Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy explains how Sound Thought LLC, doing business as the media brand SelectBNBs ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, and protects information when you visit selectbnbs.com and any related subdomains, applications, or services (collectively, the "Site").

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

We collect information you submit, such as your name and email address when requesting your saved-stays list, requesting a Booking Guide, contacting us, or purchasing a paid Advisor Call. If you purchase an Advisor Call, we also collect the trip details and free-text answers you submit before the meeting. Verify retains the accommodation lookup text you submit, as described below. We do not require you to create an account to browse the Site.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, we may automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Device type, browser type, screen size, and operating system
• IP address (retained in web server access logs, basic page analytics and submitted Verify lookups)
• Pages viewed, time spent on page, scroll depth, and referring URL
• Approximate geographic location (country/city level, derived from IP)
• Interaction events such as property saves, filter usage, and booking link clicks
• Whether you are a new or returning visitor (based on browser-local data, not cookies)

Basic page view analytics run without cookies and help us maintain the service. Detailed behavioral analytics (interaction tracking, session recording, engagement measurement) only activate after you accept the consent banner (see Section 5).

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Deliver the content, guides, or communications you requested.
• Process, schedule, prepare for, and deliver a paid Advisor Call and its follow-up trip brief.
• Monitor and analyze site performance and usage trends to improve the Site.
• Prevent fraud and protect the security of the Site.
• Comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to data brokers, and we never share it for purposes unrelated to your request.

4. Sharing of Information

We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Accommodation providers and property managers. When you send us a stay inquiry, we share the details of that inquiry — your name, contact information, dates, party size, and preferences — with the property owners or management companies relevant to your request so they can respond to you directly. These providers may compensate SelectBNBs for referrals. Providers receive your details to answer your inquiry, not for their own marketing. You can ask us to stop sharing your details with providers at any time by emailing hi@selectbnbs.com.
• Your travel advisor. If you purchase an Advisor Call, we share your name and the trip details and answers you submit with the local advisor conducting your call so they can prepare for and deliver the service you purchased.
• Service providers. Third-party vendors that help us operate the Site (e.g., email delivery, analytics). These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only for the services they perform for us.
• Legal requirements. If required to do so by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
• Business transfers. In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

The Site uses cookies, browser local storage, and similar technologies. Our tracking operates at two levels:

Basic analytics (always active)

Page view counts, referral source, basic device information and the IP address of the request are collected without cookies to help us monitor site health and performance.

Booking-link tracking (always active)

When you click a booking link or affiliate redirect, the click is logged server-side regardless of your consent banner choice. We use this first-party operational data to measure which properties and platforms drive booking interest. These redirects do not require browser-side tracking to work, but we may also send a server-side analytics event to Google Analytics for aggregate reporting.

Save-list capture diagnostics (always active)

When you use the save-stays feature, we record short server-side diagnostic events regardless of your consent banner choice, so we can monitor that the feature is working. These events do not include your email or captured form content — only a count of saved properties and basic request details. Same first-party operational scope as booking-link tracking above.

Trip-planning form diagnostics (always active)

To understand whether the trip-planning form is usable, we record when it is viewed, started, submitted, or left, along with which field names were reached and how long the visit lasted. We never put the text or selections you enter into these diagnostic events. Your submitted form content is stored separately as the inquiry you asked us to handle.

Advisor-service diagnostics (always active)

On Advisor pages, we record first-party operational events such as page and offer views, video or audio plays, and checkout attempts regardless of your consent-banner choice. These events may include the referring page, campaign tags, page path, and basic device information so we can understand whether the booking journey is working. They do not include your payment-card details or the answers you enter in the trip intake.

Verify lookups and recent checks

When you submit a Verify lookup, we retain the submitted text, including accommodation names, addresses, listing links and permit numbers, together with the result, time, language, referring page, browser information, IP address and approximate location derived from that IP. We also record attempts that reach the daily limit. Recognized secret or email parameters in pasted links and URL passwords are redacted. Please do not submit passwords, payment details or private personal information. We keep these records (see Section 7).

Apps can run the same lookups through our API. For these lookups we keep the same records, plus the name the app gave when it requested an API key. The IP address and location we record are those of the service that sent the request, not necessarily your device. We receive only what the app sends for the lookup. Recognized secret parameters are redacted in the same way. After 90 days we keep only the app name, not the address or browser information of the service that sent the request; the record is deleted after 12 months.

AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude and others). When you use Verify in an AI assistant through our MCP server (https://selectbnbs.com/mcp), we use what the assistant sends only to answer the check and to apply a fair hourly allowance. We do not store the text of the check or its result, any user or conversation identifier, or your location. We keep only counts, such as the number of checks, the result type (for example found or not found), the language and which assistant was used. To share the allowance fairly, ChatGPT's anonymous user ID is scrambled with our own secret key as it arrives and used only inside an hourly counter, which is deleted within a day. We never receive your conversation. Our web server log records that a request reached the MCP server, with the full source address of the assistant provider's server, as for any web request (Section 7).

Licence alerts. If you ask Verify to email you about a licence, we keep your email address, the licence, your language and an optional trip date, and email you only about that licence after you confirm. Every email has a link to stop. Stopped alerts are deleted 30 days after you stop them, and unconfirmed requests 30 days after the last confirmation email (Section 7).

These private service records (from the website form and our API) help us understand what travelers search for, improve matching and guidance, and prevent abuse. They are recorded when you submit a lookup regardless of your enhanced-analytics choice, and are not published in the public registry or shared with hosts as inquiries. Where available, session identifiers and your consented visitor identifier connect lookups with other site activity. An IP-derived location is approximate and does not establish your identity or nationality.

When a lookup needs help interpreting the submitted text, we may process relevant accommodation text using Google Gemini through OpenRouter. For a registration block, we may send its public issuing region, license type and permit number to Tavily to find public listings, then use Gemini to extract a property name from a listing that displays matching permit details. If the text includes a street address written in English, we may send only that address to Google Maps Platform to find its official Korean road address. We do not send your IP address, visitor location, browser information or session identifiers to these providers. Listing evidence helps us find possible matches; government status and facility details come from registry records.

Recent checks are stored in this browser so you can reopen them. You can remove individual checks, clear the list or clear your browser storage. This removes the browser copy; to request deletion of server records, contact hi@selectbnbs.com with the approximate lookup time and submitted accommodation details. Server records are kept for the periods in Section 7 and can be deleted sooner on request (Section 8). Opening a recent check does not establish that a permit is still active; run a new check for the current cached result.

Advisor free questions

The question you type into the advisor's free-question form and the trip details you choose on that page are processed with Google Gemini (with web search) to prepare a draft that a member of our team reviews and edits before replying by email. The email address you enter in the separate reply field, your IP address and your session identifiers are not included in what we send to Google.

If you add a WhatsApp number to a free question or to your trip answers, it is stored with them and seen only by your advisor and the SelectBNBs team handling your request. Your advisor may message you there about your question or call. It is not included in what we send to Google Gemini and is never used for marketing. Your answer and your written plan still come by email.

Enhanced analytics (consent required)

When you accept the consent banner, we activate additional analytics including:

• Google Analytics — traffic analysis and audience insights
• Microsoft Clarity — session recording and heatmaps to understand how visitors interact with the Site
• Behavioral tracking — property saves, scroll depth, engagement time, filter usage, and booking link clicks
• Persistent visitor identification — a random identifier stored in your browser to recognize return visits
• Affiliate link tracking — so we can sustain the Site through booking referrals

The consent banner offers a single binary choice: Accept (enables the full set of enhanced analytics listed above) or Decline (keeps you on basic analytics only). There are no granular per-category toggles. Acceptance is stored in your browser's local storage until you clear or change it. A decline keeps enhanced analytics off and suppresses the prompt for 24 hours; after that, the prompt may appear again on a later visit. You can also change your choice through Cookie settings where available or email us at hi@selectbnbs.com.

Each accept-or-decline decision is recorded as a single first-party event with metadata about your viewport size and the page on which the decision was made. This is operational telemetry used to monitor banner performance; it is not shared with third parties.

Marketing email consent

Our save-stays form offers two choices: "Send & Subscribe" sends your saved list and signs you up for occasional emails about new stays and offers; "Send only my list" sends your list with no subscription. Choosing "Send & Subscribe" is your opt-in, and we keep a record of when you opted in and the consent statement you saw, so we honor exactly what you agreed to. To stop marketing email at any time, use the unsubscribe link in any email or contact hi@selectbnbs.com; deletion requests under Section 8 remove the opt-in record along with the rest of your data.

Email engagement tracking

When you request your saved stays via email, the email may contain a small tracking image that lets us know whether the email was opened. Booking links in the email use anonymized tokens (not your email address) to measure click engagement. This helps us improve the quality and relevance of our communications.

Third-party analytics

We use Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity, which process usage data under their own privacy policies. Both are loaded only after you provide consent.

5A. Paid Advisor Calls

If you purchase a paid Advisor Call, we collect and use additional information needed to deliver that service:

• Payment and identity. Stripe collects your name, email address, and payment details directly. We receive your name, email address, payment status, amount, and transaction identifiers from Stripe, but not your full card number.
• Scheduling. Choosing a call time uses an embedded Google Calendar scheduling page. Google processes the appointment information you provide and adds the selected time and booking details to your advisor's calendar.
• Trip intake. We store the trip details, dates, preferences, and free-text answers you submit and share them with your advisor so they can prepare for and conduct the call and write your post-call trip brief.
• Service records. We retain records of the purchase, appointment, intake, and related correspondence for as long as needed to deliver the service, provide support, handle refunds or disputes, and meet legal or accounting obligations.

6. Third-Party Links

The Site contains links to third-party websites, including booking platforms and affiliate partners. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit through our links.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, or as the law requires. Specific periods:

• Verify lookups on our website. Lookups made with the Verify form on this site, and the private operations log entries for them, are kept with the details described under Verify lookups in Section 5.
• Verify lookups through our API. The IP address, visitor and session identifiers, city and region derived from the IP, and full browser information recorded with a lookup are deleted 90 days after the lookup. The submitted text, the result, the time, the language, the country derived from the IP, and the name an app declared (for example the name given for its API key) are kept for 12 months and then deleted. Our private operations log of these requests follows the same periods.
• AI assistants (checks through our MCP server). We keep no text, result, user or conversation identifier, address or location from these checks, only counts: the time, which assistant, which tool, the kind of input, the result type and the language. These counts are deleted after 12 months, and a minimal security log (time, status, tool and result) follows the same period.
• Licence alerts. While an alert is active we keep your email address, the licence you are watching, your language and any trip date. If you stop the alerts, we delete that record 30 days later. If you never confirm the alert, we delete it 30 days after we last sent the confirmation email.
• API keys. We store only a one-way hash of each key and the name given when it was requested. When a key is revoked, we delete that record 30 days later.
• Daily and hourly lookup allowances. We count lookups with a keyed, one-way code derived from the connection or, for an AI assistant, from its scrambled user ID, never the IP address or ID itself. Hourly counters are deleted once they are six hours old (at the latest at our next daily clean-up) and daily counters within four days.
• Web server logs record the full source IP address and time of each request, including visits, sign-in attempts and errors. They may also record browser information and pages requested, with sign-in and payment tokens removed from web addresses. Sensitive connection and API routes omit request URLs and headers. Records of requests to our MCP server and our API are deleted after 45 days; other web server logs are kept.
• Backups. Our database backups are replaced on a rolling basis. Data deleted under this section can remain in a backup until that backup expires, normally within six weeks. If we restore from a backup, we apply these periods and any pending deletion requests again before using the restored data.
• Totals. We keep aggregate counts, such as the number of lookups per week, area or licence type, which do not identify anyone.

If you ask us to delete your data, we will do so within a reasonable time, including before these periods end (see Section 8).

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your personal information.
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time.
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hi@selectbnbs.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. SelectBNBs Media Is a Separate Service

SelectBNBs.com is the consumer travel site. Business-facing social-account connections and automation are provided through SelectBNBs Media, a separate service operated by Sound Thought LLC. Its collection, use, retention and deletion practices are described in the SelectBNBs Media Privacy Policy and Data Deletion Instructions.

10. Children's Privacy

The Site is not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

11. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. International Users

The Site is operated from the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Site, you consent to such transfer and processing.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact

For questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

SelectBNBs
Sound Thought LLC
hi@selectbnbs.com