Privacy Policy

Who we are

The responsible party for your personal information is The 4 Paws Inn (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2021/952137/07, trading as 4 Paws Inn & Hotel. We are based at the corner of Hampstead and Parklands Main Road, Parklands, 7441, Cape Town, South Africa (directions in Google Maps, opens in a new tab).

You can reach us at hello@4pawsinnandhotel.com or +27 67 014 2070.

What personal information we collect

We collect only what we genuinely need to provide our services. That includes:

• ›Your name, email address, phone number and home address — collected when you make a booking enquiry, register on our customer portal or contact us via WhatsApp or email.
• ›Your pet's details — name, breed, age, weight, vaccination records, medical history, dietary requirements and behavioural notes — needed so we can care for your pet safely and well.
• ›Photographs and video of your pet taken during their stay, including as part of multimedia update packages (daily photo and video reports).
• ›Emergency contact details you provide at registration.
• ›Payment information when you settle an invoice — processed securely and never stored by us in full.

Why we collect it — our lawful basis

Under POPIA, we process personal information only when we have a lawful basis for doing so. For most of what we collect, the basis is one of the following:

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever.

We may share it with trusted service providers who help us run our business, strictly for that purpose:

• ›Our pet care management platform — used to manage registrations, check-ins and pet records.
• ›PawPlate — our own proprietary pet care software used to log meals, medications and daily care.
• ›Payment processors — to handle invoice settlement securely.
• ›Emergency veterinary services — if your pet needs urgent care and we cannot reach you in time.

Any third party we share information with is bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.

CCTV cameras on our premises

We use cameras throughout our premises. They may record images of you if you visit us. In plain terms:

• ›Why we use them: for the safety and welfare of the dogs, our staff and visitors, for security, and so we can review any incident.
• ›Live feeds play on the screens in reception, where people at reception can see them.
• ›Only management and authorised staff can access the camera feeds and recordings. Parents do not have remote access.
• ›Recordings are kept for 14 days and then overwritten, unless we need to keep a recording for an incident, a claim or a legal requirement.
• ›Signs on site tell visitors that cameras are in use.
• ›Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in keeping the dogs, people and premises safe and secure.

How long we keep your information

We keep your personal information for as long as we need it to provide you with our services and to meet our legal obligations. In practice:

• ›Active customer records are retained for as long as you use our services.
• ›Booking and payment records are kept for five years to satisfy South African tax and accounting requirements.
• ›Photographs and video used for marketing are removed on request.
• ›Records of enquiries that did not lead to a booking are deleted after twelve months.

How we keep your information safe

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These include:

• ›Using reputable, security-focused platforms for customer data (our customer portal and PawPlate).
• ›Access to personal data restricted to staff who need it to do their jobs.
• ›Secure, HTTPS-encrypted transmission of data through this website.
• ›Regular review of who has access to what, and removal of access when no longer needed.

No system is completely secure. If we ever become aware of a breach that is likely to affect you, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.

Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to understand how visitors use the site. We use Google Analytics and Meta Pixel to collect anonymised, aggregated information about page visits and referrals. We do not use these tools to identify you personally.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings at any time. Doing so will not affect your ability to use the site, although some features may behave differently.

Your rights under POPIA

The Protection of Personal Information Act gives you the following rights in relation to your personal information held by us:

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@4pawsinnandhotel.com. We aim to respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before we can act on your request.

How to complain to the Information Regulator

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first and give us the chance to put things right. If you are still not satisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in how we operate or in applicable law. When we make a significant change, we will let active customers know by email. The date at the top of this page always shows when it was last updated.