Privacy Policy

• Legal & Brand Name: SeakingHoliday
• Registered In: Maldives
• Contact Email: contact@seakingholiday.com

If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, you may contact us using the details above.

2. Scope of This Policy

• Visitors to the SeakingHoliday website
• Registered users
• Guests making enquiries or bookings
• Accommodation partners accessing their booking data through the platform

The platform is intended for users aged 18 and above, as payment is required to use our services.

3. Personal Data We Collect

a) Account & Identity Information

We collect the following information when you create or use an account:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Nationality
• Profile photo (only when using social login such as Google or Facebook)

This information is used to identify you, communicate with you, and manage your account.

b) Booking Information

When you make a booking request or an Instant Booking, we collect:

• Guest name(s), and the contact details you give for the booking
• Arrival and departure dates
• Number of guests (and children’s ages, where required)
• Selected rooms and property details
• Property-specific cancellation policies
• Platform-wide general cancellation policy (available at /legal/general-cancellation-policy)

This information is necessary to process and manage your reservation.

c) Payment Information

SeakingHoliday does not collect or store card details. We offer two payment methods:

• Card (Instant Bookings). You enter your card details in a secure payment form operated by our booking partner and its payment provider. Your card details go directly to them and never reach our servers. We receive the booking confirmation, the amount, the currency and a payment reference.
• Bank transfer (Booking Requests). We collect the payment amount, the currency and the bank transfer receipt (proof of payment) you upload. Receipts are stored securely and linked only to the relevant booking.

4. Technical & Usage Data

We automatically collect limited technical data necessary to operate and secure the platform, including:

• IP address
• Device type, browser, and operating system
• Login session data
• Cookies

This data is used to maintain security, ensure proper functionality, and prevent abuse.

When you make an Instant Booking, we also send your IP address and browser details to our booking partner so that it can detect and prevent fraudulent payments.

If you accept advertising cookies, we also record that a booking was completed so that we can measure our advertising (see section 7).

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data to:

• Create and manage user accounts
• Process booking requests and Instant Bookings
• Verify bank transfer payments and uploaded receipts
• Process card payments and refunds through our booking partner
• Communicate booking updates and confirmations
• Enable Suppliers to fulfill reservations
• Maintain platform security and prevent fraud and abuse
• Measure the performance of our advertising, only if you accept advertising cookies
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

6. Sharing of Personal Data

a) With Suppliers

Guesthouses and other accommodation providers (“Suppliers”) can access only their own booking data through the platform. For Instant Bookings, the property you book also receives your booking details. This may include:

• Guest name and contact details
• Arrival and departure dates
• Room details
• Nationality (where required for pricing or tax purposes)
• Payment confirmation and, for bank transfers, the uploaded receipt

Suppliers cannot access data relating to other properties or bookings.

b) With Service Providers

We use trusted third-party services to operate the platform, including:

• A cloud hosting and security provider (running the website and protecting it from attacks)
• A database, file storage and sign-in provider (storing accounts, bookings and uploaded receipts)
• An email delivery provider (sending booking confirmations and updates)
• Our hotel booking partner and its payment provider (for Instant Bookings: checking availability, taking your card payment, preventing fraud, confirming your booking and processing refunds)
• Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) (advertising measurement, only if you accept advertising cookies)

These providers process personal data only on our instructions and for the purposes described in this policy, except that our booking partner and its payment provider act under their own privacy terms for the card payment, which are shown at checkout.

What our advertising partners (Google, and Meta) receive, only if you accept advertising cookies: the page address, the booking reference, the booking value and currency, and cookie identifiers. We do not send your name, email address, phone number or payment details to them.

7. Cookies

We use essential cookies to ensure the platform functions properly and remains secure. These do not need your consent.

We also use optional advertising cookies from our advertising partners (Google, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram)) to measure whether our advertising leads to bookings. We set them only if you accept them in the cookie banner. They are off until you accept. We do not use them for ad personalisation. We remember your choice on your device and, if you are logged in, on your account (with the date you made it), so that we only ask once. You can change your choice at any time using “Cookie settings” in the footer of every page.

You can view more details in our Cookie Policy here

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary:

• Booking and transaction data: retained for 5 years, as required under Maldivian regulations
• User account data: retained while your account remains active or as required by law
• Cookie choices: stored in your browser until you change or clear them

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymized.

9. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data. These rights are subject to applicable laws and certain legal limitations.

• Right to Access
• Right to Correct
• Right to Request Deletion
• Right to Withdraw Consent
• Right to Restrict or Object to Processing
• Right to Data Portability

Exercising Your Rights

Email contact@seakingholiday.com with your request. We may ask you to confirm your identity first, and we aim to reply within 30 days. To withdraw your consent to advertising cookies, use “Cookie settings” in the footer. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything done before you withdrew it.

10. International & GDPR-Grade Compliance

Although SeakingHoliday operates primarily in the Maldives, we apply GDPR-grade data protection standards to all users. These principles guide how we collect, use, and protect personal data.

• Lawful, Fair, and Transparent Processing
• Purpose Limitation
• Data Minimization
• Accuracy
• Storage Limitation
• Security and Confidentiality
• User Rights and Accountability

Our providers, including our booking partner and our advertising partners, may process data outside the Maldives. Where we rely on a legal basis: we process booking and payment data to perform your booking contract, and we use advertising cookies only with your consent.

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or disclosure.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page, and the updated version will take effect immediately upon posting.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or requests, please contact: contact@seakingholiday.com