We, Esprit Luxury Homes ES Verwaltungs GmbH (hereinafter: "the company", "we" or "us") take the protection of your personal data seriously and would like to inform you at this point about data protection in our company.

Within the scope of our responsibility under data protection law, additional obligations have been imposed on us by the entry into force of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679; hereinafter: "DS-GVO") in order to ensure the protection of personal data of the person affected by a processing operation (we also address you as a data subject hereinafter with "customer", "user", "you", "you" or "data subject").

Insofar as we decide either alone or jointly with others on the purposes and means of data processing, this includes above all the obligation to inform you transparently about the nature, scope, purpose, duration and legal basis of the processing (cf. Art. 13 and 14 DS-GVO). With this declaration (hereinafter: "data protection information"), we inform you about the way in which your personal data is processed by us.

Our data protection information has a modular structure. It consists of a general part for all processing of personal data and processing situations that come into play each time a website is called up (A. General) and a special part, the content of which relates in each case only to the processing situation specified there with the designation of the respective offer or product, in particular the visit to websites specified in more detail here (B. Visit to websites).

A. General

1. definitions

Following the example of Art. 4 DS-GVO, this data protection notice is based on the following definitions:

- "Personal data" (Art. 4 No. 1 DS-GVO) means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("data subject"). A person is identifiable if he or she can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, an online identifier, location data or by means of information regarding his or her physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity characteristics. The identifiability can also be given by means of a linkage of such information or other additional knowledge. The origin, form or embodiment of the information is irrelevant (photographs, video or audio recordings may also contain personal data).

- "Processing" (Art. 4 No. 2 GDPR) means any operation which involves the handling of personal data, whether or not by automated (i.e. technology-based) means. This includes in particular the collection (i.e. obtaining), recording, organisation, arrangement, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment, combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of personal data, as well as the change of a purpose or intended purpose on which a data processing was originally based.

- "Controller" (Art. 4 No. 7 DS-GVO) means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

- "Third party" (Art. 4 No. 10 DS-GVO) means any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body other than the data subject, the controller, the processor and the persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process the personal data; this also includes other group-affiliated legal entities.

- "Processor" (Art. 4 No. 8 DS-GVO) is a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller, in particular in accordance with the controller's instructions (e.g. IT service provider). In the sense of data protection law, a processor is in particular not a third party.

- Consent" (Art. 4 No. 11 DS-GVO) of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of his or her wishes in the form of a statement or other unambiguous affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

2. name and address of the controller.

The controller of your personal data within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 DS-GVO is us:

Esprit Luxury Homes ES Verwaltungs GmbH

Managing Director: Sandra Bel

Graditzer Strasse 33

50735 Cologne 

Tel: 0221 950 192 -0 

E-mail: info@esprit-luxury-homes.com

For further information on our company, please refer to the imprint details on our website www.esprit-luxury-homes.com/de/impressum/.

3 Legal basis for data processing

In principle, any processing of personal data is prohibited by law and only permitted if the data processing falls under one of the following justifications:

 - Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a DS-GVO ("consent"): if the data subject has voluntarily, in an informed manner and unambiguously indicated by a statement or other unambiguous affirmative action that he or she consents to the processing of personal data relating to him or her for one or more specific purposes;

- Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b DS-GVO: If the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or for the performance of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject's request;

- Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c DS-GVO: If processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject (e.g. a legal obligation to keep records);

- Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. d DS-GVO: If the processing is necessary to protect vital interests of the data subject or another natural person;

- Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. e DS-GVO: If the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; or

- Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f DS-GVO ("Legitimate Interests"): if the processing is necessary to protect the legitimate (in particular legal or economic) interests of the controller or a third party, unless the conflicting interests or rights of the data subject override (in particular if the data subject is a minor). 

For the processing operations we carry out, we indicate below the applicable legal basis in each case. A processing operation may also be based on several legal bases.

4 Data erasure and storage period

For each processing operation we carry out, we indicate below how long the data will be stored by us and when it will be erased or blocked. If no explicit storage period is specified below, your personal data will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose or legal basis for the storage no longer applies. In principle, your data will only be stored on our servers in Germany, subject to any transfer that may take place in accordance with the regulations in A.(6) and A.(7).

However, storage may take place beyond the specified time in the event of a (threatened) legal dispute with you or other legal proceedings or if storage is provided for by statutory regulations to which we are subject as the responsible party (e.g. § 257 HGB, § 147 AO). If the storage period prescribed by the legal regulations expires, the personal data will be blocked or deleted unless further storage by us is necessary and there is a legal basis for this.

5 Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or against unauthorised access by third parties (e.g. TSL encryption for our website), taking into account the state of the art, implementation costs and the nature, scope, context and purpose of the processing, as well as the existing risks of a data breach (including its probability and impact) for the data subject. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological developments.

We will be happy to provide you with more detailed information on request. For this purpose, please contact the company data specified above (see under A.2).

6. cooperation with processors

As with any larger company, we use external domestic and foreign service providers to process our business transactions (e.g. for IT, telecommunications, sales and marketing). These service providers only act on our instructions and are contractually obliged to comply with the provisions of data protection law in accordance with Art. 28 DS-GVO.

7. conditions for the transfer of personal data to third countries

In the course of our business relationships, your personal data may be transferred or disclosed to third party companies. These may also be located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), i.e. in third countries. Such processing will only take place to fulfil contractual and business obligations and to maintain your business relationship with us. We will inform you about the respective details of the transfer in the relevant places below.

The European Commission certifies data protection comparable to the EEA standard in some third countries by means of so-called adequacy decisions (a list of these countries and a copy of the adequacy decisions can be found here: ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection_de). However, in other third countries to which personal data may be transferred, there may not be a consistently high level of data protection due to a lack of legal provisions. If this is the case, we ensure that data protection is sufficiently guaranteed. This is possible through binding company regulations, standard contractual clauses of the European Commission for the protection of personal data, certificates or recognised codes of conduct. Please contact us (see under A.2) if you would like more information on this.

8. no automated decision making (including profiling)

We do not intend to use any personal data collected from you for any automated decision making process (including profiling).

9. legal obligation to transfer certain data

We may be subject to a specific legal or statutory obligation to provide lawfully processed personal data to third parties, in particular public bodies (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c DS-GVO).

10. your rights

You can assert your rights as a data subject regarding your processed personal data at any time by contacting us using the contact details provided at the beginning of A.2. As a data subject, you have the right

- to request information about your data processed by us in accordance with Art. 15 DS-GVO. In particular, you can request information about the processing purposes, the category of data, the categories of recipients to whom your data has been or will be disclosed, the planned storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing or objection, the existence of a right of complaint, the origin of your data if it has not been collected by us, as well as the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and, if applicable, meaningful information about its details;

- pursuant to Art. 16 DS-GVO, to demand the correction of incorrect data or the completion of your data stored by us without delay;

- in accordance with Art. 17 DS-GVO, to request the deletion of your data stored by us, unless the processing is necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims;

- in accordance with Art. 18 DS-GVO, to request the restriction of the processing of your data, insofar as the accuracy of the data is disputed by you or the processing is unlawful;

- pursuant to Art. 20 DS-GVO, to receive your data that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format or to request the transfer to another controller ("data portability");

- object to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 DS-GVO, insofar as the processing is based on Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. e or lit. f DS-GVO. This is particularly the case if the processing is not necessary for the performance of a contract with you. Unless it is an objection to direct marketing, when exercising such an objection, we ask you to explain the reasons why we should not process your data as we have done. In the event of your justified objection, we will examine the merits of the case and either discontinue or adapt the data processing or show you our compelling legitimate grounds on the basis of which we will continue the processing;

- in accordance with Art. 7 (3) DS-GVO, to revoke your consent once given - i.e. your voluntary will, made understandable in an informed manner and unambiguously by a declaration or other unambiguous confirming action, that you agree to the processing of the personal data in question for one or more specific purposes - at any time vis-à-vis us, if you have given such consent. The consequence of this is that we may no longer continue the data processing based on this consent in the future, and

- complain to a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data in our company in accordance with Art. 77 DS-GVO, for example to the data protection supervisory authority responsible for us:

State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information

North Rhine-Westphalia

PO Box 20 04 44

40102 Düsseldorf

Tel.: 0211/38424-0

Fax: 0211/38424-999

E-mail: poststelle@ldi.nrw.de.

11 Changes to the data protection information

In the context of the further development of data protection law as well as technological or organisational changes, our data protection information is regularly checked for the need to adapt or supplement it. You will be informed of any changes in particular on our website at www.esprit-luxury-homes.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung/. This data protection notice is current as of January 2022.

B. Visiting websites

1. explanation of the function

You can obtain information about our company and the services we offer in particular at www.esprit-luxury-homes.com/de/ together with the associated sub-pages (hereinafter collectively referred to as "websites"). When you visit our websites, personal data may be processed.

2. personal data processed

During the informational use of the Websites, the following categories of personal data are collected, stored and processed by us:

"log data": When you visit our websites, a so-called protocol data record (so-called server log files) is stored temporarily and anonymously on our web server. This consists of:

- the page from which the page was requested (so-called referrer URL)

- the name and URL of the requested page

- the date and time of the request

- the description of the type, language and version of the web browser used

- the IP address of the requesting computer, which is shortened in such a way that a personal reference can no longer be established

- the amount of data transferred

- the operating system

- the message whether the request was successful (access status/ttp status code)

- the GMT time zone difference

"Contact form data": When contact forms are used, the data transmitted through them are processed (e.g. gender, surname and first name, address, company, e-mail address and the time of transmission).

"Booking data": Furthermore, we may pass on your personal data to third parties if contract conclusions or similar services are offered by us together with partners. In order to complete your booking via the holiday properties, we transmit the relevant booking data to the house owner / manager you have booked. Depending on the holiday property and the house owner / manager, this may be information such as your name, your contact details, your payment details, the names of your fellow travellers or any other information or enquiries relating to the holiday property. In the event of any booking related claims or disputes, we may provide the homeowner / manager with your contact details and other booking related information to resolve the situation. This may include, but is not limited to, your email address and a copy of your booking confirmation as evidence of a holiday property booking or reasons for cancellation. For completeness, homeowners / managers will process your personal data outside of our control. Property owners / managers may also request further personal data, for example to provide additional services. If available, please read the homeowner's / manager's privacy policy to find out how they process your personal data.

3 Purpose and legal basis of data processing

We process the personal data specified above in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, the other relevant data protection regulations and only to the extent necessary. Insofar as the processing of personal data is based on Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f DS-GVO, the aforementioned purposes also represent our legitimate interests.

The processing of the log data serves statistical purposes and the improvement of the quality of our website, in particular the stability and security of the connection (legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f DS-GVO).

Contact form data is processed for the purpose of handling customer enquiries (legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b or lit. f DS-GVO).

Booking data is processed for the purpose of booking holiday properties (legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b DS-GVO). 

4 Duration of data processing

Your data will only be processed for as long as is necessary to achieve the above-mentioned processing purposes; the legal bases stated in the context of the processing purposes apply accordingly. With regard to the use and storage duration of cookies, please refer to point A.4.

Third parties used by us will store your data on their system for as long as is necessary in connection with the provision of services for us in accordance with the respective order.

5. transfer of personal data to third parties; justification basis

The following categories of recipients, which are usually order processors (see A.6), may receive access to your personal data:

- Service providers for the operation of our website and the processing of data stored or transmitted by the systems (e.g. for data centre services, payment processing, IT security). The legal basis for the transfer is then Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b or lit. f DS-GVO, insofar as it is not a matter of order processors;

- Government agencies/authorities, insofar as this is necessary for the fulfilment of a legal obligation. The legal basis for the disclosure is then Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. c DS-GVO;

- Persons employed to carry out our business operations (e.g. homeowners/managers, banks, insurance companies, supervisory authorities). The legal basis for the disclosure is then Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b or lit. f DS-GVO.

For guarantees of an appropriate level of data protection in the event of data being passed on to third countries, see A.7. 

Furthermore, we will only pass on your personal data to third parties if you have given your express consent to do so in accordance with Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. a DS-GVO.

6. use of cookies, plugins and other services on our website

(a) Cookie

We use cookies on our websites. Cookies are small text files that are assigned to the browser you are using and stored on your hard drive by means of a characteristic character string, and through which certain information flows to the body that sets the cookie. Cookies cannot execute programmes or transmit viruses to your computer and therefore cannot cause any damage. They serve to make the Internet offer as a whole more user-friendly and effective, i.e. more pleasant for you.

Cookies can contain data that make it possible to recognise the device used. In some cases, however, cookies only contain information on certain settings that cannot be related to a specific person. However, cookies cannot directly identify a user. 

A distinction is made between session cookies, which are deleted as soon as you close your browser, and permanent cookies, which are stored beyond the individual session. With regard to their function, a distinction is made between cookies:

- Technical cookies: these are essential to navigate the website, use basic functions and ensure the security of the website; they do not collect information about you for marketing purposes nor do they store which web pages you have visited;

- Performance cookies: these collect information about how you use our website, which pages you visit and, for example, whether errors occur during website use; they do not collect information that could identify you - all information collected is anonymous and is only used to improve our website and find out what interests our users;

- Advertising cookies, targeting cookies: these are used to provide the website user with tailored advertising on the website or third party offers and to measure the effectiveness of these offers; advertising and targeting cookies are stored for a maximum of 13 months;

- Sharing cookies: these are used to improve the interactivity of our website with other services (e.g. social networks); sharing cookies are stored for a maximum of 13 months.

Any use of cookies that is not absolutely technically necessary constitutes data processing that is only permitted with your explicit and active consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. a DS-GVO. This applies in particular to the use of advertising, targeting or sharing cookies. Furthermore, we will only pass on your personal data processed by cookies to third parties if you have given your express consent to do so in accordance with Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. a DS-GVO.

(b) Cookie policy

For more information about which cookies we use and how you can manage your cookie settings and disable certain types of tracking, please see our Cookie Policy.

(c) Social media plugins

We do not use social media plugins on our websites. Insofar as our websites contain icons from social media providers, we only use these to passively link to the pages of the respective providers.