Privacy Policy

Please read this information about our privacy policies carefully before using this website or its application. Accessing this website or application and using it implies full acceptance of our terms and conditions. If you, as a user, do not wish to accept them, you must leave immediately.

BonaVista was created to facilitate connections between people and build a globalized, open, and inclusive world. In essence, we aim to provide options worldwide so that everyone feels at home. Our community of members is built on trust. To maintain trust, it is crucial for us to be transparent about how we use data and how we uphold your human right to privacy. This privacy policy outlines how BonaVista handles personal information in relation to your use of the BonaVista Platform. Please review it carefully to understand how BonaVista utilizes the information.

1. PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT

1.1. Data necessary to use the BonaVista Platform

We collect personal data about you when you use the BonaVista platform. This is primarily required to provide all the services you request. This information includes the following:

1. Contact, Account, and Profile Information:

   - Full name

   - Phone number

   - Mailing address

   - Email address

   - Date of birth

   - Photograph of your identification issued by the relevant country's authority according to applicable laws

   - Identity verification and payment information:

     - Image of your ID

     - Personal selfie

     - Bank account or payment account

   - If you use a third-party payment method, you must provide their identification to validate their identity, and you acknowledge that you informed them about our terms and conditions.

1.2. Information you choose to provide

It is optional to provide us with additional personal data. This information may include:

1. Additional Profile Information:

   - Gender

   - Preferred language(s)

   - City

   - Personal description

   - Some of this information, as indicated in your account settings, is part of your public profile page and will be publicly visible.

1. Information about other Members: Such as payment instrument belonging to another Member or information about a travel companion. By providing us with personal data about third parties, you certify that you have permission to provide that information to BonaVista for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and that you have shared BonaVista's Privacy Policy with them.
2. Other Information: When you fill out a form, add information to your account, respond to surveys, post on community forums, participate in promotions, communicate with our customer support team and other Members, import or manually enter contacts in your address book, provide your address and/or geolocation, or share your experience with us. This may include health information if you choose to share it with us. In all the above cases, it is elective.

1.3. Automatic Collection of Information when Using the BonaVista Platform and Our Payment Services.

When you use the BonaVista Platform and our Payment Services, personal information and other data are automatically collected. This information may include:

1. Geolocation Data: This includes both precise and approximate locations determined through IP address, your mobile device's GPS, or other devices, or any other information you share with us, depending on your device's settings. We may collect this information even if you are not using the application, provided you have given consent through your device's settings or permissions.
2. Usage Information: This encompasses the pages or content you view, searches for listings, completed bookings, additional services you've added, and other actions performed on the BonaVista Platform.
3. Log Data and Device Information: Details related to the use of the BonaVista Platform, including whether you have clicked on links to third-party applications, IP address, access dates and times, hardware and software information, device details, device event information, unique identifiers, error data, and the pages you viewed or interacted with before or after using the BonaVista Platform. It's worth mentioning that we may collect this information even if you haven't created an account on BonaVista or logged into the platform.
4. Cookies and Similar Technologies: To inform our platform members, here is an informative overview of how cookies work:

What are Cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of information, usually composed of letters and numbers, that online services provide when users visit them. User device software, such as a web browser, can store these cookies and send them back to the website the next time the site is visited.

How are Cookies Used?

Cookies are a specific technology that stores information between visits to a website and are used in various ways, such as:

- Remembering items in the shopping cart when purchasing products online.

- Facilitating user logins on a website.

- Analyzing website traffic.

- Tracking users' browsing behavior.

Cookies are useful as they allow a website to recognize a user's device. They are widely used to make websites function efficiently and provide information to site owners. Without cookies or similar methods, websites could not "remember" information about visitors, such as the contents of a shopping cart or whether a user is logged in.

What are 'Session' and 'Persistent' Cookies?

There are two types of cookies based on their duration:

- Session Cookies: These expire at the end of a browsing session, usually when a user exits their browser.

- Persistent Cookies: These can be stored for a longer period.

Both types are subject to privacy regulations (PECR).

Session cookies enable websites to recognize and link a user's actions during a browsing session. They can be used for various purposes, such as remembering items in a shopping cart while a user browses a site.

Session cookies are also used for security, such as in online banking or webmail logins. These cookies expire at the end of the session and are not stored beyond that point. Therefore, they are sometimes considered less intrusive to privacy than persistent cookies.

What are "First-Party" and "Third-Party" Cookies?

The distinction between "first-party" and "third-party" cookies refers to the website or domain that sets the cookie:

- First-Party Cookies: These are set directly by the website visited by the user, meaning the URL that appears in the browser's address bar.

- Third-Party Cookies: These are set by a domain different from the one the user is visiting. This commonly occurs when a website incorporates elements from other sites, such as images, social media plugins, or advertisements. When the browser or other software retrieves these elements from other sites, they can also set cookies.

What are "Similar Technologies"?

The functions typically performed by a cookie can be achieved through other methodologies. This can include the use of specific features to identify devices, allowing the analysis of website visits.

PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) applies to any technology that stores or accesses information on a user's device. This could encompass technologies such as HTML5 local storage, local shared objects, and fingerprinting techniques.

1. This includes the payment method used, transaction date and time, payment amount, payment method expiration date, and billing ZIP code. It may also include the email address associated with PayPal, ABA information, and other transaction-related details.

1.4. Personal Data We Collect from Third Parties:

We collect personal information from external sources, including:

1. Third-Party Services: If you link, connect, or log in to the BonaVista Platform via a third-party service (such as Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, or WeChat), you instruct that service to provide us with information such as your registration, your friends list, and your profile information, as controlled by that service or authorized by you through its privacy settings.
2. Background Information: For Members in the United States and Latin America, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we may obtain criminal background checks, sex offender registry records, and other information about you. Your information, including your full name and birthdate, might be used to obtain these reports.
3. Invitations and Travel Companions: If you receive an invitation to join the BonaVista Platform, such as a travel companion, the person who invited you may share personal information about you, such as your email address or other contact information.
4. Travel Insurance for Guest or Host Members: If you file a claim under contracted travel insurance policies, we will receive information about your claim for processing, management, and evaluation, as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
5. Other Information Resources: According to laws or legal regulations established by a competent authority, we may receive additional information about you from external sources, such as references, demographic data, or information to help detect fraud and security issues, provided by third-party service providers or partners. This information might be combined with the information we already have about you. For example, we might receive background check results or fraud alerts from identity verification service providers to use in our fraud prevention processes, security investigations, and risk assessments. We might also receive information about you and your activities inside and outside the BonaVista Platform or about your experiences and interactions with our partners. We might receive health-related information, including but not limited to information about contagious diseases.

2. USING THE COLLECTED PERSONAL DATA

2.1. Providing, Improving, and Developing the BonaVista Platform: 

We may use this data to:

- Facilitate your access to the BonaVista Platform and process payments.

- Enable communication with other Members.

- Process your requests.

- Conduct analysis, debugging, and research.

- Provide customer service training.

- Send messages, updates, security alerts, and account notifications.

- Process, manage, or evaluate insurance claims or similar matters.

- Personalize your experience based on your interactions with the BonaVista Platform, your search and reservation history, your preferences and profile information, as well as other content you submit.

- Facilitate the use of our business products and hosting services.

If you provide us with contact information for your friends or travel companions, we may use this data to: (i) facilitate invitations, (ii) share details of your trip and assist in travel planning, (iii) detect and prevent fraud, and (iv) facilitate requests or any other purpose you authorize.

2.2. Creating and Maintaining a Trusted and Secure Environment: 

We may use this information to:

- Detects and prevents fraud, unwanted messages, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful activities.

- Study and combat discrimination in accordance with our Anti-Discrimination Policy.

- Conduct fraud prevention, security investigations, and risk assessments.

- Verify or authenticate the information you provide.

- Perform checks using databases and other information sources, including background checks.

- Comply with our legal obligations, protect the health and well-being of Members, Hosts, host employees, and the general public.

- Resolve disputes with our Members, including sharing information with their Co-hosts or additional Guests in case of disputes related to their role as Co-hosts or additional Guests.

- Comply with agreements made with third parties.

- Determine whether requirements for certain types of reservations, such as Instant Book, are met.

- Comply with the law, respond to legal requests, prevent harm, and protect our rights.

- Enforce our Terms and other policies (e.g., the Anti-Discrimination Policy).

- Access or assess your interactions with the BonaVista Platform and information obtained from third parties.

In specific cases, automated processes that analyze your account and activities on the BonaVista Platform, as well as information related to activities inside and outside the BonaVista Platform that may be associated with you, could restrict or suspend your access to the BonaVista Platform if such processes detect activities that may pose a risk to the security of BonaVista, our community, or third parties. If you wish to challenge decisions based on automated processes, please contact us through the Contact Information section below. You can find more information on how our system determines whether certain reservations may involve a high risk of incidents [here](link to relevant page).

2.3. Providing, Personalizing, Quantifying, and Improving Our Advertising and Marketing Plans:

We may use this data to:

- Send you promotional messages, marketing, advertising, offers, and other information based on your preferences and social media advertising through social media platforms.

- Personalize, quantify, and improve our advertising.

- Manage referral programs, rewards, surveys, draws, contests, or other promotional activities or events sponsored or managed by BonaVista.

- Analyze characteristics and preferences to send you promotional messages, marketing information, advertising, and other content that we believe may be of interest to you.

- Invite you to relevant events and opportunities.

- Send you, with your consent, promotional messages, marketing, advertising, and other information that may be of interest to you based on your preferences.

2.4. Analyzing and Sharing Your Communications: 

We may review, explore, or analyze your communications on the BonaVista Platform for the reasons described in the section "How We Use the Information We Obtain" of this policy, including fraud prevention, security investigations, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, product development, studies, analysis, compliance with our Terms and Conditions of use of the Platform, and customer service. As part of our fraud prevention efforts, we examine and analyze messages to hide contact information and references to other websites, and subject to applicable law, we inspect and analyze all images users upload to the BonaVista Platform in message threads, profiles, listings, and Experiences for certain illegal or inappropriate activities (such as evidence of child exploitation, prostitution, etc.) in order to identify and report content violations to the relevant authorities.

In some cases, we will also inspect, review, or analyze messages for debugging, improving, and expanding product offerings. We use automated methods where reasonably possible. However, occasionally, we may need to manually review some communications, such as fraud investigations and customer service, or assess and enhance the functionality of these automated tools. We will not review, examine, or analyze your communications to send you third-party marketing messages, and we will not sell assessments or analyses of these communications.

2.5 Linking Third-Party Accounts:

You can link your BonaVista account with certain third-party services, such as social networks. Your contacts on these third-party services are referred to as "Friends." When establishing this connection:

- Some details you provide about linked accounts may be visible on your public profile.

- Your activities on the BonaVista Platform may be displayed to your Friends on the BonaVista Platform and/or on the third-party service.

- A link to your public profile on the third-party platform may be included in your BonaVista public profile.

- Other BonaVista users can see any Friends you may have in common with them or that you are Friends with their Friend, if applicable.

- Other BonaVista users can see any school, hometown, or other group you have in common with them on your linked social media service.

The information you provide us through linking your accounts may be stored, processed, and transmitted for fraud prevention, security investigations, and risk assessments.

The posting and displaying of information you provide on the BonaVista Platform through this linking will be subject to the settings and authorizations you have configured both on the BonaVista Platform and on the external service.

We may also share your communications as outlined in the "Sharing and Disclosure of Information" section.

2.6 Providing Payment Services:

Personal data is used to enable or authorize third parties to use Payment Services, among other purposes:

- Detect and prevent money laundering, fraud, abuse, and security incidents, as well as conduct risk assessments.

- Comply with legal and compliance obligations (such as anti-money laundering provisions and sanctions enforcement).

- Enforce Payment Terms and other payment policies.

- Provide and improve Payment Services.

3. Disclosure and Sharing of Data

3.1 Sharing with Your Consent or Following Your Instructions:

When you have given your consent, we share your information as described at the time of consent, such as when we authorize a third-party application or website to access your BonaVista account or when we engage in promotional activities with BonaVista partners or third parties.

Where allowed by laws and applicable, we might use certain information about you, such as your email address, which we share with social media platforms after it has been hashed to generate leads, drive traffic to BonaVista, or promote our products and services.

3.2 Information Shared Between Members:

To help facilitate bookings or other interactions among Members (who may be located in jurisdictions with different levels of data protection or rely on service providers located in such jurisdictions), we may have to share certain information, such as:

- Between Host Members and Guest Members when:

  - A booking request is made, when there is a co-host, or when a dispute is initiated, including profile, name, names of any additional Guest Members, cancellation history, review information, guest age (unless prohibited by applicable law), dispute outcome (where applicable), and any other information you decide to share and submit.

  - The booking is confirmed, additional information is shared to help coordinate the trip, such as profile picture or phone number.

  - As a Host Member with a confirmed booking, certain information is shared with the Guest Member (and any additional Guest Member you invite, if applicable) to coordinate the booking, such as your profile, full name, phone number, and listing address.

- Between Guest Members when:

  - As a Guest Member, if you invite additional Guest Members to a booking, we share your full name, trip dates, Host Member's name, Listing details, Accommodation address, and related information with each additional Guest Member.

- Between Host Members when:

  - You accept an invitation to co-host with another Member and authorize that Member, as a Co-Host, to access and update your information and Member Content, including, among other things, certain information such as your full name, phone number, Accommodation address, calendar, Listing information, Listing photos, and email address.

3.3 Information You Post in Profiles, Listings, and Other Public Information:

When you post information in profiles, listings, and other public information on the BonaVista Platform, the information is publicly accessible and may be viewed by anyone on the internet. This includes, among other things:

- Public Profile Page: This includes your profile picture, your name (or initials, where applicable), a description, and your city.

- Listing Pages: These include information such as the approximate or precise location of the Accommodation or Experience, availability on the calendar, photographs, aggregated demand information (such as page visits over a period of time), and additional information you decide to share.

- Reviews, Ratings, and Other Public Comments:

- Content in a Community or Discussion Forum, Blog, or Social Media Post:

- We may display portions of your public profile and other Content you make publicly available, such as Listing details, on sites, platforms, and applications of third-party companies.

- The information you share publicly on the BonaVista Platform may be indexed by third-party search engines. In some cases, you can disable this feature in your Account settings.

3.4 Service Providers for Host Members:

Host Members may use third-party services to manage or provide their services, such as cleaning or security service providers. Host Members may use BonaVista Platform features to share information about Guest Members (such as arrival and departure information, Guest Member's name, and phone number) with such third-party service providers.

3.5 Compliance with the Law, Responding to Legal Requests, Preventing Harm, and Protecting Our Rights:

We may disclose your information to courts, law enforcement or governmental authorities, authorized third parties, or other Members to the extent we are required or permitted by law, or when such disclosure is reasonably necessary to:

- Comply with our legal obligations:

- Comply with a valid legal request (such as a subpoena or court order) or respond to claims against BonaVista:

- Respond to a valid legal request related to a criminal investigation to address alleged illegal activity, or respond to any other activity that may expose us, you, or any other users to legal or regulatory liability:

- Enforce and manage our agreements with Members, including our Terms, Additional Legal Terms, and Policies:

- Protect the rights, property, or personal safety of BonaVista, its employees, Members, or members of the public.

Where required or permitted by law, we may disclose Host Member and/or Guest Member information to tax authorities or other governmental agencies for them to determine whether Host Members are properly fulfilling their respective tax obligations. Corresponding tax obligations include BonaVista's service fee tax obligations, accommodations tax facilitation and tax withholdings, and individual tax obligations of Host Members. The information that may be disclosed includes, but is not limited to, the names of Host Members and Guests, addresses of Listings, addresses of Host Members, tax or business identification numbers, date of birth and/or contact information, plot identification numbers, billing information, transaction dates and amounts, number of nights and Guests booked, gross and net amounts of reservations and charges, taxes collected by BonaVista on behalf of Guests and Host Members, to the extent known to BonaVista.

In jurisdictions where BonaVista facilitates or requires registration, notification, permit, or license application or number from a Host Member with a governmental authority, we may share participating Host Member information with the relevant authority, both during the application process, upon Listing publication, and periodically, such as Host Member's full name and contact details, Accommodation address, tax identification number, registration, permit, or license number, Listing details, reservation information, and number of nights reserved, subject to applicable law.

3.6 Programs with Property Managers and Landlords:

We may share Host Members' and Guest Members' personal data with landlords, property management companies, homeowner associations, property owners, and/or property managers ("Property Management") such as information about reservations and information related to compliance with applicable laws to facilitate programs with Property Management. For example, Guest Members' personal data and reservations, including Guest Member contact information, may be shared with the building, complex, or community's Property Management where the Host Member lives or where the Accommodation is located to facilitate Host Member services, compliance with applicable laws, safety, billing, and other services.

3.7 Information about Host Members Provided to BonaVista's Business Travel Clients:

If a reservation is designated as for business or work-related travel and (1) it is made by a Guest Member affiliated with a Company, and (2) the company is enrolled in BonaVista for Business Travel, we may disclose reservation-related information to the Company (such as Host Member's name, Accommodation address, reservation dates, Listing details, etc.) to the extent necessary for the proper fulfillment of BonaVista's contract with the Company and to provide services. Upon request from the Company or Guest Member, we may also share this information with third parties contracted by the Company to provide support services.

3.8 Service Providers:

We share personal data with affiliated and unaffiliated service providers (including their service providers) to help us manage our business and for their purposes of compliance with applicable standards, including those who help us to: (i) verify your identity or authenticate your identification documents, (ii) match information with public databases, (iii) conduct background checks, fraud prevention, security investigations, and risk assessments, (iv) develop, maintain, and debug products, (v) enable the provision of BonaVista Services through third-party platforms and software tools (e.g., through integration with our APIs), (vi) provide customer support services, advertising, or payment services, (vii) offer additional services you select, (viii) process, manage, or evaluate insurance claims or similar claims, or (ix) review, inspect, and analyze communications on the BonaVista Platform for certain purposes (such as evidence of child exploitation). For more information, please refer to the section Analyzing and Sharing Your Communications. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your personal data and have access to your personal data to perform these tasks. Other Members may use different services than BonaVista to handle their data. These may include email or reservation management software. Such services are beyond BonaVista's control and will be subject to applicable laws worldwide with varying levels of data protection.

3.9 Business Transfers:

If BonaVista engages in or undergoes any merger, acquisition, reorganization, asset sale, bankruptcy, or insolvency event, we may sell, transfer, or share all or part of our assets, including your information in connection with such transaction or in contemplation of such transaction (e.g., due diligence). In such a case, we will notify you before your personal data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

4. Third-Party Partners and Integrations:

Certain parts of BonaVista may link to third-party services. BonaVista neither owns nor controls these third-party services. When you interact with these third parties and choose to use their services, you are providing them with your information. The use of these services is subject to the privacy policies of such providers, such as the additional Terms of Use from Google Maps/Earth, Google's Privacy Policy (you can find more information about how Google uses information [here](link to Google's Privacy Policy)), Paypal's Privacy Statement, Citi's Privacy Policy, and Stripe's Privacy Policy.

5. YOUR RIGHTS:

You can exercise any of the rights described in this section in accordance with applicable law. Here, you can find information about data subject rights requests and how to submit such requests. Please note that we may ask you to confirm your identity before processing your request.

5.1 Managing Your Information:

You can access some of your personal data and update it through your Account settings on BonaVista. If you connect your BonaVista account to a third-party service, such as Facebook or Google, you can modify your settings and unlink from that service within your BonaVista Account settings. You are responsible for keeping your personal data up to date.

5.2 Access to Data and Portability:

In certain regions, applicable law may grant you the right to request certain copies of your personal data or data about how we process your personal data. You can request copies of the personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and/or request that we transmit this information to another service provider (where technically feasible).