Privacy policy

Port Owen (“we”, “us”) is the responsible party for personal information processed through this website, as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”). You can contact our Information Officer at [email protected].

• Account details: name, email address, phone number and password (stored securely by our authentication provider).
• Booking details: stay dates, number of guests, special requests and messages with hosts.
• Payment information: payments are processed by Yoco. We receive confirmation of payment and limited transaction details, never your full card number.
• Host and business details: listing information, photos, and banking details for payouts (hosts only).
• Quote requests and enquiries: the details you submit to service providers or to us.
• Technical information: essential cookies to keep you signed in, and basic server logs (such as IP address and browser type) for security.

• To create and manage your account and provide the platform.
• To process bookings, payments, refunds and host payouts.
• To pass your booking or quote request to the relevant host or service provider so they can respond.
• To send transactional emails such as booking confirmations and receipts.
• To moderate listings and reviews, prevent fraud and keep the platform secure.
• To comply with legal obligations, including tax and financial record-keeping.

We process personal information where it is necessary to conclude or perform a contract with you, to comply with the law, for our legitimate interests (such as fraud prevention) or with your consent. We do not send direct marketing without your consent, and you can opt out at any time.

• Hosts and service providers receive the details needed to fulfil your booking or quote (e.g. name, contact details, dates).
• Operators that process information on our behalf under contract, including our payment provider (Yoco), hosting and database provider, and email delivery provider.
• Authorities where we are legally required to do so.

Some of our operators may store information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens, we ensure the recipient is subject to laws, binding agreements or corporate rules that provide protection substantially similar to POPIA, as required by section 72.

We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes above or as required by law (for example, financial records are kept for at least five years). We use reasonable technical and organisational measures — including encryption in transit, access controls and secure payment processing — to protect your information.

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you and request access to it;
• request correction or deletion of inaccurate, irrelevant or outdated information;
• object to processing on reasonable grounds and to direct marketing;
• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.

To exercise your rights, email [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity first.

We use only essential cookies needed to keep you signed in and to make the site work. We do not use advertising cookies.

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be shown on this page and, where appropriate, communicated by email.