Information Collection and Use
grouphotels.com is the sole owner of the information collected on this Web site. We will not sell or rent this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement. grouphotels.com collects information from its users at several different points on its Web site.
Registration
In order to use this website, a user must first complete the registration form. During registration a user is required to give their contact information (name and email address) and to create a username & password. This information is used to contact the user about the services on our site for which they have expressed interest. grouphotels.com does not require the user to provide demographic information, such as income level and gender, nor unique identifiers such as social security number.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our Web site. For instance, by setting a cookie on our Web site, the user would not have to log in a password, thereby saving time each time they visit our site. Should the user want to temporarily disable this function they can do so by clicking the log-out link. If a user rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site.
Log Files
We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Links
This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that grouphotels.com is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users, when they leave our site, to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.
Security
All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, a billing clerk or customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. The servers that we store personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment.
Special Offers
We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will receive information on new groups or hotel bids relating to their business. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications.
Website Activity
grouphotels.com uses a third party tracking utility to track end-user activity through our site through the use of cookies. Activity is tracked in an effort to make our site easy to navigate through, and to find out which areas of our site draw the most attention. The information tracked are such things as Most Requested Page, Least Requested Page, Top Entry Page, Top Path Through Site, cities users are visiting from, average length of time spent at the site, etc.
Site and Service Updates
We send the user site and service announcement updates. Members are not able to un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important information about the service. We communicate with the user regarding updates to our site and service and issues relating to their account via email or phone.
Correcting/Updating Personal Information
If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code), or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update, or remove that user’s personal data.
Third-Party Ads
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, you can visit www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our Homepage so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
Legal Obligations
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site.