Aao Hotel Privacy Policy

Last updated: 03/07/2024

Aao Hotel is committed to protecting your information. This privacy notice provides details about the information we collect about you, how we use it, and how we protect it. It also explains your rights and how to contact us if you have questions about how we use your information.

Information about Aao Hotel

In this privacy notice, references to “Aao Hotel”, "we", "us", or "our" are to Aao Hotel and its parent company and its subsidiaries (the “Aao Hotel Group”).

Depending on where and how you interact with us (e.g., by using our app or by walking into one of our Aao Hotel-branded accommodations or booking an Aao Hotel-branded accommodation via a third-party travel agency) different companies within Aao Hotel will process your information. You can find out more about the Aao Hotel companies that handle your information, including which company makes decisions about how your information is handled, by contacting us.

Scope of our privacy notice

This notice applies to anyone who interacts with us in relation to our products and services (“you”, “your”), via any channel (e.g., app, website, email, phone, walk-ins to Aao Hotel-branded accommodations, booking an Aao Hotel-branded accommodation via a third-party travel agency, etc.). We may give you additional privacy notices if required for specific interactions.

If you book a stay through us at one of our partners’ guest houses, hotels, and other lodgings (i.e., you stay at a property that is not Aao Hotel-branded), that partner will use your personal data as shown in their privacy notice.

This privacy notice applies to individuals who enquire about, purchase, or make use of our products and services, such as when a user signs up with Aao Hotel, modifies their account, makes a booking (whether through our app, website, in person, or via any other channel), requests on-demand services, contacts customer support, stays at Aao Hotel-branded accommodations, or otherwise communicates or interacts with Aao Hotel.

It describes how we handle your information, regardless of the way you contact us (e.g., app, website, email, phone, walk-ins to Aao Hotel-branded accommodations, etc.). Sometimes we will provide you with additional information or notices, depending on the way we interact with each other, e.g., if you use particular functionality on our app, we may explain how that functionality uses your information.

Aao Hotel offers accommodation in both Aao Hotel-branded guest houses, hotels, and other lodgings. The word “Aao Hotel” appears in front of all Aao Hotel-branded accommodations, e.g., Aao Hotel 116 Kathmandu Resort, Aao Hotel 316 Hotel Brigade Royale, and Aao Hotel 2262 Hotel Heritage Inn. If you book a stay through us at one of our partners’ accommodations, that partner will use your personal information as shown in their privacy notice (which can normally be found on our partner’s website or is provided by our partner via email or at check-in).

Aao Hotel’s website and app is not aimed at children, and we do not allow children to book accommodation or stay at our accommodations without a responsible adult. This privacy notice is therefore not aimed at children. If you provide us with information about your children, it is processed as described in this notice.

If you have any questions about this, please contact us.

Ways in which we obtain personal information

We obtain personal information from you and from travel agents and others who book accommodation for you.

Where you provide us with information about other individuals (e.g., the names of others who will stay at the accommodation you book), you must ensure that they have seen a copy of this privacy policy and are comfortable with you doing this.

We obtain personal information from you through your interactions with us, including by telephone (please note that we record or monitor our calls for compliance and quality assurance purposes), by email, via our websites, via our apps, via post, via social media, or face to face (e.g., in our Aao Hotel-branded accommodations or when you meet an Aao Hotel agent).

We also obtain your personal information from third parties such as:

• Others who book accommodation for you;
• Travel agencies through which you book Aao Hotel-branded accommodation (e.g., Booking.com and Expedia);
• Accommodation providers;
• Service providers who work with us in relation to our product or service; and
• If your work role involves you booking corporate employee accommodation, third parties who identify you as the appropriate contact for marketing our services to your organization.

Categories of personal information

We process two categories of personal information about you and/or, where applicable, others whom you have booked accommodation for, namely:

• Standard personal information (e.g., information we use to contact you, identify you, or manage our relationship with you); and
• Special categories of information (e.g., if you have indicated a halal or kosher food preference or have chosen to let us know that you have a medical condition requiring special accommodations).

For further information on these categories of information, please expand this section.

Standard personal information includes:

• Contact Information: We collect your name, username, address, e-mail address, and telephone number(s); if you choose to upload one or connect your social media account to your Aao Hotel account, your profile picture; and your country of residence, age, gender, and date of birth;
• Location Information: We may derive your approximate location from your IP address so that we show you more relevant content (e.g., accommodation near you). You can choose to allow our app to access location services so that we can suggest nearby accommodation. This will mean that we collect the precise location of your device when the app is running both in the foreground and the background.
• Transaction Information: We collect transaction details related to your use of our services, e.g., type of service requested, date and time the service was provided, amount charged, days booked/stayed, and other related transaction details. If someone else uses an Aao Hotel referral code you have given them, Aao Hotel may associate that other person with you to ensure that you receive the benefit of having made that referral.
• Account History: We collect details of your bookings and of contact we have had with you, such as complaints or incidents.
• Usage and Preference Information: We collect information about how you interact with our website, app, or other services, including IP addresses, search terms and parameters, and device information (you’ll find more information about this in our Cookie Statement).
• Log Information: We collect server logs, which may include information like device IP address, access dates and times, app features or pages viewed, app crashes and other system activity, type of browser, and the third-party site or service you were using before interacting with our services.
• Device Information: We collect information about your mobile device, including, for example, the hardware model, operating system and version, software and file names and versions, preferred language, unique device identifier, advertising identifiers, serial number, device motion information, and mobile network information to help us understand how our app is performing across a range of devices and to help us identify the cause of “crashes” and potential performance improvements.
• Call and SMS Data: We make it easier for you to contact accommodation managers. In connection with this, we receive call data, including the date and time of the call or SMS message, the parties’ phone numbers, and the content of the SMS message.
• CCTV: We may also collect your personal information if you access our premises and we use CCTV to monitor those premises.
• WiFi: If you use WiFi offered at our accommodation, we will collect login information (which may include your email address and phone number) and usage information related to the use of the WiFi service.
• Other Sources: We may also receive information from other sources and combine that with information we collect through our services. For example, if you choose to link, create, or log in to your Aao Hotel account with a payment provider (e.g., Google Wallet) or social media service (e.g., Facebook), or if you engage with a separate app or website that uses our API (or whose API we use), we may receive information about you or your connections from that site or app.

Special categories of information include:

• Health Information: e.g., to meet your particular dietary needs (such as where you have asked for a halal or kosher meal); to meet your particular accessibility needs; to support you if you have a particular medical condition;
• Religion: e.g., to meet your particular dietary needs (such as where you have asked for a halal or kosher meal); and
• Criminal Record Information: we may also process details of your criminal record information (including alleged offences) where this is relevant, e.g., if you have been banned from our properties for a previous incident.

We will only process these special categories of information with your consent, or where it is necessary:

• To protect your vital interests, e.g., if you have a life-threatening accident or illness while staying with us;
• To comply with applicable law;
• For the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; and
• For reasons of substantial public interest.

Lawful basis for processing

We will only process your personal information where we have a lawful basis for doing so. Lawful bases include:

• **Consent**: where you have given your consent to our processing of your information (you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details at the end of this privacy notice);
• **Contractual necessity**: where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g., where you have booked accommodation with us, we will use your personal information to fulfill that booking);
• **Compliance with a legal obligation**: where we need to process your information to comply with a legal obligation (e.g., we may be required to keep records of our transactions for tax purposes);
• **Legitimate interests**: where we have a legitimate interest in processing your information (e.g., to improve our products and services, to monitor and protect the security of our IT systems, to detect and prevent fraud, or to manage our business and customer relationships);
• **Processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims**: for example, where you make a claim against us or we need to bring a claim against you;
• **Processing is necessary to protect your or another person’s vital interests and you are not capable of giving your consent**: for example, if you have a serious accident at our premises and the information is needed by the emergency services.

How we use your information

This section explains the purposes for which we use your personal information. We have also set out our lawful basis for processing that information. In some cases, more than one lawful basis applies.

• Providing our products and services: We use your information to provide you with products and services, to make and manage your bookings, to facilitate on-demand services (such as food delivery) and to manage our relationship with you. This is so that we can provide the services we are contracted to provide to you.
• Verifying your identity and maintaining account security: We use your information to verify your identity, to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud or other illegal activities, and to maintain the security of our services. This is in our legitimate interests in preventing fraud and keeping our services secure.
• Communicating with you and marketing: We use your information to communicate with you about our services and to provide you with updates and offers. This is to ensure we can keep you up to date with our services and provide you with marketing materials that you have consented to receive. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
• Improving our services: We use your information to understand how our services are being used, to improve them, and to develop new services. This is in our legitimate interests in ensuring we can continue to improve our services.
• Complying with legal obligations: We use your information to comply with our legal obligations, to respond to legal processes or requests from public authorities, and to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights. This is to ensure we comply with applicable laws and to protect our legal rights.

Who we share your information with

We share your information with third parties for the purposes set out in this notice. These include:

• Our service providers: who provide us with services such as payment processing, customer support, marketing, and IT services.
• Accommodation providers: who provide the accommodation you have booked.
• Other third parties: where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

International transfers of your information

We may transfer your information outside your country of residence, including to countries that may not provide the same level of protection as your home country. We will take steps to ensure your information is protected in accordance with this notice and applicable laws.

Your rights

You have rights in relation to your information, including the right to access, correct, or delete your information, and to object to or restrict our processing of your information. You also have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your information at any time.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this notice or our processing of your information, please contact us at:

Aao Hotel
email us on: info@aaohotel.com
or go to Help Section

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new notice on our website or app.