Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection

General

The following gives a simple overview of what happens to your personal information when you visit our website. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy found below.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?

The data collected on this website are processed by the website operator. The operator's contact details can be found in the website's required legal notice

How do we collect your data?

Some data are collected when you provide it to us. This could, for example, be data you enter on a contact form.

Other data are collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. These data are primarily technical data such as the browser and operating system you are using or when you accessed the page. These data are collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Other data can be used to analyze how visitors use the site.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it be corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the legal notice if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. You may also, of course, file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities.

Analytics and third-party tools

When visiting our website, statistical analyses may be made of your surfing behavior. This happens primarily using cookies and analytics. The analysis of your surfing behavior is usually anonymous, i.e. we will not be able to identify you from this data. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. Detailed information can be found in the following privacy policy.

You can object to this analysis. We will inform you below about how to exercise your options in this regard.

2. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data as confidential and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

If you use this website, various pieces of personal data will be collected. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens.

Please note that data transmitted via the internet (e.g. via email communication) may be subject to security breaches. Complete protection of your data from third-party access is not possible.

Notice concerning the party responsible for this website

The party responsible for processing data on this website is:

Friendly Cityhotel Oktopus GmbH
Zeithstrasse 110
53721 Siegburg

Telephone: +49 (0)2241 84640 0
E-Mail: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Statutory data protection officer

Dr. Christian Lenz
dhpg IT-Services GmbH Bunsenstr. 10a,
51647 Gummersbach

Telephone: 02261/81950
E-Mail: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Opposition to promotional emails

We hereby expressly prohibit the use of contact data published in the context of website legal notice requirements with regard to sending promotional and informational materials not expressly requested. The website operator reserves the right to take specific legal action if unsolicited advertising material, such as email spam, is received.

SSL or TLS encryption

This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser's address line when it changes from "http://" to "https://" and the lock icon is displayed in your browser's address bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transfer to us cannot be read by third parties.

Encrypted payments on this website

If you enter into a contract which requires you to send us your payment information (e.g. account number for direct debits), we will require this data to process your payment.

Payment transactions using common means of payment (Visa/MasterCard, direct debit) are only made via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser's address line when it changes from "http://" to "https://" and the lock icon in your browser line is visible.

In the case of encrypted communication, any payment details you submit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Disclosure of data

We do not disclose your personal data to third parties for purposes other than those listed below. We only transfer your personal data to third parties if:

  • you have given your express consent to this in accordance with Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. a DSGVO,
  • the transfer is required under Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f DSGVO for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims and there is no reason to believe that you have an overriding legitimate interest in not transferring your data,
  • if there is a legal obligation for disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. c DSGVO, as well as
  • this is legally permissible and necessary according to Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. b DSGVO for the processing of contractual relationships with you.

In addition, our processors receive your personal data for processing in accordance with instructions, insofar as this is necessary for the fulfillment of the order. Our processors do not have their own right to use your data.

Transfer to third countries

We transfer data to third countries exclusively in accordance with the legal regulations.

The data transfer to third countries is governed by Art. 44 et seq. DSGVO. If we transfer your data to a third country, you will be informed about this in the special data protection information on the respective processing process, stating the respective legal basis.

3. Rights of the data subject

Revocation of your consent to the processing of your data

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed. You may revoke your consent by mail to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken..

Right to file complaints with regulatory authorities

If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data which we process based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract automatically delivered to yourself or to a third party in a standard, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

Information, blocking, deletion

As permitted by law, you have the right to be provided at any time with information free of charge about any of your personal data that is stored as well as its origin, the recipient, and the purpose for which it has been processed. You also have the right to have this data corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in our legal notice if you have further questions on the topic of personal data.

Right to object

If your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) s. 1 lit. f DSGVO, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data pursuant to Art. 21 DSGVO, insofar as there are grounds for doing so that arise from your particular situation or the objection is directed against direct advertising. In the latter case, you have a general right of objection, which is implemented by us without specifying a particular situation. If you would like to make use of your right of revocation or objection, it is sufficient to send an e-mail to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken..

4. Data collection on our website

Server log files

The website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits to us in "server log files". These are:

  • Browser type and browser version
  • Operating system used
  • Referrer URL
  • Host name of the accessing computer
  • Time of the server request
  • IP address

The aforementioned data is processed by us for the following purposes:

  • Ensuring a smooth connection set-up of the website,
  • Ensuring a comfortable use of our website,
  • evaluating system security and stability, and
  • for further administrative purposes.

These data will not be combined with data from other sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. Our legitimate interest is the operation of our website and the associated presentation of our company.

Request by e-mail, telephone or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent.

The processing of these data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on your consent (Article 6 (1) a GDPR) and/or on our legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR), since we have a legitimate interest in the effective processing of requests addressed to us.

The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular statutory retention periods - remain unaffected.

Processing of data (customer and contract data)

We collect, process and use personal data only to the extent necessary for the establishment, content organization or change of the legal relationship (data inventory). These actions are taken on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual actions. We collect, process and use personal data concerning the use of our website (usage data) only to the extent that this is necessary to make it possible for users to utilize the services and to bill for them.

The collected customer data shall be eradicated upon completion of the order or the termination of the business relationship. This shall be without prejudice to any statutory retention mandates.

Contact form

Should you send us questions via the contact form, we will collect the data entered on the form, including the contact details you provide, to answer your question and any follow-up questions. We do not share this information without your permission.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request). Any mandatory statutory provisions, especially those regarding mandatory data retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision.

Data transferred when signing up for services and digital content

We transmit personally identifiable data to third parties only to the extent required to fulfill the terms of your contract with us, for example, to banks entrusted to process your payments.

Your data will not be transmitted for any other purpose unless you have given your express permission to do so. Your data will not be disclosed to third parties for advertising purposes without your express consent.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.

Newsletter

If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require a valid email address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and that you agree to receive this newsletter. No additional data is collected or is only collected on a voluntary basis. We only use this data to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription when said data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members area) remain unaffected.

This website uses CleverReach to send newsletters. The supplier is CleverReach GmbH & Co. KG, Mühlenstr. 43, 26180 Rastede. CleverReach is a service which organizes and analyzes the distribution of newsletters. The data you provide (e.g. your email address) to subscribe to our newsletter will be stored on CleverReach servers in Germany.

Sending our newsletters with CleverReach enables us to analyze the behavior of newsletter recipients. Among other things, we can find out how many recipients have opened the email containing the newsletter and how often various links contained therein are clicked. With the help of conversion tracking, we can also analyze whether a predefined action (such as the purchase of a product on our website) takes place after clicking on the link in the newsletter. For more information on how data is analyzed by CleverReach, please visit https://www.cleverreach.com/de/funktionen/reporting-und-tracking/.

Data processing is based on with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke consent to the storage of your data and email address as well as their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. through the "unsubscribe" link in the newsletter. You can also unsubscribe from the newsletter directly on the website. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed. Your data will be deleted from our servers and those of CleverReach. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members area) remains unaffected.

If you do not want your usage of the newsletter to be analyzed by CleverReach, you will have to unsubscribe from the newsletter.

For more information, see the privacy policy of CleverReach at https://www.cleverreach.com/de/datenschutz/.

Data transfer for conclusion of contracts for services and digital content

We only transfer personal data to third parties if this is necessary for the conclusion or fulfillment of the contract processing, for example to the credit institution commissioned with the payment processing.

Further transfer of data does not take place or only if you have expressly consented to the transfer. Your data will not be passed on to third parties without your express consent, for example for advertising purposes.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

Job applications

If you send us an application, we process your associated personal data (e.g. contact and communication data, application documents, notes taken during interviews, etc.) insofar as this is necessary to decide on the establishment of an employment relationship. The legal basis for this is § 26 BDSG, Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO and - if you have given your express consent - Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. The consent can be revoked at any time. Your personal data will only disclosed within our company to people involved in processing your application.

If the application is successful, the data you submitted will be stored in our data processing systems on the basis of § 26 BDSG, Art. 6 (1) (b) DSGVO for the purpose of implementing the employment relationship.

If we are unable to make you a job offer, you reject a job offer, withdraw your application, revoke your consent to data processing or request us to delete the data, the data you have submitted, including any remaining physical application documents, will be stored or retained (retention period) for a maximum of 6 months after the conclusion of the application process in order to be able to trace the details of the application process in the event of discrepancies (Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO).

YOU CAN OBJECT TO THIS STORAGE IF YOU HAVE LEGITIMATE INTERESTS THAT OUTWEIGH OUR INTERESTS.

After expiry of the retention period, the data will be deleted, unless there is a legal obligation to retain the data or another legal reason for further storage. If it is evident that it will be necessary to retain your data after the retention period has expired (e.g. due to an impending or pending legal dispute), the data will only be deleted once it has become irrelevant. Other statutory retention obligations remain unaffected.

Online booking

You can book rooms in our hotel and other travel services on our website. For this purpose and for the general processing of enquiries, we use the online booking tool DIRS21 (hereinafter "OBT") of the company TourOnline AG, Borsigstraße 26, 73249 Wernau, Germany (www.dirs21.de, hereinafter "TOAG").

In this case, TOAG processes the data as the responsible party. The notes and provisions on data protection can be found in TOAG's data protection declaration for OBT, which you can call up at any time from OBT or view at www.dirs21.de/datenschutz.

Cookies

We use cookies on our website. These are small files that are automatically created by your browser and stored on your end device (laptop, tablet, smartphone or similar). Cookies do not cause any damage to your end device and do not contain any viruses, Trojans or other malware. Information is stored in the cookie that arises in connection with the specific end device used. However, this does not mean that we gain direct knowledge of your identity. Analysis tools evaluate the user behaviour of website visitors and enable the operator of a website to optimise it and adapt marketing measures. Plugins and other third-party elements are used to integrate content from these providers into the website.

Required First-Party-Cookies

The use of our required first-party cookies serves on the one hand to make the use of our offer more pleasant for you. For example, we use so-called session cookies to recognise that you have already visited individual pages of our website. These are automatically deleted after you leave our site.

In addition, we also use temporary cookies to optimise user-friendliness, which are stored on your end device for a certain fixed period of time. If you visit our site again to use our services, it is automatically recognised that you have already been to our site and which entries and settings you have made so that you do not have to enter them again.

This data is deleted after 6 months at the latest.

We process your data on the basis of our legitimate interest in the external presentation of our company via the website you have accessed and to promote user-friendliness. The legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

Most browsers accept these cookies automatically. However, you can configure your browser so that no cookies are stored on your computer or a notice always appears before such a cookie is created. However, the deactivation of cookies may result in the website not being displayed correctly or you not being able to use all the functions of our website.

Third-Party-Cookies, plugins und other third-party elements

The third-party cookies, plug-ins and other third-party elements listed below are only used with your express consent and thus on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future. To do so, you can change your settings below under "Cookie details" in this privacy policy. Failure to grant or revocation of consent may result in the website not being displayed correctly or you not being able to use all the functions of the website.

With the third-party cookies, plugins or other third-party elements that are used, we want to ensure a needs-based design and the ongoing optimisation of our website.

The respective function descriptions, any recipients of the data, information on possible transfers to a third country and the storage period can be found in the following notes on the individual processing procedures provided with third-party cookies, plugins or other third-party elements. Further details on cookies can be found below in the "Cookie details" section of this privacy policy.

Google Analytics

This website uses the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider is Google Inc, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Google Analytics sets cookies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is generally transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

We have activated the IP anonymisation function on this website. This means that your IP address will be shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before being transferred to the USA. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage to the website operator. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data. There is no adequacy decision by the European Commission for the USA, as it does not have a comparable level of data protection with the EU. For data subjects, it is difficult to take legal action against data processing in the USA due to the lack of corresponding legal remedies.

You can find more information on how Google Analytics handles user data in Google's privacy policy:
Google: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de.

Google DoubleClick

For the purpose of optimising our online marketing, we use Google DoubleClick, a service of Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; hereinafter "Google"). In this context, pseudonymised usage profiles are created and cookies are used. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website will be transferred to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. The information is used to show you interest-based advertising in the Google advertising network. Under no circumstances will your IP address be merged with other Google data. The IP addresses are anonymised so that an allocation is not possible (IP masking). There is no adequacy decision by the European Commission for the USA, as it does not have a comparable level of data protection with the EU. For data subjects, it is difficult to take legal action against data processing in the USA due to the lack of corresponding legal remedies.

Further information on data protection regarding data processing by Google can be found in Google's privacy policy https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Google AdWords and Google Conversion Tracking

This website uses Google AdWords. AdWords is an online advertising program from Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States ("Google").

As part of Google AdWords, we use so-called conversion tracking. When you click on an ad served by Google, a conversion tracking cookie is set. Cookies are small text files that your internet browser stores on your computer. These cookies expire after 30 days and are not used for personal identification of the user. Should the user visit certain pages of the website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and the website can tell that the user clicked on the ad and proceeded to that page.

Each Google AdWords advertiser has a different cookie. Thus, cookies cannot be tracked using the website of an AdWords advertiser. The information obtained using the conversion cookie is used to create conversion statistics for the AdWords advertisers who have opted for conversion tracking. Customers are told the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a conversion tracking tag page. However, advertisers do not obtain any information that can be used to personally identify users. If you do not want to participate in tracking, you can opt-out of this by easily disabling the Google Conversion Tracking cookie by changing your browser settings. In doing so, you will not be included in the conversion tracking statistics.

Conversion cookies are stored based on Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior to optimize both its website and its advertising.

For more information about Google AdWords and Google Conversion
Tracking, see the Google Privacy
Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Youtube

Our website uses plugins from the YouTube site operated by Google. The operator of the pages is YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA.

The YouTube cookies are only used with your express consent and thus on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future. Failure to grant or revocation of consent may result in the videos not being displayed to you.

We integrate these plug-ins using the so-called two-click method in order to protect visitors to our website as best as possible. This means that your personal data (in particular your IP address) is not already transferred to YouTube when you access the website. Rather, you must first click the embedded "buttons" to activate the videos. With this click, you give your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO for a connection to be established with the YouTube servers and for data to be transferred. We also use the extended data protection mode with the "youtube-nocookie" to transfer as little data as possible.

Pursuant to Art. 49 (1) (a) DSGVO, the data is transferred to the USA as a third country with your consent if you have given it to us after we have informed you about the possibly missing or limited legal protection measures and the lower level of data protection in the USA in contrast to the EU. Further information for YouTube can be found at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

Vimeo

We use plugins from Vimeo, Inc. 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA, on our website in order to make our company better known and to integrate videos with further information for you into the website.

The plug-ins are marked with a Vimeo logo.

We integrate these plug-ins using the so-called two-click method in order to protect visitors to our website as best as possible. This means that your personal data (in particular your IP address) is not already transferred to Vimeo when you call up the website. Rather, you must first click the embedded "buttons" to activate the videos. With this click, you give your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO for a connection to be established with the Vimeo servers.

Through this integration, Vimeo receives the information that your browser has accessed the corresponding page of our website, even if you do not have a Vimeo profile or are not currently logged in.

This information (including your IP address) is transferred by your browser directly to a Vimeo server in the USA and stored there. If you are logged in to Vimeo, Vimeo can directly assign your visit to our website to your account. If you interact with the plugins, for example start the video, this information is also transferred directly to a Vimeo server and stored there.

If you do not want Vimeo to directly assign the data collected via our website to your account, you must log out of Vimeo before activating the plugins.

The data will be transferred to the USA as a third country in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) DSGVO with your consent, if you have given us this consent after we have informed you about the possibly missing or limited legal protection measures and the lower level of data protection in the USA in contrast to the EU. For more information, please see Vimeo's privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy.

Google Web Fonts

For uniform representation of fonts, this page uses web fonts provided by Google. When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly.

For this purpose your browser has to establish a direct connection to Google servers. Google thus becomes aware that our web page was accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web fonts is done in the interest of a uniform and attractive presentation of our website. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font is used by your computer.

Further information about handling user data, can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google's privacy policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Google Maps

This site uses the map service Google Maps via an API. The provider of the map service is Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; hereinafter "Google"). When you use Google Maps on our website, information about the use of this website and your IP address is transferred to a Google server in the USA and also stored on this server. We have no knowledge of the exact content of the transferred data, nor of their use by Google. To integrate this plug-in we use the so-called two-click method in order to protect visitors to our website as best as possible. This means that your personal data (in particular your IP address) is not transferred to Google as soon as you access the website. Rather, you must first click the embedded "buttons" to activate the map. With this click, you give your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO for the map to be loaded with our company location and thus for data to be transferred to Google.

As a rule, your information will not be transferred anonymously to a Google server and stored there.

Google also uses the collected data for its own purposes. You can find Google's privacy policy and terms of use at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

DIRS21

Use of the online booking tool DIRS21 from TourOnline AG.

Our online presence uses the online booking tool DIRS21 (hereinafter "OBT") from TourOnline AG, Borsigstraße 26, 73249 Wernau, Germany (www.dirs21.de, hereinafter "TOAG") to facilitate online bookings of accommodation services and other travel services, as well as to process inquiries. As part of OBT, TOAG processes the data as the person responsible. You will find the notices and provisions on data protection in the TOAG privacy policy for the OBT, which you can call up at any time from the OBT or at www.dirs21.de/datenschutz.

Cookie details