Reservas Kalawala ("we", "us", "our") operates this website and manages a small group of vacation rental properties in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica. This policy explains what information we collect when you browse this site, request a quote, or book a stay with us, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to every visitor, including visitors located in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.
Information we collect
Booking and guest information. When you request a quote or make a reservation, we collect your name, email address, phone number, country, arrival and departure dates, number of guests, any message you send us, and — if you set one up to manage your reservation online — a password (stored only in hashed form, never in plain text). If you travel with a pet, we record that as well, since only some of our properties accept pets.
Payment information. If you pay by PayPal, PayPal handles your card or account details directly — we never see or store your full card number. We keep a record of the payment reference and amount for our own accounting. If you pay by bank transfer, we ask you to upload a deposit receipt, which is stored securely and used only to confirm your payment.
Communications. If you contact us — by WhatsApp, email, or through your reservation portal — we keep a record of that conversation so we can respond to you and any staff assisting with your stay.
Cookies and similar technologies. See "Cookies and similar technologies" below.
Technical and security information. Like most websites, our servers automatically log some technical information for every request (such as a hashed version of your IP address and browser type) to keep the booking system secure, prevent abuse of our booking and payment forms, and diagnose problems. This information is not used to identify you personally.
How we use your information
- To process your booking, quote, and payment, and to communicate with you about your reservation.
- To respond to questions, special requests, or help you get in touch through the reservation portal.
- To keep the booking and payment system secure and prevent fraud or abuse.
- To meet our legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
- To understand how our site is used and to show you relevant offers — only where you've given us consent to do so through the cookie banner (see below).
Cookies and similar technologies
When you first visit this site, you're asked to choose which of the following you're comfortable with:
- Functional (always on). Cookies needed for the site and booking process to work at all — for example, remembering your language and your cookie preference itself. These aren't optional because the site can't function without them, and they aren't used to track you across other websites.
- Analytics (opt-in). Helps us understand which pages are useful and how visitors move through the booking flow, using Google Analytics and PostHog. Only active if you say yes.
- Marketing (opt-in). Lets us and our advertising partners (Google, Meta) measure and improve advertising. Only active if you say yes.
You can change your choice at any time, and we remember your preference for up to 12 months. If you decline analytics and marketing cookies, none of those tools run — we simply won't have that data about your visit.
Anonymous traffic statistics
Separately from the cookies above, we also keep a simple, anonymous count of how many people view each page — for example, "42 people viewed the Geco listing page yesterday on mobile, arriving from a search engine." This runs for every visitor, including those who decline the cookie banner, because it cannot identify you: it uses no cookie, no device or browser fingerprint, and no IP address is ever stored against it. We only ever see totals, never anything tied to an individual visit or visitor, and this data is never shared with anyone outside Reservas Kalawala.
Sharing your information
We share information with the following categories of providers, only as needed to run our business:
- Smoobu, our property management and booking software, to check availability and manage reservations across our properties.
- PayPal, to process card and PayPal payments.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS), which hosts our booking system and website infrastructure.
- Google and Meta, for analytics and advertising — only if you've given consent.
- PostHog, for site analytics — only if you've given consent.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone.
International data transfers
Our website and booking system are hosted in the United States. If you're visiting from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another region with data transfer rules, your information may be processed outside your country. We work with providers that maintain appropriate safeguards for handling information transferred internationally.Data retention
We keep booking and payment records for as long as needed to fulfil your reservation and for as long afterward as Costa Rican tax and accounting law requires. We keep messages and support conversations for as long as reasonably useful to assist you with your stay. Cookie preferences are remembered for up to 12 months, after which we'll ask again.Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Ask what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy of it.
- Ask us to correct information that's wrong or incomplete.
- Ask us to delete your information, where we're not required to keep it for legal reasons.
- Object to, or ask us to restrict, certain uses of your information.
- Withdraw consent for analytics or marketing cookies at any time, with no effect on past processing.
- Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority, if you believe we've handled your information improperly.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.
Children's privacy
This site and our properties are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we'll delete it.Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information — including encrypted connections, hashed passwords, and access controls on our booking system. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information appropriately.Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time — for example, as our booking system or the tools we use change. We'll update the effective date above when we do. If changes are significant, we'll make that clear on this page.