Introduction
This privacy policy covers the site www.premiervillas.net. Because this
internet site wants to demonstrate its commitment to our users" privacy, we disclose here
our information practices:
- What personally identifiable information Premier Villas collects.
- What personally identifiable information third parties collect through the internet
site.
- What organization collects the information.
- How Premier Villas uses the information.
- With whom Premier Villas may share user information.
- What choices are available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the
information.
- What types of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration
of information under Premier Villas control.
- How users can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
If users have questions or concerns regarding this statement, they should first contact Simon
Jennings or Monica Mezzacasa (Directors) by email. Contact details appear at the end of this
document.
Information
Collection and Use
Medescape Ltd is the sole owner of the information collected on www.premiervillas.net.
Medescape Ltd collects information from our users at several different points on our
internet site.
Registration
In order to use the full features of this internet site, a user must first complete the
registration form. During registration a user is required to give contact information (such
as name and email address). We use this information to contact the user about services on
our site for which he has expressed interest. It is optional for the user to provide
demographic information (such as gender).
Order
We request information from the user on our order form. A user must provide contact
information (such as name, email, and full address) and financial information (such as
credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes. If we
have trouble processing an order, the information is used to contact the user.
Information Use
In order to provide the best possible service to our customers, we need to understand as much
as possible about them, both as individuals and as aggregated groups. We endeavour to use
our knowledge of individual customers and aggregated groups of customers in order to refine
the list of villas we offer, the prices we charge, the facilities we include and the way in
which we present offers to our potential and past customers. In doing this we are careful to
respect the privacy of our customers. We only use personally identifiable information during
this process when it is appropriate and necessary to do so, for example when formulating a
special offer to customers who have previously booked particular villas or types of holiday
package. In all other respects we adhere to the principals of this entire privacy
statement.
Profile
We store information that we collect through cookies, log files and/or third parties to
create a profile of our users. A profile is stored information that we keep on individual
users that details their viewing preferences. Consequently, collected information is tied to
the users personally identifiable information to provide offers and improve the content of
the site for the user. This profile is used to tailor a user"s visit to our internet site,
and to direct pertinent marketing promotions to them. We do not share your profile with
other third parties.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user"s computer tied to information
about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable
information while on our site. We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For
the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates. A
persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user"s hard drive for an extended
period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file
directions.
By accepting a cookie from our site, users do not have to log in with a password more than
once, thereby saving time while visiting our site. If users reject the cookie, they may
still use our site. The only drawback to this is that the user will be limited in some areas
of our site. Persistent cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our users to
enhance the experience on our site. See the "Profile" section.
Files
Like most standard internet site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol
(IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages,
platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site,
track user"s movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for
aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Clear Gifs (Web Beacons/Web Bugs)
We employ a software technology called clear gifs (a.k.a. Web Beacons/Web
Bugs), that help us better manage content on our site by informing us what content is
effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to
cookies, and are used to track the online movements of internet users. The main difference
between the two is that clear gifs are invisible on the page and are much smaller, about the
size of the period at the end of this sentence. Clear gifs are tied to users" personally
identifiable information.
In addition, we use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails have been
opened by the recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain
communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. If users would like to
opt-out of these emails, please see the Opt-out section.
Special Offers and Updates
We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established
members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, and a
newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive
these types of communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.
Newsletter
If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact information such as name
and email address. Out of respect for our users privacy we provide a way to opt-out of these
communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.
Service
Announcements
On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For
instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an
email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate
their account. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.
Customer Service
We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to
issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the users
wishes.
Legal Disclaimer
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 internet site.
Third Party Intermediaries
We use an outside credit card processing company to bill users for services. These companies
do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary
purposes.
Business
Transitions
In the event Medescape Ltd goes through a business transition, such as a merger, being
acquired by another company, or selling a portion of its assets, users" personal information
will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. Users will be notified via email
prior to a change of ownership or control of their personal information. If as a result of
the business transition, the users" personally identifiable information will be used in a
manner different from that stated at the time of collection they will be given choice
consistent with our notification of changes section.
Choice/Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to "opt-out" of having their information
used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for
information. For example, our order form has an "opt-out" mechanism so users who order a
service from us, but don"t want any marketing material, can keep their email address off our
lists.
Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional
communications may opt out of receiving these communications by following the directions
included in all our communications, or by using the opt-out mechanism on the site itself, or
by contacting us directly via email or telephone.
Users of our site are always notified when their information is being collected by any
outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether or not
they should proceed with services that require an outside party.
Links
This internet site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we, Medescape Ltd, are
not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be
aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every internet
site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies
solely to information collected by this internet site.
Surveys & Contests
From time to time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests.
Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore
has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information
typically includes contact information (such as name and address), and demographic
information (such as postal code). Contact information will be used shared with the
contest/survey sponsors to notify the winners and award prizes. Anonymous survey information
will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.
Users" personally identifiable information is not shared with third parties unless we give
prior notice and choice. Though we may use an intermediary to conduct these surveys or
contests, they may not use users" personally identifiable information for any secondary
purposes.
Tell-A-Friend
If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask
them for the friend"s name and email address. Medescape Ltd will automatically send the
friend an email inviting them to visit the site. Medescape Ltd stores this information for
the purpose of sending this email, and tracking the success of our referral program, and for
sending subsequent Premier SKI advertisements. The friend may contact Medescape Ltd at
www.premiervillas.net to request the removal of this information from our database.
Security
This internet site takes every precaution to protect our users" information.
When users submit sensitive information via the internet site, their information is
protected both online and off-line.
When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information
(such as credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best
encryption software in the industry - SSL. While on a secure page, such as our order form,
the lock icon on the bottom of internet browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when users are just
"surfing".
While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also
do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. 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, our
accounts department or a customer service representative) are granted access to personally
identifiable information. Our employees must use password-protected screen-savers when they
leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain access to
user information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy
practices. Every quarter, as well as any time new policies are added, our employees are
notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to
ensure our users" information is protected. Finally, the servers that store personally
identifiable information are in a secure environment, in a locked facility.
If users have any questions about the security at our internet site, users can send an email
to [email protected]
Changing / Removing Personal
Information
If a user"s personally identifiable information changes (such as phone, email or postal
address), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or
delete/deactivate users" personally identifiable information. This can usually be done at
the user profile page or by emailing our Customer Support at [email protected] Or,
contact us by telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below.
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this
privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are
always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if
any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under
which the information was collected.
If, however, we are going to use users" personally identifiable information in a manner
different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users via email. Users
will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner.
However, if users have opted out of all communication with the site, or deleted/deactivated
their account, then they will not be contacted, nor will their personal information be used
in this new manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices
that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent
notice on our internet site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post a
notice we will also email users, who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying
them of the changes in our privacy practices.
Contact Information
If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy,
please contact us at:
Phone: 01243 514970
Fax: 01243 513 746
[email protected]