Privacy Policy

Overview

Sunshine Coast Waterfront Vacation Rental (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in accordance with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Information We Collect

We collect personal information in the following ways:

Information you provide directly

• Booking requests (via RentalCal): name, email address, phone number, check-in and check-out dates, number of guests, and any messages or special requests. This information is collected through a third-party RentalCal script embedded on our website and is processed by both RentalCal and us
• Contact form inquiries: name, email address, phone number, and message content

Information collected automatically

• Analytics data: we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics collects anonymous data including pages visited, time spent on pages, referrer, browser type, device type, screen resolution, and approximate geographic location based on IP address. No personally identifiable information is collected through analytics
• Server logs: IP address, browser type, operating system, and timestamps of page requests

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Process and respond to booking requests and inquiries
• Communicate with you about your reservation, including confirmations and follow-ups
• Improve our website, services, and guest experience
• Analyze website traffic and usage patterns through analytics tools to understand how visitors use our site
• Comply with legal obligations, including tax reporting requirements (GST, PST, MRDT)

We will not use your personal information for marketing purposes without your express consent, in accordance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses the following cookies and tracking technologies:

• Analytics cookies: Google Analytics sets cookies (such as _ga) to understand how visitors interact with our site. These cookies collect anonymous, aggregate data and do not contain personally identifiable information
• Third-party embed cookies: our website embeds Google Maps for location information and a RentalCal booking widget for availability and reservations. These services may set their own cookies according to their respective privacy policies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality, including the accuracy of our analytics data.

Third-Party Service Providers

We share personal information only with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our business. We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. Our service providers include:

• Email delivery services: used to process contact form submissions
• Website analytics providers: used to analyze traffic and usage patterns
• Mapping services: embedded location map for property directions
• Booking and reservation services: third-party booking script for availability calendar and reservation requests. When you submit a booking request, your name, email, phone number, guest count, and message are transmitted to and stored by our booking provider
• Content delivery and hosting providers: image and video hosting for property photos and tour videos

Some of these providers operate outside of Canada, including in the United States. When your information is processed outside of Canada, it is subject to the laws of those jurisdictions. We take reasonable steps to ensure your information is protected in accordance with this policy.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy:

• Booking and contact inquiries: retained for up to 2 years to handle follow-up questions and improve our services
• Tax and financial records: retained for 7 years as required by Canadian tax law
• Analytics data: retained according to our analytics provider’s default data retention settings

Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information, including SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted through our website, rate limiting on form submissions to prevent abuse, and honeypot-based bot detection. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Rights Under BC PIPA

Under British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Withdraw consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information (subject to legal or contractual restrictions)
• Request deletion of your personal information when it is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected

We will respond to access requests within 30 business days. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact page.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us so we can promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please reach out through our contact page.