Website & Social Media Privacy Statement

The Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, doing business as Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (“GSOBT”, “we”, “our”, or “us”), recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of all information provided by any and all users (“User” or “you”) of gulfshores.com and our related websites (collectively, the “Site”). We created the following guidelines with a fundamental respect for our Users' right to privacy. We reserve the right to change and update our Privacy Statement as needed.  Any changes will be posted on the Site.

General

GSOBT is not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of websites to which it may provide links or the websites of its advertisers or clients.

GSOBT uses reasonable precautions to keep all personal information disclosed to us by Users secure, and GSOBT discloses that personal information only to responsible third parties.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, the practices of the Site, or your dealings with GSOBT related to the Site, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Information Collected by GSOBT

The Site

Through the Site, GSOBT collects information, including personally identifiable information, about Users: 

•    during Users’ registration on the Site; 
•    while reserving rental accommodations on the Site;
•    while fielding inquiries tendered through the Site; 
•    through Users’ participation in certain activities on our the Site, including contests and polls; and 
•    through the use of cookies on the Site. 

When Users request pages from GSOBT’s server, the server automatically collects some information about Users, including their IP addresses. These addresses are used by computers on the network to send the requested pages to Users.

The web pages on the Site may contain electronic images (called "single-pixel GIFs" or "web beacons") that allow us and our vendors to count Users who have visited particular pages or to access certain cookies. We may use these tools and other technologies to recognize which pages Users visit and which links they click on. These features may also be included in our e-mail newsletters so that we can learn which messages have been opened and acted upon.

Reserving Rental Accommodations

If you choose to reserve rental accommodations on the Site, GSOBT collects information (“Guest Information”) from you, including:

•    Your
    o First and last name;
    o E-mail address;
    o Billing address;
    o Booking date;
    o Arrival and departure dates; and
•    Characteristics of the rental property you booked, including number of bedrooms, property type (e.g., townhouse, condo, etc.), and location.
 

Further, if you choose to reserve rental accommodations on the Site, any information you provide in the reservation process, including payment information, will be collected by StaySense, LLC.  If you do not consent to your information being collected by StaySense, LLC, do not reserve rental accommodations on the Site. 

Use of Information

While providing information in order to register on the Site, Users may indicate they wish to receive e-mail from GSOBT area partners (i.e., attractions, restaurants, hotels and rental management companies). Where the User has indicated that they wish to receive such e-mails, GSOBT will share that User’s e-mail address with the relevant GSOBT area partner.

Using e-mail addresses provided at registration or otherwise, GSOBT periodically sends out promotional e-mail to Users about services and products offered by GSOBT. Users can indicate that they do not wish to receive e-mail information from GSOBT by contacting us at [email protected]

Occasionally, GSOBT surveys e-newsletter subscribers on issues that will help us in market research and planning. These surveys may come from a firm employed by GSOBT to conduct research on our behalf. That firm does not retain information from our database, but uses e-mail addresses on a one-time-only basis on behalf of GSOBT.

GSOBT utilizes Users' IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer the Site. We also use it to gather broad demographic information about our Users in general. This information does not contain anything that can identify Users personally.

The Site uses cookies to deliver content specific to Users' interests and to honor Users’ preferences. This information is used to assist us in creating a Site that will serve the needs of our Users as well as determine the effectiveness of our advertisements. Users may opt-out of ad effectiveness measurement.

Upon request to [email protected], GSOBT will remove Users (and their information) from our database or permit them to "opt-out" of any further e-mail or contact. You can also opt-out of all partner cookies.

GSOBT uses Guest Information for marketing purposes, which includes sharing some Guest Information with GSOBT’s social media partners.  Users can indicate that they do not wish for GSOBT to share their Guest Information for marketing purposes by contacting us at [email protected].

Updated March 7, 2024

Social Content Policy  

GULF SHORES & ORANGE BEACH TOURISM  SOCIAL AGGREGATION TOOL #ALBEACHYES USER CONTENT SUBMISSION PROGRAM 

Effective Date: January 1, 2019

In consideration for the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau ("AGCCVB"), doing business as Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (“GSOBT” or “we” “our”, or “us”), permitting any and all users (“you” or “Participant”) to create, upload, display, publish and/or submit their messages, text, posts, Tweets, images, photos, comments, music, videos or other content (collectively, “User Content”) featuring GSOBT visual/digital assets or otherwise mentioning GSOBT or related visual/digital assets, you agree to these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) of the GSOBT Social Aggregation Tool #ALBeachesYes User Content Submission Program. 

When you grant permission to GSOBT to use your User Content by interacting with the GSOBT aggregation tool (the “Application”) on social media platforms, including, without limitation, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and/or through utilization of the ‘approval’ hashtag #ALBeachesYes, you are entering into a binding agreement with GSOBT on the terms set forth below:

Prohibited User Content

As a Participant, you shall not submit any User Content that:

•    Is known by you to be false, deceptive, inaccurate, misleading or deceitful;
•    Infringes, encourages or depicts the infringement of another party’s rights, including, without limitation, any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
•    Violates, encourages or depicts the violation of any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising) or that encourages or depicts conduct that constitutes a criminal offense or may result in civil liability;
•    Is, or may reasonably be considered to be abusive, defamatory, libelous, indecent, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, slanderous, indecent, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, pornographic, sexually explicit, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to GSOBT or any third party in any way; or that encourages anyone to break any local, state, national or international law;
•    Is or contains advertising, promotional material or promotes a product, service or other commercial activity (other than GSOBT), including any “junk mail”, “chain letter” or “spam” or any other similar solicitation;
•    Includes, demonstrates or encourages the misuse of a product or a hazardous situation;
•    Impersonates or attempts to impersonate GSOBT or any of its employees, another user, or person or entity (including, without limitation, the use of e-mail addresses associated with any of the foregoing);
•    Includes any information that references other websites or personally identifiable information (e.g., first and last name, addresses, e-mail addresses, contact information or phone numbers);
•    Contains any computer viruses, Easter eggs, worms, bots, Trojan horses, spyware or other potentially damaging malware, technologies, computer programs or files or malicious code that could impact the operation of the Application or any computer or other device;
•    Includes the submission of an idea or suggestions of new products;
•    Sells a product or service of any type, including advertisements of any kind, including competitor advertisements, item sale, solicitation, or self-promotion;
•    Has been posted by anyone under the age of 13;
•    Is off-topic or irrelevant;
•    Is unintelligible; or
•    Is otherwise objectionable or inappropriate.

If you submit User Content that GSOBT believes violates these Terms, then we reserve the right, but have no obligation, to take any legally available action that we deem appropriate, in our sole discretion, including, without limitation, editing, removing, deleting, taking down or otherwise erasing your User Content, at any time, without notice for any reason whatsoever. 

However, we are not obligated to take any action not required by law. We are not responsible or liable for the conduct or content of any Participant. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor or become involved in disputes between you and other users. Please exercise common sense and your best judgment in your interactions with others (e.g., when you submit any personal or other information) and in all of your other online activities. For purposes of certainty, other than Participant’s own User Content, Participant may not make any commercial, or any other, use of User Content submitted without GSOBT’s prior written approval. GSOBT reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to remove without notice, or refuse to post in the first instance, any User Content.

Maintain Appropriate Rights in Your User Content

With respect to all User Content that you submit to us, you represent and warrant that the material is either fully original to you or that you have all the necessary rights, licenses, permissions, clearances, and consents needed from third parties in order for you to submit your User Content (including, but not limited to, all copyright and right of publicity and privacy rights).