Privacy Policy Details

Frequently asked questions about our Privacy Policy
Effective: October 28, 2007

Our commitment to Privacy.
CHW adheres to the EU Safe Harbor Framework as set forth by the United States Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal data from the European Union. Our adherence to the Safe Harbor Framework has also earned us the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor Seal. Our online privacy practices have earned us the TRUSTe Web Privacy Seal.

What this policy covers.
Your consent to this policy.
Personal information we collect about you.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Use of your personal information.
Choices you have about the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.
Sharing of your information with others.
Protection of your personal information.
Access to your personal information.
Transfer of your personal information outside this country.
Web technologies we use to collect information about you.
Modifications to this Policy.
How to contact us with questions or concerns about our privacy practice.

What this Policy Covers.
This Guest Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how CHW, including the CHW Family of Hotels (together, "we," "us," and "our"), a subsidiary of Carlson Companies, Inc. ("Carlson") collects, uses, shares, and protects its guests' personal information. "Personal information" is information, recorded in any format that identifies you personally, by itself or together with other information that is available to us.

This policy does not apply to the practices of businesses or Web sites we do not own or control, not to people we do not employ or manage. Many of the Radisson^® Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM, Park Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Regent^® Hotels & Resorts and Park Inn^® hotels (collectively the "CHW Brand" hotels) are owned and operated by independent franchisees. This Policy does not cover our franchisees' privacy practices. When you provide personal information directly to one of our franchisees, the franchisee's privacy policy will apply. Please note that we require our franchisees to have privacy policies that are consistent with our Privacy Promises and to comply with all applicable privacy and data protection laws, though their actual privacy policies may be different from this Policy.

Our sites may include links to other Web sites whose privacy practices may differ from those of CHW. In some cases, when linking to another site you may still see our branding even though you are actually reviewing content provided by a third party. If you submit personal information while on those sites, your information is subject to their privacy policies and you should review those policies.

Your Consent to This Policy.
This Policy is part of the terms and conditions that govern your use of our services. By using our Web Sites, central reservation service, staying at any of the CHW Brand hotels, or by participating in one of our programs, including the goldpoints plus^SM program, you are agreeing to the terms of this Policy.


Personal information we collect about you.

• We collect transactional information (such as your name, email address, telephone number, reservation data) as well as information you actively provide to us, for example, when you book a reservation through our central reservation service, stay at any CHW Brand hotel, enroll in the goldpoints plus^SM, or when you modify you personal profile.
• We may enter into strategic relationships with companies outside of the CHW Family of Hotels (our "Strategic Partners") who offer products and services that may be of interest to you. If you participate in one of these programs, our Strategic Partner may send us personal information about you as part of our strategic relationship.
• We collect personal information about our guests from public sources and from other companies that have the right to share that information with us.
• If you provide us personal information about others, e.g., in our "Send to a Friend" feature, or if others give us your information, we will only use that information for the specific reason for which it was provided to us. We do not store this information.
• Learn what information we collect using Internet technologies.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe your child has provided personal information to us, please contact us so that we can identify and delete your child's personal information.


Use of your personal information.
We use your personal information:

• to provide the information, programs, products and service you request,
• to personalize your experience when you stay at a CHW Brand hotel,
• to support the functionality and to personalize the layout and content of our Web sites to match your needs, interests and preferences,
• to send your promotional messages and special offers based on your privacy preferences
• for security and fraud prevention purposes,
• to better understand our guests,
• to improve our programs, services and Web sites, and
• to better market our programs and services.

Choices you have about the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.
You may choose whether you wish to receive marketing communications from us, and you may change your privacy preferences at any time.

Your privacy preferences will be pre-set at our basic level, which states as follows:

Yes, I would like to receive promotional messages and special offers from the CHW Family of Hotels, including goldpoints plus^SM, and CHW Brand hotels. You will receive marketing communications and special offers from the CHW Family of Hotels, goldpoints plus, as well as CHW Brand hotels.

You will also have two other choices:

Yes, I would like to receive special offers from other companies in the Carlson Family of Businesses and their licensees. If you select this option, you may receive promotional communications from other members of the Carlson Family of Businesses and their licensees, such as T.G.I. Friday's and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Yes, I would like to receive special offers from other companies selected by CHW on behalf of its guests. If you select this option you may receive promotional communications from carefully selected companies outside the Carlson Family of Businesses and its licensees containing information and offers we believe will be of interest to you.

You may change your privacy preferences at any time by visiting your online profile or by contacting us. We will update your privacy preferences within ten business days from receipt of the request.

If you choose not to receive any promotional communications from us, we will not send you purely promotional messages and will not share your personal information with other companies for marketing purposes. We may still contact you for customer research or administrative purposes, such as confirming a reservation or transaction you've made, informing you of your account status or inviting you to update your online profile. If you no longer wish to receive promotional communications from the Carlson Family of Businesses, their licensees or other companies, you may need to contact them directly.

If you no longer wish to receive administrative communications from us, you will need to contact us to close your accounts with us.


Sharing of your information with others.
We may share your personal information in the following ways:

• We share your personal information among the CHW Family of Hotels for use in accordance with this Policy.
• We share your personal information with CHW Brand hotels, Strategic Partners and/or service providers to provide the information, products and services that you have requested or to personalize your experience.
• We share your personal information with companies that perform services on our behalf, such as companies providing application management, marketing support, and technical infrastructure support.
• Based upon your privacy preferences, we may share your personal information with other companies in the Carlson Family of Businesses, including their licensees, with other companies selected by CHW, or with Strategic Partners who will use it to send you promotions and special offers they believe will be of interest to you.

Our service providers, Strategic Partners, and CHW Brand hotels are bound by contract to use the personal information we share with them only for the limited purposes for which we provide it to them and to take reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and security of your personal information. They may not use or share your personal information in a manner that would be inconsistent with our promises to you, and they must comply with all applicable privacy and data protection laws.

We may transfer your personal information to another entity that has acquired the stock or substantially all of the assets of CHW, a member of the CHW family of businesses, or one of its or their operating divisions, for example, as the result of a sale, merger, or reorganization, insolvency, dissolution or liquidation. If such a transfer occurs, the acquiring entity's use of your personal information will still be subject to this Policy.

There are other limited circumstances in which we may share or transfer your personal information to unrelated third parties, including for example, when we believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with a law, regulatory requirement, court order, or a subpoena; to cooperate with law enforcement or other governmental investigations; to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to protect legal rights, property or safety of you, CHW Family of Hotels, CHW Brand hotels, or companies in the Carlson Family of Businesses, our employees, agents, other guests, or the public in general.


Protection of your personal information.
We implement appropriate physical, technical and organizational security for the management and transmission of personal data, including appropriate security measures to protect such data from accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, misuse, alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access and all other unlawful forms of processing. As an additional control, we've become a member of TRUSTe^®, and independent, nonprofit organization that certifies privacy policies and monitors privacy practices.


Access to your personal information.
You may update, delete, or correct your key account information at any time by visiting your online profile or by contacting us. If you have additional questions, please contact us. When contacting us, you may be asked to verify your identity. We will respond to your request within 30 days and, in any event, within the time period established under applicable laws. We may limit or deny your request if we are unable to verify your identity, if it involves the disclosure of confidential or sensitive information or is otherwise permitted under applicable law.


Transfer of your personal information outside this country.
Our Web sites and databases currently reside on servers in the United States but we may at times use supplemental facilities located outside of these countries. Different countries have different data protection laws, some of which provide more protection than others. If and when we transfer your personal information from one country to another country, we take appropriate measures to protect your privacy and personal information. By using our Web sites, participating in our programs, or staying at CHW Brand Hotels, you are consenting to the transfer of your personal information to any country in the world in accordance with the terms of this Policy.


Web technologies we use to collect information about you
When you visit one of our Web sites, we may use the following Web technologies to collect the following types of information:

• We collect information that is sent to us automatically by your web browser when you access our Web sites. This information typically includes the IP address of your Internet service provider and the type of operating system and browser installed on your computer.
• A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer's hard disk by a Web server. We use "session cookies" to assign a randomly-generated unique identification number to your computer each time you visit one of our Web sites. A session cookie expires after you close your browser. We use session cookies to support the functionality of our Web sites - which pages they visit, which links they use, and how long they stay on each page. We may also use "persistent cookies." These cookies do not expire when you close your browser, but stay on your computer until they expire or you delete them. Each time you visit our Site, our Web server will recognize the cookie on your computer's hard drive. By assigning your computer a persistent, unique identifier, we are able to create a database of your previous choices and preferences. In situations where these choices or preferences need to be collected again, they can be provided by us automatically saving you time and effort. Assigning your computer a persistent, unique identifier also helps us keep a more accurate account of how many people visit our Site, how often they return, how their use of our Site may vary over time, and the effectiveness of our promotional efforts. If you access this Site through an e-mail we have sent you or you've created a "user identity" during one of your visits, the information provided by our or our third party service provider cookies may be linked to information in our records that identifies you personally.
• The pages on this Site may contain electronic images know as "Web beacons" - sometimes called "single-pixel gifs" or "clear gifs." We use these Web beacons to learn more about the ways visitors use our Web sites and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. We may also include Web beacons in promotional e-mail messages in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon. We may link information obtained using any Web beacons to other information that identifies you personally.

• Learn more about the ways we use information we collect.

Modifications to this Policy

• This Policy may be supplemented or amended by privacy notices ("Privacy Notices") provided at the time we collect specific personal information. In addition, we reserve the right, at our discretion, to make changes to this Policy at any time. The level of notice we will provide when we change this Policy will depend on the nature of the change.
• We will notify you of any material changes to this Policy by sending you notice by e-mail at the last e-mail address you provided us and by posting a notice on the home page of each of our Web Sites and at the top of the revised Policy for at least 30 days after the new effective date to let you know what has changed. Material changes to this Policy will be effective as of the effective date included in the notice to you or, if no effective date is included, 30 days after we send the notice to you. Please note that you are responsible for updating your profile by visiting your online profile so that your contact information is always current. Our mailing of the notice to your last e-mail address will constitute effective notice of the changes described in the notice. If you do not provide us with a current e-mail address, it is your responsibility to check our Web Sites periodically for changes to this privacy policy.
• If we make only minor changes to this Policy, we will replace this Policy with the new Policy and change the "effective" date at the top of this Policy for at least 30 days after the new effective date so that you will know what has changed. Minor changes include, for example, changes to our contact information or the examples contained in a section of this Policy.
• By continuing to stay at CHW Brand hotels, participate in our programs, or use our Web sites following such notice you are agreeing to any changes to this Policy. If you do not agree to any changes in our Policy, you must notify us to close your account with us.

How to contact us with questions or concerns about our privacy practices
You may contact us by writing us at:

Carlson Hotels
Customer Service
11340 Blondo Street
Omaha, NE 68164

or emailing us at privacy@parkinn.com

Or by telephone at +1 (888) 201-1802 in the U.S. and Canada. We will respond within 30 days and, in any event, within the time period established under applicable laws.

If your concern about our online data practices is not addressed to your satisfaction, you may contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will serve as a liaison to resolve your concerns and, if necessary, help resolve web site privacy-related disputes that arise. TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit organization that certifies privacy policies, monitors privacy practices, and provides dispute-resolution services to its members. We are proud to be a member of TRUSTe and to have earned the TRUSTe seal.