Privacy Policy | The Hound and Heather

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU?

When you interact with us, we may collect information such as your name, contact details, and booking history. If you make a reservation online, by phone or in person, we may collect details including your email address, telephone number, billing or delivery address, and in some cases payment details (although card payments are processed securely by our payment provider and we do not store full card numbers).

If you choose to join our mailing list or enter a competition, we may collect your marketing preferences and responses. When you visit our website, we also gather technical information such as your IP address, browser type and cookie data. On occasion, if you provide it to us, we may hold information about dietary requirements, allergies or accessibility needs, but only to ensure we can deliver the right service to you.

2. How we collect your data

We collect information directly from you when you make a booking, contact us by phone or email, or visit us in person. Data is also gathered when you subscribe to marketing updates, apply for a job, complete a survey, or enter a competition. Some information is collected automatically when you use our website, such as cookie and analytics data.

3. HOW WILL WE USE THE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU?

We use your personal data primarily to manage your booking, provide our hospitality services and take payment. We also use it to keep in touch with you about reservations, menus, events and promotions, and to improve our website and customer experience. In some cases, we are required by law to retain certain records, for example for accounting or licensing purposes. Where you have opted in to receive marketing, we will use your details to send you news and offers by email or SMS. You can opt out of these communications at any time.

4. Cookies and tracking technologies

When you visit our website, small text files called cookies are placed on your device. Some cookies are essential for the site to work properly, for example to enable our booking system or keep the website secure. Others help us understand how visitors use our site by collecting anonymous statistics through tools such as Google Analytics. We may also use cookies set by third parties such as Facebook or Google Ads to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and show you relevant promotions.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking certain types or deleting cookies already stored. Please note that restricting cookies may affect how well our website functions, particularly when it comes to making reservations. By continuing to use our website, you consent to the use of cookies as described in this policy.

5. Legal basis for processing

Our processing of your data is always based on lawful grounds under UK GDPR. Most commonly, we process your data to fulfil a contract with you, for example to confirm and deliver a booking. In other circumstances, we may rely on a legal obligation, such as keeping financial records, or on our legitimate interests, such as improving our services and communicating with you as a customer. Where none of these apply, we will always seek your consent, for example when sending marketing communications.

6. Marketing & cookies

We will only send you marketing communications if you have given us permission to do so, and you can withdraw this permission at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting us directly. Our website also uses cookies to make the site function properly, to analyse visitor behaviour and to support online advertising. Cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers such as Google Analytics or Meta (Facebook). You can manage or disable cookies in your browser settings.

8. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary. Booking and payment records are generally retained for seven years to meet legal and tax obligations. Marketing data is kept until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe, and job applications are normally deleted after six months unless you are employed by us.

9. International Transfers

Some of our service providers may transfer data outside the UK, for example if email or booking platforms use servers overseas. In these cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions approved by the UK government.

10. Your rights

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, to ask us to correct inaccuracies, to request deletion of your information, or to restrict or object to how it is processed. You also have the right to request that your data be transferred to another provider. Where we process data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@houndandheather.co.uk. You also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

11. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against loss, misuse or unauthorised access. While no system is completely secure, we regularly review and update our practices to keep your information safe.

12. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or in our business. The most recent version will always be published on our website with the date it was last updated.