Website & Social Media Privacy Statement
The Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, also identified as Alabama's Beaches, 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
Alabama's Beaches 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.
Alabama's Beaches uses reasonable precautions to keep all personal information disclosed to us by Users secure, and Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches related to the Site, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Information Collected by Alabama's Beaches
The Site
Through the Site, Alabama's Beaches collects information, including personally identifiable information, about Users:
• while communicating with Users, including through e-mail, SMS, and/or telephone, either directly or through a service provider;
• 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 Alabama's Beaches' 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 a User chooses to reserve rental accommodations on the Site, Alabama's Beaches collects information (“Guest Information”) from that User, including:
• The User's
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 the User booked, including number of bedrooms, property type (e.g., townhouse, condo, etc.), and location.
Further, if the User chooses to reserve rental accommodations on the Site, any information the User provides 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 Alabama's Beaches area partners (i.e., attractions, restaurants, hotels and rental management companies). Where the User has indicated that they wish to receive such e-mails, Alabama's Beaches will share that User’s e-mail address with the relevant Alabama's Beaches area partner.
Using e-mail addresses provided at registration or otherwise, Alabama's Beaches periodically sends out promotional e-mail to Users about services and products offered by Alabama's Beaches. Users can indicate that they do not wish to receive e-mail information from Alabama's Beaches by contacting us at [email protected].
Alabama's Beaches, either directly or through a service provider, may contact the User and communicate with them via SMS if the User has provided a telephone number to Alabama's Beaches. Alabama's Beaches will not sell or share any information gathered from the User via SMS with any other third party or affiliates for any purpose.
Occasionally, Alabama's Beaches surveys e-newsletter subscribers on issues that will help us in market research and planning. These surveys may come from a firm employed by Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches.
Alabama's Beaches 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], Alabama's Beaches 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.
Alabama's Beaches uses Guest Information for marketing purposes, which includes sharing some Guest Information with Alabama's Beaches' social media partners. Users can indicate that they do not wish for Alabama's Beaches to share their Guest Information for marketing purposes by contacting us at [email protected].
Updated July 30, 2024
Social Content Policy
ALABAMA'S BEACHES 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"), also identified as Alabama's Beaches, 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 Alabama's Beaches visual/digital assets or otherwise mentioning Alabama's Beaches or related visual/digital assets, you agree to these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) of the Alabama's Beaches Social Aggregation Tool #ALBeachesYes User Content Submission Program.
When you grant permission to Alabama's Beaches to use your User Content by interacting with the Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches), 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 Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches 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 Alabama's Beaches' prior written approval. Alabama's Beaches 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).