Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Highwinds Lodge is a luxury self-catering holiday home at Torlundy, Fort William, PH33 6SW, Scotland. The property is operated by Andrew James Starnes and Jonathan David Starnes under Highland Council Short-Term Let Licence No. HI-40041-R.

For data protection purposes, the data controllers are Andrew James Starnes and Jonathan David Starnes. You can contact us at hello@highwindslodge.com.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect the following personal information:

When you make a booking: your name, email address, phone number, postal address, number of guests, dates of stay, and payment information (bank transfer references only — we never store full card details).

When you use our contact form: your name, email address, and the content of your message.

When you browse our website: anonymised analytics data including pages visited, time on site, device type, browser, approximate geographic location, and referral source. This data is collected via Google Analytics 4 and cannot be used to identify you personally.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To manage your booking: processing your reservation, sending booking confirmations, pre-arrival information, check-in instructions, and post-stay communications. (Legal basis: performance of a contract)

To respond to enquiries: replying to messages sent via the contact form or email. (Legal basis: legitimate interest)

To comply with legal obligations: maintaining booking records for tax purposes (HMRC Self Assessment) and complying with Short-Term Let Licence conditions. (Legal basis: legal obligation)

To improve our website: understanding how visitors use the site so we can improve content and user experience. Analytics data is anonymised and aggregated. (Legal basis: legitimate interest)

4. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. We may share your data with the following service providers who process it on our behalf:

Google Analytics (website analytics — anonymised data only), Netlify (website hosting and contact form processing), and Sanity (content management system). These providers process data in accordance with their own privacy policies and our data processing agreements.

If you book through Airbnb or another online travel agency, their own privacy policy applies to data collected through their platform. This privacy policy covers data collected directly by us through our website and direct booking communications.

5. Cookies

Our website uses a small number of cookies:

Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_*) are used to distinguish unique visitors and track anonymised usage patterns. These cookies expire after 2 years and 24 hours respectively. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or any third-party marketing tools.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

Booking data: We retain booking records for 6 years after your stay, as required by HMRC for tax purposes.

Contact form enquiries: We retain enquiry data for 12 months after the last communication, then delete it unless it relates to an active booking.

Analytics data: Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months and is anonymised throughout.

7. Your Rights

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights:

Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.

Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your data, unless we are legally required to retain it (e.g., tax records).

Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data.

Right to data portability — you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.

Right to object — you can object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interest as the legal basis.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at hello@highwindslodge.com. We will respond within one month.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

8. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Our website is served over HTTPS, and we do not store payment card details. Bank transfer references are stored securely and access is limited to the property owners.

9. Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. Bookings must be made by an adult (aged 18 or over).

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

11. Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

Email: hello@highwindslodge.com

Address: Highwinds Lodge, Torlundy, Fort William, PH33 6SW, Scotland