Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Privacy & Security Notice

Global Privacy and Security Policy

Hotels franchised under Choice’s brand (“Franchised Hotels”) are independently owned and operated. As a result, your personal information collected or maintained directly by Franchised Hotels is processed by Franchised Hotels as a data controller of your personal information. Your personal information is not subject to this notice unless such information has been shared with us. If your information has been shared with us, we will process your information in accordance with this Notice. For example, if you book a reservation directly with a Franchised Hotel and that hotel utilizes our proprietary property management system, your personal information related to that reservation will be transmitted to and processed by Choice. We do not control the collection, use, or access of your information by the Franchised Hotels and their staff. The Franchised Hotel is the merchant who collects and processes credit card information and receives payment for your stay. The Franchised Hotels are subject to the merchant rules of the credit card processors they select, which establish credit card security rules and procedures.

What information do we collect and for what purposes?

Purposes for Processing

We and our affiliates use the personal information to administer our business activities, provide customer service, personalize your digital experience, contact you concerning your stay with a Franchised Hotel, and make other products and services available to you. We share your information with our Franchised Hotels, credit card issuers, and other companies where necessary to complete your transaction. We may also use your information to send you promotional communications by mail or e-mail, or through our mobile apps, or share your information with our business partners.

Legal Basis for Processing

When Choice processes personal information, we do so under one of the following legal bases:

• Consent – as applicable, we offer individuals a choice on whether to participate in a program, and/or an option of how much personal information to provide. Where the processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. Processing based on consent is marked below with “C.”
• Contract – the processing is necessary for performing a contract to which you are, or will be, a party. Processing based on a contract is marked below with “K.”
• Compliance with legal obligations – some of the personal information we collect is required by the laws of the countries where individuals live and in which we do business. These are marked below with “LO.” When personal information is processed because Choice has a legal obligation to do so, your failure to provide such information may have negative consequences, including the inability to maintain a customer relationship with Choice.
• Legitimate interests – often, the personal information we collect is processed because Choice has a legitimate interest in doing so, which is not outweighed by your fundamental rights. This includes information necessary to administer the programs and services we offer. Legitimate interest processing is marked below with “LI.”

What we collect and process

The types of personal information Choice collects and processes may include any or all of the below.

• Our websites and mobile applications may receive and store information based on your browser settings, which may include your browser type and operating system, the various Choice web pages you view, Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses, unique device identifiers, and sites visited before viewing our websites. LI
• When applicable, we may compensate other websites that include links to our websites. Some information, such as information about the website you were on when you clicked the link to visit Choice’s website, is exchanged to verify the link. LI, K
• If you have enabled the location settings on your device while our mobile app is open, we may also receive your precise geo-location information. C
• If you have location settings turned off while our mobile app is open, we may receive your general location (country, state, city) information. LI
• We collect personal information and other information that you supply, such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, room preference, credit card details, day and month of your birth, range of income, purposes of your stays at Choice properties, and Choice Privileges number, as well as any additional relevant information such as an association number (e.g., AAA), corporate account number or group booking number when you:
  • Use our reservation system, call our toll-free reservation telephone number or create an online account; C
  • Become a Choice Privileges member; K
  • Elect to receive offers; C
  • Respond to our surveys; C
  • Purchase a gift card. C
• If you choose to earn airline miles or other third-party loyalty program points for your award-eligible stay at a Franchised Hotel, we will ask you to provide us your membership number for such loyalty program. C
• Choice may occasionally conduct sweepstakes and contests that offer you the opportunity to win prizes. As part of entering a sweepstakes, certain personal information such as name, mailing address, e-mail address and Choice Privileges number may be required. C
• When you request information regarding franchise opportunities from our informational website http://www.choicehotelsfranchise.com or elsewhere, we may collect information such as your contact details, your hotel ownership or development experience, the brand you are interested in, and the anticipated investment amount. C

How do we use the information we collect?

Reservations – ​

• ​We maintain a centralized reservations system that retains your personal information when you make a reservation for a Franchised Hotel via our worldwide accessible websites, mobile apps, call centers, the Franchised Hotels, and third-party travel agents and travel websites that connect to our reservation system. The personal information collected in the reservation system is needed to secure and process your reservation. Your personal information (including credit card number) will be processed primarily in the United States to complete your transaction and to facilitate making future reservations. Only that personal information which is reasonably required to facilitate your reservation is collected and shared between Choice and the Franchised Hotel. LI
   
• We will use your e-mail address to send a confirmation and, if necessary, might use the other information to contact you regarding your reservation. LI
   
• We may also use your e-mail address to:
  • send you travel-related messages, stay details, and provide other information about the area and the Franchised Hotel; LI
  • notify you about special offers and promotions; C and
  • send you periodic satisfaction or market research surveys. LI

Such information may also be sent to you through our mobile apps, if you elect to receive notifications and alerts.

Marketing, Sweepstakes & Contests –

• ​We may use your personal information to send you via e-mail, telephone, mobile app or postal mail promotions, third party offers, sweepstakes and contests. C

Choice Privileges Members –

• If you are a Choice Privileges member, we will use your personal information to perform certain administrative tasks necessary for the administration and operation of the program such as: (1) allowing you to earn Choice Privileges points for point-eligible stays at various Franchised Hotels; and (2) redeem Choice Privileges points for free nights and other rewards offered by the program. K
   
• We may also use your personal information to send you via e-mail, telephone, mobile app or postal mail:
  • program details and satisfaction surveys; LI
  • account summaries; C
  • promotions, third party offers, sweepstakes and contests; C
  • information about applying for the Choice Privileges Mastercard® and/or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard® issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. C
     
• Choice Privileges members’ personal information may be collected through Choice’s websites, mobile applications, call centers, or paper applications, or may be passed on to Choice by Franchised Hotels. Choice may transfer personal information to Franchised Hotels as a part of administering the Choice Privileges program as outlined above. Choice processes Choice Privileges members’ personal information primarily in the United States.

E-folio -

• ​If you participate in the electronic billing e-folio program, your hotel bill will be sent to you over the Internet in an unsecure (unencrypted) manner – by email or through our mobile applications, depending on your preference and selection - and could be subject to interception by third parties. C
• If you use a corporate credit card, billing information and the details of your hotel stay will be shared with the credit card provider who, in turn, will provide it to your employer. LI

Other uses of personal information -

• ​To serve you better, Choice may combine information you give us online, at Franchised Hotels, through the mail, or in any other way. Choice may also combine that information with publicly available information and information Choice receives from others or cross-references. Choice uses that combined information for the purposes described in this privacy notice.

Do you share my personal information with third parties?

• We need to transfer your information to Franchised Hotels, credit card issuers, and other companies where necessary to complete your transaction (e.g., secure your reservation with a Franchised Hotel, or to award Choice Privileges points). Please note that some hotels may be in countries other than your country of residence and may not provide an equivalent level of data protection. K
   
• Choice distributes personal information about guests and Choice Privileges members to third party service providers such as web analytics companies, market researchers and fulfillment houses. We also use such third parties to:
  • conduct data processing for Choice; LI
  • engage in e-mail and direct mail communications on behalf of Choice; LI
  • administer sweepstakes and contests; LI
  • administer guest surveys; LI
  • compile information for us about the type and frequency of guest stays and the use of the Choice Privileges program by members; and LI
  • compile information for us about the use of Choice’s websites and mobile apps. LI

          These parties are contractually prohibited from using personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that Choice specifies.

• Choice may also distribute personal information to airline and other companies upon request of guests, to allow guests to: (i) earn frequent customer miles/points with such airline and other companies for stays at hotels, or (ii) redeem Choice Privileges points for goods and services of such airline and other companies. C
   
• Choice may partner with other companies to provide co-sponsored or co-branded promotions, sweepstakes, contests, products and services and may share your information with these companies. C
   
• When using the Choice mobile app, your precise location may be shared with Choice business partners to make services or products available to you, such as food delivery or local entertainment. C
   
• As available in specified regions, if you choose to apply for the Choice Privileges Mastercard® and/or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard® issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the information you provide in the application will be sent to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. C
   
• To the extent required or permitted by law, we may collect, use and disclose personal information in connection with security-related or law enforcement investigations or in the course of cooperating with authorities or complying with legal requirements. LO
   
• We may also use your information as permitted by law to perform credit checks, report or collect debts owed, or protect the rights or property of Choice, our employees, our Franchised Hotels, our customers, this site, or its users. LI, LO
   
• Although unlikely, in certain instances, Choice may disclose your personal information when Choice has reason to believe that it is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against persons or entities who may be causing injury to you, to Choice or to others. LI, LO
   
• We may disclose your personal information to a third party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings). LI, LO

Does Choice process my personal information outside the European Economic Area?

Like most multi-national businesses, we have centralized certain aspects of our data processing, allowing us to better manage our business as a whole. That centralization will result in the transfer of personal information from one country to another. These countries may have data protection laws that are different to the laws of your country (and, in some cases, may not be as protective).

Our Website servers are located in the United States, and our group companies and third-party service providers and partners operate around the world. This means that when we collect your personal information we may process it globally.

To facilitate transferring European Economic Area (EEA) citizens’ personal information out of the EEA countries, Choice incorporates the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the EU Commission into applicable contract agreements to ensure that the necessary levels of protection and care are required of all parties. Information about the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and a copy of the Standard Contractual Clauses can be found here. Additional information about Choice’s incorporation of the Standard Contractual Clauses in its contract agreements or the data protection measures associated with data transfers can be requested by sending us a request by letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

What are my data rights?

Accessing personal information
With some limited exceptions, you have the right to access (i.e., view) the personal information we maintain about you by sending us a request by letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

Restricting or objecting to processing
You have the right to request that we restrict or stop processing personal information that we hold about you by sending a letter or email to the address in the section of this notice. If we are unable to cease processing your personal information (e.g., because of a legal obligation), we will document that you made such a request and the reason we are unable to honor it.

Updating your personal information
You have the right to request the update or correction of the personal information we hold about you, where this is factually incorrect. If we agree the information is incorrect or that the processing can be stopped, we will correct the information or cease processing the information, as appropriate. If we do not agree that the personal information is incorrect, we will still record the fact that you consider the personal information to be incorrect in the relevant files(s). You can request updates to personal information that we hold about you by sending a letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

Opting out of marketing communications or otherwise controlling privacy preferences
We respect the right of each visitor to control how his or her personal information is used. If you do not want us to provide your information to our business partners, or if you do not wish to receive promotional communications from us or our affiliates concerning special offers, discounts, airline bonuses, or contests, select one of the following options to provide us with your privacy preferences:

Click here if you have an online account and edit your privacy preferences within your account.

-OR-

If you do not have an online account and do not wish to create one, click here to provide us with your privacy preferences.

-OR-

For unsubscribing from marketing e-mails, use the “Unsubscribe” function in the e-mail you receive from us.

You can also request changes to your privacy preferences or unsubscribe from marketing e-mails by sending a letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

Deleting personal information
You can request deletion of your personal information by sending a letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

Data portability
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, EEA residents have the right to data portability. Choice satisfies this obligation by providing you access to the personal information we have about you in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. You can also ask us to provide the information to another data controller. You can request your data by sending a letter or email to the address in the section of this notice.

Supervisory authorities
If you are unhappy with the resolution of your requests or complaints, you have the right to contact your local Data Protection Authority for assistance. The European Commission provides a list of the contact details of the National Data Protection Authorities, found here.

You also have the right under EU law not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which may have a legal impact on you. Note that Choice does not currently perform automated processing that would affect individuals in this way.

With any request to exercise your data rights, be sure to include your name, address, e-mail address and Choice Privileges number (if applicable) so that we can confirm your identity and the personal information we maintain about you. We may not disclose data that you are not entitled to receive under applicable laws (e.g., data revealing information about another individual).

How do you store and secure my personal information?

Our reservation system and other databases are maintained in the United States; therefore, your personal information will be collected (or transferred) and maintained in the United States. We use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the personal information that we collect and process about you. The measures we use are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk of processing your personal information.

For example, when you provide us with information through this site, such as your name, address, phone number, credit card information and room preference, your information will be encrypted using a Transport Layer Security connection. You can tell if your information is encrypted online by looking for the locked padlock icon on the lower right-hand or left-hand corner of your website screen and a change in the site address from “http” to “https.”

Do you use interest-based advertising?

Choice partners with third party ad networks to either display advertising on Choice websites or to manage its advertising on other sites. Choice’s ad network partners use cookies and web beacons to collect information that is not directly identifiable to you about your activities on Choice’s websites and other sites to provide you targeted advertising based upon your interests. If you do not wish to have this information used to serve you targeted ads, you may opt-out by clicking here. Please note this does not opt you out of being served advertising. You will still receive generic ads. Also, opting out of ad network cookies does not opt you out of cookies used for device association described in this privacy notice.

We also work with third parties that use tracking technologies on our Web sites to provide tailored advertisements on our behalf and on behalf of other advertisers across the Internet. These companies may collect information about your activity on our sites and your interaction with our advertising and other communications and use this information to determine which ads you see on third party websites and applications. If you would like more information about this practice, and to understand your options, please visit www.aboutads.info.

Do you use my device's geo-location data?

Our mobile apps may use your device’s Global Positioning System (GPS) or other technology to locate a hotel near you and/or to provide you with other relevant location-based information and/or services. Your location may be shared with Choice business partners to make services or products available to you, such as food delivery or local entertainment. While you have Choice’s mobile app open, Choice and its business partners may track the device’s precise location unless you have opted out of such sharing through your device’s settings. When your device’s location settings are turned off but the mobile app is open, Choice and its business partners may collect general location information (country, state, city) via IP address or other device information. The last location of your mobile device when the mobile app was open may be stored by Choice and/or its business partners for marketing purposes – for example, sending special offers to users whose last known location was in a particular city or region. Business partners who have access to your precise and/or general location information may use the information only in support of Choice’s purposes described in this Notice.

To the extent any geo-location data is combined with personal information, that information will be treated as personal information in accordance with this Notice.

What if I apply for a career at Choice Hotels on ChoiceHotels.com?

If you apply online for employment at Choice, you may be asked to provide us your name, address, e-mail and resume. Choice will use this information solely with respect to your job search and to determine your qualifications for a career with Choice.

Does this notice cover other sites linked from ChoiceHotels.com or Choice’s Mobile Apps?

Choice is only responsible for the privacy and security policy and content on this website and Choice’s mobile apps. ChoiceHotels.com and our mobile apps may redirect to other websites and mobile apps. Those websites and mobile apps are not covered by this privacy and security policy, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those other websites and mobile apps.

What about changes to the Privacy and Security Notice?

By using our site you consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described in this policy. Choice reserves the right to modify this privacy and security policy and related business practices at any time by posting updated text on this site. Any changes to this policy become effective upon posting of the revised policy to this site. Use of the site following such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy then in effect.

How do you resolve complaints?

We will work with you to address complaints, which may include contacting applicable authorities as part of the resolution process.

What if there's a difference between versions of the Privacy and Security Policy?

As a service to our customers, we make this privacy and security policy available in several different languages. In the event of any discrepancies between the various translations of the policy, the English version of the policy is the authoritative one.

Who is the data controller?

With respect to the personal information we collect, use, disclose, store, delete, protect, or receive from Franchised Hotels, Choice Hotels International, Inc. is a data controller as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation. See for information about Franchised Hotels as data controllers.