Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Hostly London ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, shares and protects personal data when you visit www.hostlylondon.com, contact us as a property owner, or stay in a property we manage. We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and, where applicable to individuals in the European Economic Area, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

1. Who we are

Hostly London is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. Contact: info@hostlylondon.com.

2. Data we collect

• Property owners: name, email, phone number, property address or postcode, number of bedrooms, preferred type of let, availability and any message you send us.
• Guests: bookings are made through our booking partner Kross Travel, which collects booking, identity and payment details needed to complete your stay. We receive the details required to host you and meet legal obligations.
• Website visitors: technical data such as IP address, browser type, device and pages visited, collected through strictly necessary cookies and server logs.

3. How and why we use your data (lawful bases)

• Steps prior to entering a contract / performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)): preparing your income estimate, managing your property, handling guest stays.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): replying to enquiries, improving our services, keeping our website secure and preventing fraud.
• Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): tax, accounting, anti-money laundering and compliance with London short-let rules (e.g. the 90-night limit).
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): marketing emails and non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.

4. Sharing your data

We never sell your personal data. We share it only with trusted processors acting on our instructions: hosting and database providers, our booking engine (Kross Travel), listing platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo, cleaning and maintenance partners, payment providers, and professional advisers. We may also disclose data to public authorities where required by law.

5. International transfers

Where data is transferred outside the UK or the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), the UK Addendum or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

6. How long we keep data

• Owner enquiries that do not become clients: up to 24 months.
• Client and guest records: for the duration of the relationship and up to 6 years afterwards, as required by UK tax and accounting law.
• Technical logs: up to 12 months.

7. Your rights

Under UK and EU data protection law you have the right to: access your data; rectify inaccurate data; erasure ("right to be forgotten"); restrict processing; data portability; object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing; and not be subject to solely automated decisions. To exercise any right, email info@hostlylondon.com. We will respond within one month.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk (0303 123 1113), or, if you are in the EEA, to the data protection authority in your country of residence.

8. Cookies

We use only strictly necessary cookies required for the website to work. If we introduce analytics or marketing cookies, we will ask for your consent first, in line with PECR and the EU ePrivacy Directive.

9. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls and secure hosting, to protect your personal data.

10. Children

Our services are not directed at children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

11. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be published on this page with the date of the last update.