Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Global Connections, Inc., and its affiliated companies and subsidiaries value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. We are providing this Privacy Policy (“Policy”) to inform you of our policies and procedures regarding the collection, use and disclosure of information related to websites and services application (the “Services” or “Application”). By visiting our websites (the “Sites”), or using the Application, you agree that your personal information will be handled as described in this Policy. Note that this Policy may be modified from time to time at our sole discretion, so check back frequently. We will notify you of any changes to the Policy by posting a new Policy and updating the “last modified” date at the bottom of this page.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and using any personal information you provide responsibly. We believe it is important for you to understand what information we collect from you, how it is used and who will have access to that information.

We receive your information through our resellers, vendors, applications, websites, email notifications, and other interactions with our Services. During a registration/booking reservation process a you must provide information such as name, email, address, telephone, credit-card number and other relevant data. This information is used by Global Connections, Inc. to identify the you and provide you with support, services, mailings, sales and marketing actions, billing and to meet contractual obligations. When using our Services you consent to the collection, transfer, manipulation, storage, disclosure and other uses of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Communications and Customer Service:

We use your Personal Information to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such communications from us, please follow the unsubscribe instructions provided in any of the communications or update your “preferences” information in your account settings. We use your Personal Information to respond to your questions or inquiries.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies:

We use various technologies to collect information and improve our Service, and this may include sending cookies to you. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive or in device memory, and we may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to identify that you’ve logged in to the Service and help us understand and customize how you interact with our Service. Session cookies exist only during an online session. They disappear from your computer when you close your browser or turn off your computer. We use session cookies to allow our systems to uniquely identify you during a session or while you are logged in to the Sites. This allows us to process your online transactions and requests and verify your identity, after you have logged in, as you move through our Sites. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you have closed your browser or turned off your computer. We use persistent cookies to save your login information for future logins to the Service. Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies. If you do not want cookies from us or other websites, you can instruct your browser, by changing its settings, to stop accepting cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie from the websites you visit. However, some features of the Services may not function properly if you disable cookies.

We may also include web beacons (also known as “tracking pixels”) on our Service, which are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, to deliver or communicate with cookies, to track and measure the performance of our Service, to monitor how many visitors view our Service, and to monitor the effectiveness of our advertising. Unlike Cookies, which are stored on the user’s hard drive, web beacons are typically embedded invisibly on web pages or in e-mails.

Log Information:

Our servers automatically record information (“Log Data”) created by your use of the Services. Log Data may include information such as pages visited and the time spent on those pages, search terms, and other statistics. We receive Log Data when you interact with our Service, for example, when you visit our Apps, sign into our Service, or view Content hosted by us. We use Log Data to provide, measure, customize, and improve the Services.

Device Information: We may collect information about the computer or device you use to access our Service, including the hardware model, operating system and version, browser system and version, and unique device identifier.

Third-Parties:

We use a variety of third-party services to help provide our Services and to help us understand the use of our Service, such as Google Analytics, MailChimp, Alliance Reservations Network, and Priceline. These third-parties may collect information sent by the App or mobile device and share such information with us. These third parties may use tracking technologies, including, without limitation, cookies and web beacons to collect information about your use of the Service and other Apps, including your IP address, operating system, device ID, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked and conversion information. This information may be used to, among other things, analyze and track data, determine the popularity of certain Content and better understand our users’ activity on the Service. Note that this Privacy Policy does not include use of cookies by such third parties.

We partner with third parties that collect information across various channels, including offline and online, for purposes of delivering more relevant advertising and services to you. Our partner may place or recognize a cookie on your computer or device and we may share personal information with them if you have submitted such information to us, such as your email address, name, or address. Our partners may link the personal information we share with them to the cookie stored on your browser or device, and they may collect information such as your IP address, browser or operating system type and version, and demographic or inferred-interest information. Our partners use this information to recognize you across different channels and platforms over time for advertising, analytics, attribution, and reporting purposes.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

In addition to some of the specific uses of information we describe in this Privacy Policy, we may use information that we receive from you to:

  • Create your account
  • Autofill check-out of services purchased
  • To provide our Services to you, to communicate with you about your use of our Services and for other customer service purposes
  • To provide information that you have requested to receive from us in response to your opt-in requests
  • To tailor the content and information that we may send or display to you, and to otherwise personalize your experiences while using our Sites or our Services
  • To improve our Sites and Services by providing personalized experiences, location customization, personalized help and instructions
  • Provide , improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of the Services
  • Develop and test new or existing products and features on our own behalf or on the behalf of third parties
  • Monitor and analyze trends, usage and activities in connection with the Services
  • Diagnose or fix technology problems
  • Provide and deliver the products and services you request, process transactions and send you related information
  • Respond to your comments, questions and requests and provide customer service
  • Communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, rewards, and events as well as provide news and information we think will be of interest to you
  • Detect, investigate and/or prevent fraudulent, unauthorized or illegal activity
  • Carry out any other purpose for which the information was collected
  • For marketing and advertising purposes
  • To send you email, news and newsletters, special offers, and promotions
  • To better understand how users access and use our Sites and Service, both on an aggregated and individualized basis

Global Connections, Inc. is based in the United States and the information we collect is governed by U.S. law. By accessing or using the Service or otherwise providing information to us, you consent to the storage, processing and transfer of information in and to the U.S. and other countries. You acknowledge that we may transfer information that we collect about you, including personal information across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. Please review the “Privacy Shield” section below for further information related to data transfers from the European Union (“EU”).

HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We will not share your personally identifiable information with third parties outside Global Connections, Inc. without your consent, except as noted in this Privacy Policy.

Parties With Whom We May Share Your Information:

We may share your User Content and your personally identifiable information with our affiliates. Affiliates may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service and Affiliates’ own services (including, without limitation, by providing you with better and more relevant experiences).

We may share your personally identifiable information with third-party organizations that help us provide the Service to you (“Service Providers”). Our Service Providers will be given access to your information as is reasonably necessary to provide the Service under reasonable confidentiality terms.

We may share aggregated information and non-identifying information with third parties for industry research and analysis, demographic profiling and other similar purposes.

We may remove parts of data that can identify you and share anonymized data with other parties. We may also combine your information with other information in a way that it is no longer associated with you and share that aggregated information.

Information Disclosed in Connection with Business Transactions:

Information that we collect from our users, including personally identifiable information, is considered to be a business asset. Thus, if Global Connections sells or otherwise transfers part or the whole of their respective business or their respective assets to another organization (e.g., in the course of a transaction like a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation), your personally identifiable information, Content and any other information collected through the Service may be among the items sold or transferred. You will continue to own your User Content.

Law and Harm:

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Privacy Policy, we may preserve or disclose your information, including your personally identifiable information, if we believe that it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation or legal request; to protect the safety of any person; to address fraud, security or technical issues; or to protect our rights or property. However, nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal defenses or objections that you may have to a third party’s, including a government’s, request to disclose your information. We may access, preserve and share your information in response to a legal request (like a search warrant, court order or subpoena) if we have a good faith belief that the law requires us to do so. This may include responding to legal requests from jurisdictions outside of the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally recognized standards. We may also access, preserve and share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to: detect, prevent and address fraud and other illegal activity; to protect ourselves, you and others, including as part of investigations; and to prevent death or imminent bodily harm. Information we receive about you may be accessed, processed and retained for an extended period of time when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation, or investigations concerning possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm. Finally, we may disclose your information to enforce or apply our Terms of Service and other agreements.

YOUR CHOICES

We offer you choices regarding the collection, use and sharing of your personally identifiable information and we’ll respect the choices you make. Please note that if you decide not to provide us with the personally identifiable information that we request, you may not be able to access all of the features of the Services.

Opt-Out:

We may periodically send you free newsletters and e-mails that directly promote Global Connections, Inc. and its affiliates, the App, and/or our Service (including, without limitation, other apps powered by Global Connections, Inc.). When you receive such promotional communications from us, you will have the opportunity to “opt-out” by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the e-mail you receive. We do need to send you certain communications regarding the Service and you will not be able to opt out of those communications – e.g., communications regarding updates to our Terms of Service or this Privacy Policy.

MODIFYING / REQUESTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

If you are a registered user of the App or website, we provide you with tools and account settings to access or modify the profile information you provided to us and associated with your Account.

You can also permanently delete or request for the information for your account by contacting us at travelinfo@exploregci.com.

OTHER WEBSITES, APPS AND SERVICES

We are not responsible for the practices employed by any websites, apps or services linked to or viewed from our Services, including the information or content contained within them. Please remember that when you access another website, app or service from the App, our Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party websites, apps or services. Your browsing and interaction on any third-party website, app or service, including those that have a link or can otherwise be viewed on the App, are subject to that third party’s own rules and policies. In addition, you agree that we are not responsible and do not have control over any third-parties that you authorize to access, share, and/or distribute your User Content. If you are using a third-party website, app or service and you allow them to access, share, and/or distribute your Content you do so at your own risk. Our Website includes social media features. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policies of the companies providing these features, and we do not control and are not responsible for the privacy practices of, or the data available on, the websites of third parties.

THE SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION

We take commercially reasonable measures to protect the information that we collect from or about you (including your personal information) from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. However, no method of digital transmission, or method of digital storage, is 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit through the Service or guarantee that information on the Service may not be inappropriately accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.

OUR POLICY TOWARDS CHILDREN

Our Service is not directed to persons under 18. If you become aware that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we take steps to remove such information and terminate the child’s account.

Specific Processing for the European Economic Area (EEA)

For Users with a European address located in Alliance Reservations Network’s User database, all processing of Personal Data is performed in accordance with privacy rights and regulations following the EU Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 (the Directive), and the implementations of the Directive in local legislation. From May 25th, 2018, the Directive and local legislation based on the Directive will be replaced by the Regulations (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of Personal Data and on the free movement of such data, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Alliance Reservations Network’s User data collection will take place in accordance with the GDPR.

Controller

Global Connections, Inc. processes Personal Data as a Controller, as defined in the Directive and the GDPR: The Global Connections, Inc. entity which you as a User entered an agreement with when using Global Connections, Inc.’s platform, will be the Controller for User data, as outlined above in “Collection of User data” section. Global Connections, Inc. adheres to the Directive of 1995 and the GDPR from May 25th, 2018. Consequently, Global Connections, Inc. processes all data provided by its Users with accounts with addresses located in the European Economic Area (EEA) according to the GDPR guidelines.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Any information that is collected via our Service is covered by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we’ll notify you of those changes by posting them on the Service or by sending you an email or other notification. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you access the Service to stay informed about our information practices and the ways you can help protect your privacy. By continuing to access or use the Service after those changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy. If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at travelinfo@exploregci.com.

Updated: May 22, 2018