Privacy Policy

Your Privacy Rights

We want you to have a unique San Francisco experience and we also know and understand that you are a unique individual with a right to data privacy. We are committed to safeguarding any data you provide to us and want to empower you to make the right decision about the information you share with us. This privacy policy and terms of use statement is meant to clearly note the type of information that we gather, how we use and disclose that information, and the steps we take to protect your information. This privacy policy and terms of use statement was last updated in November 2019.

The Highlights

In order to provide services to you, we may collect personal information to deliver these services in a meaningful way. Here are just some of the ways we collect information, keep reading for more details:

• When you interact with us in person, we may collect your account and contact information in order to respond to your inquiry.  
• If you buy something from us or one of our partners, we collect your contact information to ensure we can track and/or fulfill your order.
• When you fill out a form or sign up for our newsletter, we gather the data necessary to fulfill your request.
• When you visit the aotai-tech.com website, social media channels and other SF Travel digital platforms, we collect information about you, your visit and your engagement.
• Sometimes we may receive your data through one of our partners. We protect this data in the same way as if you gave it to us directly.

We only use your data in the way you intended and will ask for consent for any additional uses.

The Interactions

Site Traffic/Data

Our web servers automatically recognize site visitor traffic through the information that the browser you used makes available. This information includes things like your domain, the type of device and internet browser used, geographic location, the date and time of the site visit, duration of visit, pages access, and the referring page (the webpage that contained the link to our site that you clicked on to get there). We aggregate this information with other site visitors and use this information to measure performance, analyze user traffic patterns, and improve the overall website experience. 

Cookies

We also use cookies on the website and in digital advertising (a small piece of data stored on the user's computer by the user's web browser while the user is browsing) in order to provide a better user experience and customized advertisements, content and information. The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites and most Internet web browsers. Through your computer settings, and through some Internet browsers, you may customize your user experience to reject or delete cookies. Please note, some features on this site may not function properly without cookies. You can find out more about cookies by visiting http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

Interest Based Advertising

Interest based advertising is the collection of data from different sources and across different platforms in order to predict an individual’s preferences or interests and to deliver to that individual, or his/her computer, smartphone or tablet, advertising based on his/her assumed preference or interest inferred from the collection of data pertaining to that individual or others who may have a similar profile or similar interests.



We work with a variety of third parties, such as ADARA, to attempt to understand the profiles of the individuals who are most likely to be interested in visiting San Francisco so that we can serve our advertisements to them on websites, social media channels and other partner websites and entities. These third parties include (a) advertising networks, which collect information about a person’s interests when that person views or interacts with one of their advertisements; (2) attribution partners, which measure the effectiveness of certain advertisements; and (3) business partners, which collect information when a person views or interacts with one of their advertisements.



In collaboration with these third parties, we collect information about our customers, prospects and other individuals over time and across different platforms when they use these platforms or interact with them. Individuals may submit information directly on our website, social channels or on platforms run by third parties, or by interacting with us, our advertisements, or emails they receive from us or from third parties. We may use special tools that are commonly used for this purpose, such as cookies, beacons, pixels, tags, mobile advertising IDs, flash cookies, and similar technologies. We may have access to databases of information collected by our business partners.



The information we or third party collect enables us to learn what engagements with San Francisco content the person made, what ads or content the person sees, on which ads or links the person clicks, and other actions that the person takes on our website, social properties, or in response to our emails, or when visiting or using third parties’ platforms.

More information on ADARA’s cookie: ADARA's cookie collects information about your travel activities and preferences that allows aotai-tech.com and/or approved 3rd party companies to engage with you through personalized, relevant adverts when you're browsing other websites and social media platforms, and through ADARA analytics services. You can learn more about ADARA and opt out at http://go.adara.com/e/414092/privacy-promise/n7zmjx/548509525

Online and In-Person Purchases

SF Travel contracts Tiqets International B.V., a private-label booking engine, to provide online reservations and ticketing transactions through links on our website. We also contract with other providers, such as Booking.com, to provide online reservations on other digital platforms. When you make a reservation or purchase tickets through one of these booking providers, they will provide the hotel, attraction or other partner with a limited amount of information provided voluntarily by you (including credit card information, when applicable) for the express purpose of placing and confirming your reservation or ticket purchase with the designated provider. Your data is transmitted via an encrypted message (SSL) and will not be sold or otherwise released to any third party. For more information about Tiqets International B.V.. privacy policy visit http://www.tiqets.com/en/privacy-policy/. For more information about Booking.com and their privacy policy visit http://www.booking.com/content/privacy.

 

When you make in-person purchases, such as those made at our Visitor Information Center, we may need to provide information to service providers in order to fulfill the purchase request. Only information you voluntarily provide for the purposes of the transaction will be processed.

Business to Business 

Some of the services we offer require you to provide personal information or information about your company. In order to access these services, such as for RFPs and other B2B applications, you will be asked to provide contact details, which may include name, email address, business address and specifics about your service needs.  

Service Providers

We work with third party service providers who provide website, application development, hosting, maintenance, and other services for us. These third parties may have access to, or process non-personal and personal data as part of providing those services for us. We limit the information provided to these service providers to that which is reasonably necessary for them to perform their functions, and our contracts with them require them to maintain the confidentiality of such information.

Social Media

If you create an account using Facebook Connect, we have access to any information you have made public on your profile and may collect and store that information. Similarly, if you have made public posts from your other social media accounts that include our specialized hashtags, we may collect and use that information to learn more about you.

Online Forms & Email

SF Travel does not collect personally identifying information such as name, address, telephone number, etc. unless you provide the information voluntarily. We may ask for personal information so that we can tailor the interactive features of our website to your specific interests and provide information you have requested such as Visitor Planning Guides and Email Newsletters. 

Promotions, Contests and Sweepstakes

In the event that the SF Travel conducts a promotion, contest, or sweepstakes, information we collect will be used consistent with the terms and conditions outlined in the rules and regulations. If the promotion involves the collection of your mobile phone number, a check-box will be provided to opt-in to receiving automated text messages during the promotion and once the promotion has ended, and you need only text “stop” in reply to any message you receive in order to opt-out. You are not required to provide your mobile number for any discounts or coupons. Coupons or other special offers we provide you via text message may also be acquired through an email address by sending an email to [email protected] with “coupon” in the subject line. 



Any personal information you provide will not be sold to outside companies or organizations. However, we may share your information with key business partners, marketing partners and affiliates, who may perform functions on our behalf, who may have products and services we believe are of interest to you, if you provide us permission to do so. We have contractual relationships with partners and affiliates that require them to safeguard your information and comply with US law, which includes allowing you to easily opt-out of any future communications. 



If you would like us to delete all of your personal information (except for information that we keep for record-keeping purposes) and/or remove your name and address from promotional lists (including any personal information gathered by our service providers) and place your name on our “do not contact” list, contact us at [email protected] and provide us with details of what you require.  We will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete your information from our active files. Please note that requests to update your personal information may take up to 10 business days.



We may release personal information if we believe in good faith that: the law or legal process requires it; we have received a valid administrative request from a law enforcement agency; or such release is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our respective staff, affiliates, business partners, customers, or others.

The Policies

We make commercially reasonable efforts to comply with state, federal and international laws, such as those included in the sections below.

Do Not Track Policy

California law requires that operators of websites and online services disclose how they respond to a Do Not Track signal. Some browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” features. Most of these features, when turned on, send a signal or preference to the website or online service that a user visits, indicating that the user does not wish to be tracked. Because there is not yet a common understanding of how to interpret Do Not Track signals, we do not currently respond to Do Not Track signals. We continue to follow the industry and will implement this service once a common understanding of how to treat Do Not Track signals is defined.

Data Privacy

Many locations now have laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), that govern data privacy for their citizens or residents. If you wish to access or amend any personal data we hold about you, or to request that we delete or transfer any information about you that we have obtained through our website or digital platforms, you may contact us at [email protected] with the subject line “Data Privacy Request”. At your request, we will have any reference to you deleted or blocked in our database, except in those cases were other legal basis exists to retain the personal information. Please note that while any changes you make will be reflected in active user databases within a reasonable period of time, we may retain all information you submit for prevention of fraud and abuse, analytics, satisfaction of legal obligations, or where we otherwise reasonably believe that we have a legitimate reason to do so. At any time, you may object to the processing of your Personal Data, on legitimate grounds, except if otherwise permitted by applicable law. If you believe your right to privacy granted by applicable data protection laws has been infringed upon, please contact our COO, Paul Frentsos, at [email protected].  You also have a right to lodge a complaint with data protection authorities. This provision does not apply to personal data that is part of our B2B client database. In this case, the management of our client data is subject to the terms of service for our business division and request for access, correction or deletion should be made to the account manager responsible for maintaining your client relationship.

Email Communication Opt-Out

You can opt-out of email communications from us at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in any email you receive from us, by sending an e-mail to [email protected] that contains the email address you wish us to unsubscribe from our lists or by sending a written letter to us at the following address:



San Francisco Travel Association

Attn: Marketing Services Department

One Front Street, Suite 2900

San Francisco, CA 94111

Minors and Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. Our website and digital properties are not directed to children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 18 without obtaining parental consent. If we learn that personal data has been collected from persons under 18 years of age and without verifiable parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child under 18 years of age has shared their personal information with the SF Travel then you may alert us at [email protected] and request that we delete your child’s personal data from our systems.

The Additional Notes

Information Accuracy

While we provide links to other websites, once you leave the aotai-tech.com website, you will be going to sites that are beyond our control and you are subject to the privacy policy of that site. SF Travel is neither responsible for nor guarantees the content or accuracy of any member pages or other sites linked to or referenced from this website. Although SF Travel tries our best to keep our website and other digital properties up-to-date, information such as website addresses, event and attraction details, ticket prices, hotel information, room rates, special promotions, driving distances, current weather information, etc. may change and therefore may not be accurate. If you are concerned, please call the business directly to confirm the accuracy of the information. In addition, member businesses and other sites that we link to may have their own privacy policies, or no privacy policies at all. SF Travel is not responsible for the privacy practices employed by other sites and those other sites have not agreed to our privacy policy. SF Travel has no control over or responsibility for any unaffiliated third-party sites or the content contained in them, and we provide these links solely for the convenience of our website visitors.

Site Security 

We take reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect unauthorized access, alteration or destruction of data located on and collected by our website and other digital properties. We exercise reasonable care to protect your non-public personal information. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your non-public personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from us while it is in transit. Once we receive your personal information, we maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect it.

Policy Changes 

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove any portion of this privacy policy and terms of use in whole or in part, at any time. By using this website and the SF Travel digital properties you agree to be bound by any such revisions and should therefore periodically visit the page to determine the then current terms of use to which you are bound.