their property's inquiries.
If you choose to contact other Site members via the Community Contact forms available on the Site, we collect and store all information associated with these requests. Your community handle (username), email address, and any information you choose to provide will be sent to the relevant party.
If you choose to participate in the Site's community discussion boards and forums, we collect and store all the information of your participation. We use this information to provide customer support and provide other users with the public details of your message.
If you choose to leave feedback for a vacation rental, we collect and store the dates of your rental, the feedback rating you assign to the rental, and any text-based feedback you provide. This information is used to resolve disputes, and to promote trust and enthusiasm in the Site's experience.
If you send us personal correspondence, either via the support form available on the site or as a separate email or letter, we may compile this information into a file specific to you. We use this information to provide customer service and maintain customer relationships.
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| Why We Collect This Information |
We are committed to providing a smooth, efficient and safe online experience to all users of the Site. The information you provide to us on the Site is used to: verify identity; resolve disputes; troubleshoot problems and errors; customize your experience; protect the Site's community against fraud and deception; enforce our Terms of Service; bill you for services purchased; inform advertisers as to how many users have seen or "clicked" their advertising banners; inform you about Site events, news and offers; perform statistical analysis in order to measure interest in our services; and as otherwise described to you at the time of information collection. Your information may be compiled and reviewed by VacationPads at any time to ensure its accuracy.
Personal information about you as an individual subscriber will not be provided to any third party without your consent, except under the circumstances described in Legal Compliance below.
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| Third Parties and Service Providers. |
VacationPads.com does not sell or rent your personal information to anyone.
VacationPads may share the information it gathers, in aggregate form only (not individually), with advertisers.
We may use service providers to facilitate or outsource one or more aspects of our business, product services that we provide to you (i.e. affiliate and rewards programs, software technologies such as searches and community forums) and therefore we may provide some of your personal information directly to these parties. These parties are subject to confidentiality agreements with us and other legal restrictions that prohibit their use of the information we provide them for any other purpose except to facilitate the specific outsourced VacationPads-related operation, unless you have explicitly agreed or given your prior permission to them for additional uses.
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| Respecting Other Users' Information. |
VacationPads members have limited access to other user's information. All users will have access to other users' community handles (usernames).
If you are listing a vacation rental for advertisement on the Site, you define your preferences for being contacted by potential renters. Your first and last names will be displayed on your property's listing pages, and will be publicly available to all Site users. While all users will have the ability to contact you via email, your email address will be hidden for public display on the Site. You can also choose to be contacted via phone, in which case any phone numbers you choose to associate with your listing will be publicly available to all Site users. Please remember that even though you are required to enter a home phone number to sign up for a VacationPads membership, you do not have to associate this number (or any other phone numbers you provide) with your listings.
By agreeing to our Terms of Service, you agree that other VacationPads members may use your personal information for VacationPads-related communications in accordance with conditions set forth in this section. You also agree that you will not misuse or abuse other user's personal information that you obtain through the Site. Any personal information granted to you on the Site must only be used for VacationPads-related communications and must not be commercial solicitations.
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| Other Business Entities. |
| In the event that VacationPads be acquired by or merge with another corporation, we will required that the corporation follow and abide by the terms and conditions set forth in this Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information. If your personal information will be used outside the scope of this Policy, you will be notified in accordance with the notification policy described below. |
| Data Security. |
The information we collect is stored on servers located in the United States. To safeguard this information, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of information, we use a combination of physical, electronic, and managerial procedures including, but not limited to, encryption, firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). While we do our best to prevent unauthorized access to your information, Internet-based software can be vulnerable to intrusion.
VacationPads has purchased a digital certificate from VeriSign, Inc, a proven leader in telecommunications networks. The digital certificate serves as an online credential that allows us to control access to multiple resources on the Internet, create digital signatures, and encrypt transactions using SSL technology. To view this site certificate on each secured page, click the closed lock or the solid key icon on the bottom bar of your browser's window.
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| Accessing and Changing Personal Information. |
If your personal information because inaccurate or requires modification, you can login to the membership section of the Site and change this information. The membership section is available by logging onto the Site using your email address and password. We allow you to update your contact information including phone numbers, your email address, your physical address and password. Your name and community handle (username) may not be modified through the Site.
Certain information that you provide is not editable under most circumstances. Messages left in the Site's community forums or discussion boards and feedback generally may not be changed after they have been submitted. This helps to ensure integrity of the Site's community.
If you wish to close your VacationPads account and deactivate your membership, you must contact VacationPads at accounts@vacationpads.com. After validation of your account, we will deactivate your membership and terminate your account. Upon cancellation of your account, any services available provided to you by the Site will be terminated and your personal information displayed in the VacationPads online community will be deactivated. We will retain a copy of your personal account information and associated transactions to prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, improve customer service, and comply with any legal requests in accordance with the Legal Compliance described below.
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| Legal Compliance. |
| VacationPads will comply with legal law enforcement requests. We may disclose personal information if we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or with legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Site; or (4) protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public (among other things, this means that if you provide false information or attempt to pose as someone else, information about you may be disclosed as part of any investigation into your actions). |
| Exclusions. |
| This privacy policy pertains only to the services offered by the Site. Any information you provide to other parties, including other VacationPads members and sites you accessed via a link, is not protected by this Privacy Policy. You are solely responsible for releasing your information to other parties, so please be sure to ask questions and investigate potential problems before submitted your information to these parties. |
| Changes and Amendments to the Privacy Policy. |
| This Privacy Policy was produced and made public by VacationPads on December 29, 2003. We reserve the right to make changes to or amend this policy at any time and for any reason. We will prominently post any changes made to this policy prior to implementing the change. All amended or changed conditions and terms will become effective 30 days from the time of initially posting the changes. |
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| Copyright © 2008 VacationPads LLC. All Rights Reserved. VacationPadsTM, VacationPads.comTM and the VacationPads frog logo are trademarks and/or service marks of VacationPads LLC. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service agreements. |
 External links will open in a new browser window. VacationPads.com does not endorse nor is responsible for content on external sites. |
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