Privacy statement and cookies

Introduction

Valk.com BV processes information about individual persons, on a daily basis. Valk.com BV operates in accordance with the law. Valk.com BV respects the privacy of the people about whom it receives information and handles that information in strict confidence. In this privacy statement, we explain which personal data Van der Valk processes, and for what purposes.

For the privacy statements of Valk Loyal and Van der Valk hotels and restaurants, please refer to the relevant websites. Valk Loyal is subject to the responsibility of Valk.com. The other entities, to which we refer, such as the hotels, are not subject to the (processing) responsibility of Valk.com BV. Furthermore, the privacy statement does not apply to the processing of personal data by third parties, such as companies and/or websites offering travel or package travel services. We advise you to read this privacy statement carefully.

Valk.com BV, established at Stationsweg 91 in 3621 LK Breukelen, Chamber of Commerce number 57916985 0000, e-mail address: www.valk.com, is the data controller for the processing and storage of your personal data. If you have any questions about the content of the privacy statement, please contact support@valkinternet.nl.

Wherever the name 'Van der Valk' is used hereinafter, this should be taken to mean Valk.com BV. 

   1. Personal Data

Van der Valk processes different types of personal data for different purposes. We explain below which personal data we process, and for which purposes.

Van der Valk account

You can create a Van der Valk account. In the case of a future request, this makes it easier to make bookings and request information, because we no longer need to once again request your personal data. To create an account, we will ask you to provide your name, gender, address, place of residence, telephone number and e-mail details. This personal data will be stored in our database.

   2. Recipients

Except in the following circumstances, we do not share your personal data with businesses, organisations and individuals outside Van der Valk.

Direct Marketing

To enable us to provide you with offers that interest you, we are in contact with all Van der Valk Hotels and Restaurants, worldwide. We have given them permission to place information and offers on our web pages. If you visit our website and click on the information pages and offers from these hotels, these hotels can also collect information on the Internet, such as your domain name and your IP address.

With your consent

With your consent, we can provide your personal data to other parties. Such consent is only valid if you are clear about what you are consenting to and what the consequences of that consent will be.

For external processing

We provide personal data to our partners so they can process these data for us based on our instructions and in accordance with our privacy policy and other applicable confidentiality and security measures. Our partners include our IT suppliers and the manager of the CRM system.

For legal reasons

We share personal data if we believe we are required to disclose that data to comply with applicable laws and regulations, legal proceedings, or requests from government agencies.

Statutory obligation

We will provide your personal data if we are required to do so by law. That might be the case, for example, if the police request data from us in the context of a fraud investigation. Another example might involve a request from a Tax Inspector, who is entitled, pursuant to Section 47 of the Dutch General Tax Act [Algemene wet inzake rijksbelastingen], to demand all information that could be relevant to the imposition of taxation. Van der Valk enters into agreements with the recipients of your personal data to ensure that the personal data are handled confidentially, and adequately secured.

   3. Retention period

We do not keep your personal data any longer than necessary, unless the law requires us to keep your personal data for a longer period of time. Our basic principle is that we keep personal data only as long as necessary to enable us to supply you with our products and/or services. After this goal is achieved, we will delete your personal data to the extent possible. This means that after a period of inactivity of 3 years, the Van der Valk account you have created will be deleted, in connection with the period of validity of promotions available to you as a Valk Loyal account holder. If you have provided us with your e-mail address (possibly via your account) to enable us to keep you informed of our services, we will continue to keep your data, for that purpose.

   4. Transfer of personal data outside the EU

Van der Valk is authorised to transfer your personal data from the Netherlands, to foreign countries. Countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) have same level of personal data protection as the Netherlands. Taking account of the general requirements laid down in legislation and regulations governing privacy, we can transfer your personal details to countries within the EEA. Our hotels in the Caribbean area also considered part of the European Economic Area. We may do this within our group, for example, to keep our business operations effective.

We will only transfer your personal data outside the EEA if the country in question offers a suitable level of protection. To make this possible, Van der Valk uses the model contracts approved by the European Commission.

   5. Cookies

Van der Valk makes use of cookies. A cookie is a small text file that is saved on a visitor’s electronic device the first time they visit a website. The purpose of cookies is to collect information about someone, the website, or statistics. Some cookies are also intended to improve users’ experience of the website.

Types of cookies

We make a distinction between functional and non-functional cookies. We always install functional cookies. Functional cookies are necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the website. Non-functional cookies process personal data outside your field of vision. Non-functional cookies enable us to improve our service provision. These enable us to track statistics such as how often our website is used and what information our visitors are looking for. We always request your consent for the use of non-functional cookies.

We use the following non-functional cookies.

Analytical cookies

We use analytical cookies to collect statistics on users’ use of our website. By analysing website use, we can improve the website for the users.

The data that are saved include the following:

  • the IP address, which is anonymised;
  • technical characteristics, such as which browser you use;
  • the page from which you visited the web shop.

Tracking cookies

These are cookies that are installed in order to identify an Internet user on a website. By installing tracking cookies, we can keep track of which Internet pages you visit. We can deduce your preferences and interests based on which websites you visit. We can make you personal offers based on that information.

Advertising cookies

We use advertising cookies to display personalised advertisements and assess the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. The advertising cookies need to be installed so that advertisements can actually be displayed.

Blocking and deleting cookies

If you do not want our website to be able to install cookies on your computer, you can indicate that in the cookie notification you see when you first visit our website. Did you accept cookies previously? If so, you will no longer see this notification and you will have to remove the cookies yourself (if so desired).

You can also opt to block the installation of cookies via your browser. Have you blocked all cookies? If so, our website will not operate as effectively. We advise you to delete only the cookies you no longer wish to have. You can do this via your browser settings.

   6. Your rights

You can assert several statutory rights against us: you are entitled to access, correct or supplement and delete your personal data, and restrict the processing of your personal data, as well as to have digital data transferred to you and to assert an objection. We explain these rights below. We also explain how you can assert these rights against us.

Right of access

At your request, we will notify you in writing about whether we process your personal data. Upon making such a request, you must identify yourself using a copy of your driving licence or an identity document. In our response, we will explain which of your personal data we have processed or are still processing and we will provide you with a copy. We will also explain the purpose for which your data were or are being processed, with whom those data are shared, how long we still expect to store these data, and which rights you can assert.

Correction or supplementation

Once you have examined your personal data, you may request us to correct errors or add information to rectify incomplete data. Our response to your request will contain the reasons for that response. If we implement a correction, you will receive an additional statement from us. Any recipients of your incorrect or incomplete data will also receive that statement.

Deletion of data

You can request us to delete your personal data from our systems in one or more of the following cases:

  • the personal data is no longer needed for the purposes for which we processed it;
  • you withdraw your permission for (further) processing, and there is no longer any other reason for processing;
  • you submit an objection, with grounds for that objection, and there are no compelling reasons for not honouring your objection;
  • we have processed the personal data unlawfully;
  • we have to delete your personal data on the basis of a statutory obligation;
  • we have collected your data by means of mobile telephony or Internet services.

Restriction of processing

If you have reported an error or deficiency in your personal data to us, you can request us to restrict the processing of your personal data as long as we are processing your request. You may also request us to restrict our processing of your personal data if you believe that we are processing your data unlawfully, if we no longer need that data, or if you have objected to the further processing of your personal data. After receipt of your restriction request, we will only process the data after obtaining your consent or for compelling reasons (such as judicial proceedings).

Transfer of digital data

If you have provided us with personal data in a structured, commonly used digital file format and we have processed your data with your consent or as part of our performance of an agreement with you, you have the right to request a copy of this data from us. In those cases, you can also request us to forward your data directly to another service provider.

Objection

You may object at any time to the processing of personal data that relates to you. That is particularly true when it comes to profiles we have created based on your personal data. We will cease processing your data after we receive your objection, unless we have compelling, justified interests in continuing processing that outweigh your interests, rights, and freedoms.

If we process your personal data for direct marketing purposes, you can object to such processing at any time, upon which we will immediately cease that processing.

Asserting your rights

If you wish to exercise one or more of the rights summarised above, you can contact us via the e-mail address support@valkinternet.nl. Van der Valk will reach a decision on your request, within 4 weeks, unless we inform you within that time limit that we need a little more time.

Are your personal data being processed based on your consent? You are entitled to revoke that consent. The revocation of your consent will not affect previous processing done based on that consent.

   7. Liability

Although we manage this website with considerable care and attention, it is possible that the site contains incorrect information. Van der Valk Internet BV cannot be held liable for technical or editorial errors occurring in this website, or for any consequential losses suffered as a result of the use or temporary non-availability of this website or links to third-party websites.

   8. Complaints

Do you have a complaint about the use of your personal data? We suggest you consult the complaints procedure of the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens. This body is authorised to examine your complaint.

   9. Questions?

Do you have any questions? If so, please e-mail them to: support@valkinternet.nl

This privacy statement accords with the General Data Protection Regulation. We reserve the right to update this privacy statement periodically. The most recent version will be published on this page.

May 2018 version