PRIVACY POLICY
We understand that making purchases online involves a
great deal of trust on your part. We take this trust very seriously, and make
it our highest priority to ensure the security and confidentiality of the
Personally Identifiable Information (ÒPIIÓ) you provide us. This Geography
Destination Travel Privacy Policy (the ÒPrivacy PolicyÓ) describes the
principles and practices that apply to the PII collected from the users of our
services (ÒyouÓ) via our website, telephone or email communications, contests,
or other surveys and interactions.
This Privacy Policy applies to the website, www.geodest.com (ÒGeography
Destination TravelÓ), and to any other domestic or international-owned websites
that may be accessed through it.
I. Definitions
ÒDiscloseÓ means to release, transfer, disseminate, or
otherwise communicate all or any part of any record orally, in writing, or by
electronic or any other means to any person or entity.
ÒMemberÓ means an individual who has registered with the
website.
ÒMinorÓ means any individual under 18 years of age, or as
defined under the laws of their jurisdiction or residence.
ÒPersonally Identifiable InformationÓ or ÒPIIÓ means any
recorded information about specific individual whose identity may be inferred
from the information. This information includes, for example, name, email and
mailing address, phone number, account and billing information, and other
information provided by a visitor to our website or incidental to providing products
and services to you.
ÒWebsiteÓ means www.geodest.com, as well
as its child sites and web pages, and any domestic or international-owned or
managed website of Geography Destination Travel that may be accessed through
it.
II. Consent
By submitting PII to us or our website, and / or by
visiting www.geodest.com, you agree
that we may collect, use and Disclose such PII in accordance with this Privacy
Policy and as permitted or required by law.
If you do not agree with these terms, do not provide any
PII to Geography Destination Travel. If you choose to refuse or withdraw your
consent, we may not be able to provide you with services normally offered by Geography
Destination Travel.
Geography Destination Travel does not sell or market
products to Minors. Minors are not eligible to register with, use or purchase
services via www.geodest.com. We do not knowingly collect PII from
any Minor, and will not deliberately use such information. If you are under 18,
you may use www.geodest.com only with the involvement of a parent or
guardian.
If you provide PII regarding any third party, including
parties traveling or vacationing with you, you must obtain consent prior to
your disclosure of this information. By providing PII of any third party, you
represent that you have all necessary authority and / or have obtained all
necessary consents from such person to allow our collection of PII as set forth
in this Privacy Policy.
III. What Personally Identifiable Information We Collect
Geography Destination Travel only collects PII that you
voluntarily provide to us, or that is incidental to your use of our services.
The information we learn helps us personalize and continually improve your
experience with Geography Destination Travel, and assists us in providing for
your vacation needs. Here are the types of information we gather:
◦
Information You Give Us: We receive and store
any information you enter on our website or give us in any other way. You can
choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to
take advantage of many of our features. We use the information that you provide
for such purposes as responding to your requests, customizing future vacations
for you, improving our website and communicating with you. Such information may
include service and purchase information, Membership and billing information,
when you call or write to our Customer Service and other volunteered
information.
◦
Automatic Information: We receive and store
certain types of information whenever you interact with us. For example, like
many websites, we use Òcookies,Ó and we obtain certain types of information
when your Web browser accesses the website. Such information may include login
information, browsing history, preferences and other personalization
information.
◦
E-mail Communications: Geography Destination
Travel may retain copies of our email correspondence, or if you have received
and opened correspondence. We also compare our customer lists in an effort to
avoid duplicative marketing.
◦
Information from Other Sources: We might
receive information about you from other sources and add it to our account
information. Such information may include when you visit sites on which we
advertise, information collected on sites that we host for third parties and
other content served by or on behalf of Geography Destination Travel on other
websites.
◦
Incidental Information: Geography Destination
Travel may collect information incidental to your visit of the website or
purchase of products or services. Such information may include when you have
visited the website or when you registered as a Member.
IV. How We Use Personally Identifiable Information
Geography Destination Travel uses your PII for the
purposes of responding to and processing your requests for Geography
Destination Travel products and services:
◦
To record your travel preferences, to provide
travel quotes, or make travel reservations on your behalf, to communicate with
you or your travel provider about your travel plans;
◦
To process and track your transactions and to
send information to affiliated travel agents and agencies via our systems and
software regarding our and our business partners' products and services and
other information and materials that may be of interest to you;
◦
To issue invoices, administer accounts, and
collect and process product and services payments;
◦
To provide tips or guidance on how to use our
website, inform you of new features on our site or provide other information
that may be of interest to users;
◦
To personalize the service we provide to you,
tailor your experience at our website to your interests and make more
appropriate travel recommendations;
◦
To send you e-mails, e-newsletters,
personalized offers via direct messaging or other communications about our
services, if you have subscribed to receive this information or you have not
advised us that you do not wish to receive such communications;
◦
To manage our website, diagnose technical
problems, improve content and allocate the resources of our systems so that
your experience with our website is as efficient as possible;
◦
To process and track your transactions and to
send you information about our and our Independent Affiliates' and business
partners' products and services and other information and materials that may be
of interest to you;
◦
To develop, enhance, market, sell or provide Geography
Destination Travel products or services, or those of companies with which we
have a commercial relationship, but only if you have granted us permission to
do so or we are otherwise able to do so under applicable law;
◦
To effect a corporate transaction in
connection with the sale, merger, spin-off or other corporate reorganization of
our corporation, where the information is provided to the new controlling
entity in regular course of business;
◦
To audit compliance with our policies and
contractual obligations;
◦
As permitted by, and to comply with, any legal
or regulatory requirements or provisions; or for any other purpose to which you
consent.
◦
Geography Destination Travel does, at times,
request credit card information, Membership ID, or national identification
numbers to help plan and book vacations. Any such information is kept and
maintained in accordance with Section VI below.
V. To Whom We Disclose Personally Identifiable Information
Information about our customers is an important part of
our business, and we are not in the business of selling it to others. Geography
Destination Travel will only share your PII with our authorized service
providers that perform services or functions on our behalf, as required by law,
or as described below.
From time to time, we may Disclose PII as follows:
◦
To those travel service providers with which
you have or may make arrangements through via our website. For example,
associated cruise lines, tour operators, vacation packages, wholesalers,
independent affiliated travel agents and agencies, hotel or ground transport, attraction
and travel insurance companies. We provide them only with the PII needed to
assist you in choosing and completing your purchases, as well as the booking
and reservation of travel related products and services.
◦
To organizations that provide services for or
on behalf of Geography Destination Travel. Examples include fulfilling orders,
delivering packages and brochures, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing
repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing
assistance, providing search results and links (including paid listings and
links), processing credit card payments, and providing customer service. These
parties have access to the PII needed to perform their functions.
◦
Geography Destination Travel may collaborate
with other companies via software and systems to offer additional products and
services, and may share PII to marketers of products and services that you have
authorized. This Policy does not cover the use of your PII by these other
companies. We encourage you to read a company's privacy policy before
requesting any of its products or services.
◦
To protect our website and our rights under
our Terms and Conditions of Use; to protect ourselves against liability or
prevent fraudulent activity; or where it is necessary to permit us to pursue
available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain.
◦
To effect a corporate transaction, in
connection with the sale, merger, spin-off or other corporate reorganization of
our corporation, where the information is provided to the new controlling
entity in regular course of business.
◦
Where the information is public.
◦
To our insurers and to regulatory agencies.
VI. How we retain Personally Identifiable Information
If you are a Member of www.geodest.com, we store
your PII in a system offline not accessible via the web to ensure your privacy
and safety.
Members can choose whether or not theyÕd like to continue
to receive e-newsletters, and other communications we offer.
We will retain your PII in our databases in accordance
with our records management policy and applicable laws. While this information
may be periodically purged, the retention period may extend beyond the end of
your relationship with us. We may also need to retain certain information to
prevent fraudulent activity; to protect ourselves against liability, permit us
to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain; or if we
believe in good faith that a law, regulation, rule or guideline requires it.
Your PII will be stored in secured locations and on
servers controlled by Geography Destination Travel, located at our offices.
VII. How You Can Control the Use of Your Information
As discussed above, you can always choose not to provide
PII. Guest browsing is available on the www.geodest.com website,
even though PII might be needed to make a purchase or to take advantage of
certain Geography Destination Travel services.
The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will
tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have
the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies
altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by
browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on's settings or
visiting the website of its manufacturer.
Geography Destination Travel provides you with the
opportunity to specifically choose the promotional marketing communications you
wish to receive from Geography Destination Travel. For emailed newsletters and
promotional messages, you may send an e-mail to CustomerCare@geodest.com that
includes your full name, street address and e-mail address, and specify that
you don't want to continue receiving either postal mail, email, or both. If you
choose not to receive any of the promotional marketing services that Geography
Destination Travel provides, then Geography Destination Travel will not send
them to you.
VIII. How We Protect Your Information
To protect the confidentiality of your PII, Geography
Destination Travel employs physical, administrative, and technical safeguards
to help protect the confidentiality and integrity of the information and to
reduce the risk of loss, misuse, unauthorized access disclosure or modification
of PII.
IX. Changes to the Privacy Policy
By providing you with this Privacy Statement, Geography
Destination Travel is pledging our continued commitment to protecting the
information you provide us. Geography Destination Travel regularly examines our
information privacy practices to determine whether we are adhering to the
disclosures about the collection, use, sharing, and protection of your PII made
in this privacy statement.
We may change or supplement this Privacy Policy from time
to time. We may also undergo a change of ownership. Privacy Policy changes will
apply to the information collected from the date we post the revised Privacy
Policy to the website, as well as to existing information held by us.
If we decide to change this policy in a material way, we
will obtain the necessary consents required under applicable privacy laws if we
seek to collect, use or disclose PII for purposes materially different than
those to which consent has been obtained, unless otherwise required or
permitted by law. If any proposed change is unacceptable to you, you may
request that we remove your PII from our records, as described above.
X. Disputes
Geography Destination Travel shares your concerns over
privacy disputes. Your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this
Notice and our Conditions of Use, including any limitations on damages,
resolution of disputes, and application of the law of the state of California.
If you have questions or concerns regarding Geography Destination Travel
privacy practices, you should first contact the Chief Privacy Officer. Geography
Destination Travel will investigate and attempt to resolve complaints regarding
violations of its published Privacy Policy directly with the complainant. In
the event that the complaint cannot be resolved internally, the complainant
shall submit the matter to binding arbitration before the American Arbitration
Association in San Diego, California.
XI. Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns about (a) access to
PII, (b) the collection, use, management or disclosure of PII, (c) this policy
or our information handling practices, (d) with whom your PII is shared, or if
you need further assistance with respect to our Privacy Policy, you may contact
our Chief Privacy Officer via our Customer Care department as indicated below.
We will attempt to respond to your questions or concerns promptly after we
receive them.
E-mail: CustomerCare@geodest.com
XII. Your California Privacy Rights
Under California Law, California residents have the right
to request in writing from a business, (a) a list of the categories of personal
information, such as name, address, e-mail address, and the type of services
provided to the customer, that a business has disclosed to third parties
(including Independent Affiliates that are separate legal entities) during the
immediately preceding calendar year for the third parties' direct marketing
purposes, and (b) the names and addresses of all such third parties. To request
the above information, please contact us by contacting our Chief Privacy
Officer via our Customer Care department via E-mail: CustomerCare@geodest.com
We will respond to such written requests within 30 days
following receipt at the e-mail or mailing address stated above. If we receive
your request at a different e-mail or mailing address, we will respond within a
reasonable period of time, but not to exceed 150 days from the date received.
Please note that we are only required to respond to each customer once per
calendar year.