Privacy Policy

1. About this privacy policy 

This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information in connection with bookings and enquiries for Flat 1, 146 Bedford Hill, London SW12, including when you visit balhamstay.com, contact us directly or make a booking through a third-party booking platform such as Airbnb. 

This policy also explains your rights under applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, in each case as amended from time to time. 

2. Who is responsible for your personal information? 

The controller responsible for the personal information covered by this policy is: 

Nicholas Samuel 
Correspondence address: Samuel Estates, 30 Watermill Way, London SW19 2RT 
Email: nick@samuelestates.com 

In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the controller identified above. 

Where you make a booking through Airbnb or another booking platform, that platform will process certain personal information under its own privacy policy. You should also read the privacy policy provided by the relevant booking platform. 

3. Personal information we may collect 

Depending on how you contact us or make a booking, we may collect: 

  • Identity information, including your name, title and the name of the lead guest. 

  • Contact information, including your residential or billing address, email address and telephone number. 

  • Booking information, including arrival and departure dates, number of adult and child guests, booking reference, accommodation requirements and correspondence relating to your stay. 

  • Payment and transaction information, including the amount payable, amounts received, refunds, payment dates, payment references and payment status. 

  • Communication information, including emails, messages, enquiries, feedback, reviews and complaints. 

  • Technical and website information, including IP address, device information, browser type, operating system, pages viewed and information collected through cookies or similar technologies. 

  • Security and incident information, including information relating to damage, accidents, security incidents, suspected fraud, breaches of house rules or insurance claims. 

4. Payments and bank details 

Payments for direct bookings are made by bank transfer to our nominated bank account. 

We do not request, receive, process or retain your credit or debit card number, card security code or other full card details. 

When you make a bank transfer, we may receive limited information provided by our bank, such as the payer’s name, payment reference, amount paid, date of payment and the account details ordinarily displayed with the transaction. We use this information only to identify and administer the payment, maintain our financial records and deal with refunds, queries or disputes. 

If you pay through Airbnb or another booking platform, that platform or its payment provider will process the payment under its own privacy terms. We do not receive your full payment-card information from the platform. 

5. Information relating to children 

Our website and booking services are intended for adults. However, children may stay at the property as part of a family or group booking. 

We may receive limited information such as the number of children staying and, where genuinely necessary, their age category. We ask that information about a child is provided only by the child’s parent, guardian or an adult authorised to provide it. 

Please do not provide children’s names, dates of birth or other personal information unless we specifically request the information and it is necessary for the booking or the child’s safety. 

6. Special category information 

We do not routinely request special category personal information. However, you may voluntarily provide limited information about accessibility, allergy, health or other requirements relevant to your stay. 

Where this information qualifies as special category data, we will use it only where necessary and where we have an appropriate legal basis and condition under UK data protection law. Please provide only the minimum information necessary. 

7. How we collect personal information 

We may collect personal information: 

  • directly from you when you make an enquiry or booking; 

  • through an online or paper booking form; 

  • through telephone, email, text message or other communications; 

  • from Airbnb or another booking platform used by you; 

  • from our bank when a payment is received or refunded; 

  • from another person making a booking on your behalf; 

  • from contractors or service providers assisting with your stay; 

  • through cookies and similar website technologies; 

  • from publicly available sources where necessary to prevent fraud, protect the property, resolve a dispute or pursue a legal claim. 

If you provide us with information about another guest, you should make sure that the guest knows that their information has been provided and has access to this privacy policy. 

8. Why we use personal information and our lawful bases 

Managing enquiries and bookings 

We use identity, contact and booking information to respond to enquiries, confirm availability, administer bookings, provide check-in information and deliver the accommodation service. 

Lawful basis: taking steps at your request before entering into a contract and performing our contract with you. 

Processing payments and refunds 

We use payment and transaction information to identify bank transfers, administer payments and refunds, maintain financial records and collect any amounts properly due to us. 

Lawful basis: performance of our contract, compliance with our legal obligations and our legitimate interests in receiving payment and maintaining accurate financial records. 

Communicating about your stay 

We may contact you with arrival instructions, access information, property guidance, safety information and other messages directly connected with your booking or stay. 

Lawful basis: performance of our contract and our legitimate interests in managing the accommodation safely and effectively. 

Meeting legal, accounting and tax obligations 

We may retain and use booking, identity, contact and transaction information where required for tax, accounting, regulatory, insurance or legal purposes. 

Lawful basis: compliance with a legal obligation. 

Maintaining security and preventing fraud 

We may use relevant information to verify bookings, protect guests and the property, investigate suspected fraud or misuse, enforce house rules and manage security incidents. 

Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in protecting guests, our property and our business, and compliance with legal obligations where applicable. 

Managing damage, complaints and legal claims 

We may process personal information to deal with damage, complaints, chargebacks, insurance matters, disputes and legal claims. 

Lawful basis: performance of our contract, our legitimate interests in protecting our legal and financial position, and compliance with legal obligations. 

Improving our property and services 

We may use feedback, reviews and suitably aggregated website information to understand how guests use our services and to improve the property, website and guest experience. 

Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in improving our services and operating our accommodation business effectively. 

9. Marketing communications 

We do not currently send regular or weekly promotional emails. 

If we introduce optional marketing communications in the future, we will provide appropriate information and obtain consent where consent is legally required. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time. 

Messages concerning an enquiry, booking, payment, refund, safety matter, security issue or stay are service communications and are not promotional marketing. 

10. Where providing information is necessary 

Certain information is required so that we can respond to your enquiry, accept and administer your booking, identify your payment and provide the accommodation. 

If you do not provide information that is reasonably required, we may be unable to accept or fulfil your booking. 

11. Who we may share personal information with 

We may share relevant personal information with: 

  • Airbnb or another booking platform used for the reservation; 

  • our bank and accounting service providers; 

  • website hosting, email, cloud-storage and IT service providers; 

  • cleaners, maintenance contractors and property service providers where limited information is required to prepare or maintain the property; 

  • professional advisers, including accountants, insurers and lawyers; 

  • law enforcement bodies, courts, regulators or public authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law; 

  • prospective purchasers and their advisers in connection with a sale, reorganisation or transfer of the property or accommodation business. 

We require service providers acting on our behalf to use personal information only for authorised purposes and to apply appropriate security and confidentiality protections. 

We do not sell your personal information. 

12. International transfers 

Some booking, email, website, cloud-storage or technology providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. 

Where a restricted international transfer takes place, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is lawful. These steps may include relying on UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the European Commission Standard Contractual Clauses or another safeguard or exception permitted by UK data protection law. 

You may contact us if you would like further information about safeguards used for relevant international transfers. 

13. How long we retain personal information 

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, tax, insurance and reporting requirements and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims. 

  • Booking and transaction records: normally retained for up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year or the end of our relationship, where required for tax, accounting or legal purposes. 

  • General enquiries that do not result in a booking: normally retained for up to 12 months after the enquiry is closed. 

  • Complaints, incidents and insurance matters: retained for as long as reasonably necessary to resolve the matter and manage any related legal or insurance claim. 

  • Cookie and website information: retained for the period shown in the current cookie notice or cookie-management tool. 

We may retain information for longer where a dispute, complaint, insurance matter, investigation or legal requirement makes this necessary. 

We may anonymise information so it can no longer identify an individual. Properly anonymised information may be used for statistical or business-analysis purposes. 

14. Data security 

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, alteration, disclosure, misuse or unauthorised access. 

Access to personal information is limited to people and service providers who have a genuine need to use it. People processing personal information on our behalf are required to follow appropriate confidentiality and security requirements. 

We have procedures for dealing with suspected personal data breaches and will notify affected individuals and the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so. 

15. Your data protection rights 

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to: 

  • ask for access to the personal information we hold about you; 

  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information; 

  • ask us to erase information in certain circumstances; 

  • ask us to restrict our use of information in certain circumstances; 

  • object to processing based on legitimate interests; 

  • object at any time to the use of information for direct marketing; 

  • receive certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format where the right to data portability applies; 

  • withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent; 

  • request safeguards in relation to certain significant decisions made solely through automated processing. 

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions and exemptions. We do not currently use personal information to make decisions about guests based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects. 

16. How to exercise your rights 

All requests concerning your personal information or data protection rights should be sent to: 

Email: nick@samuelestates.com 

Please explain which right you wish to exercise and provide sufficient information to help us identify the relevant booking or records. 

You will not normally have to pay a fee. However, the law may allow us to charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request that is manifestly unfounded or excessive. 

We may request information reasonably necessary to confirm your identity. We will not routinely request a passport, driving licence or utility bill if your identity can be confirmed using less intrusive information. 

We will respond without undue delay and normally within one month. Where the law permits additional time because a request is complex or several requests have been made, we will explain this to you. 

17. Data protection complaints 

If you are concerned about the way we have collected or used your personal information, please send your complaint to: 

Email: nick@samuelestates.com 
Post: 30 Watermill Way, London SW19 2RT 

We will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days of receiving it. We will take appropriate steps to investigate it without undue delay, keep you informed about progress where appropriate and tell you the outcome of our investigation. 

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Further information is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk. 

18. Third-party websites 

balhamstay.com may contain links to third-party websites, booking platforms, maps, social-media services or other online services. 

Those organisations are responsible for their own collection and use of personal information. We recommend reading their privacy information before providing personal information or using their services. 

19. Cookies and similar technologies 

Cookies and similar technologies can store information on, or access information from, a computer, smartphone or other device. Similar technologies may include local storage, tracking pixels, scripts, tags and device identifiers. 

Our website may use the following categories: 

  • Strictly necessary technologies: required for security, navigation, privacy settings or another service requested by the user. 

  • Statistical or analytics technologies: used to understand how visitors use the website and improve its performance. 

  • Functionality technologies: used to remember preferences and provide enhanced website functions. 

  • Advertising or tracking technologies: used, where applicable, to measure advertising or provide relevant promotional content. 

20. Cookie consent and choices 

We provide information about the technologies used and request consent where consent is legally required. Non-essential technologies requiring consent should not be activated before consent has been provided. 

Certain technologies may be used without consent where a legal exception applies. This may include technologies that are strictly necessary to provide a service requested by the user and certain statistical or appearance-related technologies where all applicable legal conditions are satisfied. 

Where we rely on an exception that requires a simple means of objecting, we will provide that facility free of charge. 

You can manage or withdraw your cookie choices through the cookie-settings tool displayed on the website. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn. 

You can also manage cookies through your browser. Disabling strictly necessary cookies may prevent parts of the website from working correctly. 

21. Current cookie information 

We do not publish an obsolete or assumed cookie inventory. 

Current information about any cookies or similar technologies used by balhamstay.com should be displayed through the website’s cookie banner or preference centre. Where applicable, this information should identify: 

  • the name of the cookie or technology; 

  • the provider; 

  • its purpose; 

  • its category; 

  • how long it remains active; 

  • whether it is set by us or by a third party. 

We review this information when the website, booking system, analytics tools or third-party integrations change. 

22. Changes to this policy 

We may update this policy when our services, website or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on balhamstay.com, and the date at the top of the policy will be updated. 

23. Contact us 

If you have a question about this policy, wish to exercise a data protection right or want to make a data protection complaint, please contact: 

Nicholas Samuel 
Email: nick@samuelestates.com 
Post: c/o Samuel Estates 30 Watermill Way, London SW19 2RT