Last updated: 26 October 2026
This policy explains what personal information Aerotel Hoedspruit collects, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have. We follow South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). If you are visiting from the European Union or the United Kingdom, we also respect your rights under the GDPR and UK GDPR.
Quick links: what we collect · why · who we share it with · cookies and tracking · how long we keep it · your rights · delete your data
1. Who we are
The responsible party for your personal information is:
- Aerotel Boutique Hotel (Pty) Ltd, trading as Aerotel Hoedspruit (a private company), registration number 2025/975685/07
- 1406 Zandspruit Boulevard, R527, Hoedspruit, Limpopo 1380
- Email: reservations@aerotel.co.za
- Phone: +27-87-655-6737
- WhatsApp: +27782756605
Our Information Officer is the owner of Aerotel Hoedspruit. Privacy questions and requests go to reservations@aerotel.co.za.
2. What we collect
We only collect what we need. Depending on how you deal with us, that can be:
- Bookings: your name, email address, phone number, country, the dates and room you want, the number of adults and children, special requests, and payment details (card payments are handled by our payment provider; we do not see or keep your full card number).
- Online check-in and guest register: your name, contact details, ID or passport number, nationality and country of residence, company (if travelling for work), how you are arriving and your vehicle registration, an emergency contact, and anything you tell us about dietary needs, allergies or special occasions.
- Restaurant bookings: your name, phone number or email, the date, time and size of your party, and any requests.
- Events and venue enquiries: your name, contact details, organisation and the details of your event.
- Enquiries: what you send us through the website forms, by email, by phone, on WhatsApp or through our social media pages.
- Website chat: the questions you type into the chat box and the answers given.
- Creator and partnership applications: your name, contact details, social media accounts and audience figures, and the work you share with us.
- Guest Wi-Fi: the details you enter to sign in and your device's network identifier, kept to manage the network and keep it secure.
- CCTV: recordings from security cameras in public and outdoor areas of the property (never inside guest rooms or bathrooms), for the safety of guests, staff and property.
- News and offers: your email address and name if you ask to hear from us.
- Website use: the pages you visit, the site or advert that sent you, your device and browser type and an approximate location from your internet address. See Cookies and tracking.
- Reviews and feedback you give us or post about us publicly.
Where it comes from: mostly from you. If you book through a travel website, a travel agent or a tour operator, they send us the details we need for your stay. If one person books for a group, they give us the other guests' names and should let those guests know about this policy.
Health and beliefs: dietary needs and allergies can reveal health information or religious beliefs, which POPIA treats as special personal information. We only collect it when you choose to tell us, use it only to look after you during your stay, and only the staff preparing your food or room see it.
Children: we only process children's details (such as names and ages for a booking) with the consent of the parent or guardian making the booking. This website is not meant for children to use on their own.
Do you have to give it? Giving us your details is voluntary, but without the details needed for a booking or the guest register we cannot accept the booking or check you in.
3. Why we use it
- To answer your enquiries and give you quotes.
- To take, confirm, change and manage your booking, take payment and send you what you need before you arrive (this is needed to carry out our contract with you).
- To check you in, keep the guest register that the law and our licences require, and look after you during your stay.
- To keep our accounts and meet our legal and tax obligations.
- To protect the safety and security of guests, staff and property.
- To run, secure and improve our website and services, and to understand which pages and adverts work (our legitimate interest).
- To ask you for a review after your stay or visit.
- To send you news and offers, but only if you have agreed or are a past guest, and every message lets you stop them (POPIA section 69).
We do not sell your personal information. We do not make decisions about you based only on automated processing.
4. Who we share it with
Only with people who need it to serve you, all of whom must keep it confidential and secure:
- Our website and email host: hosting this website, our booking engine and our email
- Our booking system and channel manager: taking and managing bookings, including bookings made through travel websites
- Payment service providers and our bank: processing card payments and EFTs (we never see or keep your full card number)
- Travel booking websites (for example Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, Agoda): if you book through them, they send us your booking details; their own privacy policies apply to what they collect
- WhatsApp (Meta Platforms): messages you send us on WhatsApp
- Facebook, Instagram and TikTok: messages and comments on our social media pages, and publishing our own posts
- Our AI service provider: writing answers in the website chat
- Google LLC: Google Analytics 4 (see Cookies and tracking)
- Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram): Meta Pixel (see Cookies and tracking)
- Microsoft Corporation: Microsoft Clarity (see Cookies and tracking)
- Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.: Ahrefs Web Analytics (see Cookies and tracking)
- OpenAI: OpenAI Ads measurement (see Cookies and tracking)
- ADS-B Exchange: Live flight map (see Cookies and tracking)
- Our staff, only as far as their work needs it.
- Authorities, when the law requires it (for example SARS, the police with a lawful request, or to protect someone's safety).
5. Information sent outside South Africa
Some of the providers above (such as Google, Meta, Microsoft and travel booking websites) store information outside South Africa. We only use providers that are bound by data protection laws or agreements giving protection similar to POPIA (section 72), or where the transfer is needed to carry out your booking.
6. Cookies and tracking
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. These are the tools on this website right now:
| Tool | Who runs it | What it does | Cookies or storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential site and booking cookies | This website | Keep the site and the booking pages working: your place in a booking, security checks and your choices on this page. | A session cookie, deleted when you close the browser. |
| Google Analytics 4 Opt out or settings | Google LLC | Counts visits and shows which pages are read, where visitors come from and which buttons (Book, WhatsApp, call) are used. We see totals, not who you are. | Cookies _ga and _ga_*, kept up to 2 years. |
| Meta Pixel Opt out or settings | Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram) | Tells us whether our Facebook and Instagram adverts lead to visits and enquiries, and lets us show adverts to people who have visited the site. | Cookie _fbp, kept up to 3 months. |
| Microsoft Clarity Opt out or settings | Microsoft Corporation | Shows how pages are used: clicks, scrolling and mouse movement, including replays of visits, so we can fix pages that confuse people. Anything typed into forms is hidden from us. | Cookies _clck and _clsk, kept up to 1 year. |
| Ahrefs Web Analytics | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | Counts visits and the pages that bring them, without cookies and without identifying anyone. | None. |
| OpenAI Ads measurement Opt out or settings | OpenAI | Tells us whether our ChatGPT adverts lead to an enquiry or a booking click. | Browser storage set by OpenAI. |
| Visitor journeys | This website (our own server) | Records the pages viewed in one visit, the page you arrived on and the site that sent you, so we can see which pages help people decide. It does not know your name unless you send us an enquiry or booking. | Browser storage on this site only; the visit record is kept on our server for up to 13 months. |
| Offer pop-ups | This website | Remembers that you have seen or closed an offer so it is not shown again. | Browser storage on this site only. |
| Website assistant (chat) | This website, with an AI service provider | Answers questions typed into the chat box. What you type is sent to our AI service provider to write the answer. | Browser storage on this site only (the open conversation). |
| Google Maps (map on the page) Opt out or settings | Google LLC | Shows where we are. Google may set its own cookies when the map loads. | Cookies set by Google. |
| Live flight map | ADS-B Exchange | Shows aircraft flying near us. | Cookies set by the map provider. |
Your choices: you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings (the site still works, although the booking pages need their session cookie), use the opt-out links above, or use a browser's "do not track" or private mode.
7. How long we keep it
- Enquiries that do not lead to a booking: up to 2 years.
- Bookings, the guest register and invoices: as long as tax and company law requires, usually 5 years after the year of your stay.
- CCTV recordings: until the recorder overwrites them, usually within about a month, unless needed to investigate an incident.
- Website visit records: up to 13 months.
- Marketing: until you ask us to stop.
After that we delete it or make it anonymous.
8. How we keep it safe
We use secure (HTTPS) connections, passwords and access controls so staff only see what they need, reputable hosting with backups, and service providers who are bound to keep information secure. If we ever have reason to believe your information has been accessed without permission, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
9. Your rights
You may at any time ask us, free of charge, to:
- confirm whether we hold personal information about you and give you a copy;
- correct information that is wrong or out of date;
- delete information we no longer need or are not allowed to keep (see Data Deletion);
- stop using it for marketing, or object to us using it for our legitimate interests;
- withdraw any consent you gave (this does not affect what we did before).
Email reservations@aerotel.co.za. We may ask you to confirm who you are, and we will answer within 30 days. Requests for other records are handled under our PAIA & POPIA Manual.
If you are not happy with how we handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to:
The Information Regulator (South Africa), Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191 · enquiries@inforegulator.org.za · 010 023 5200 · inforegulator.org.za/complaints
10. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when what we do changes, for example when we add or remove a tool on the website. The date at the top shows when it last changed.