PRIVACY NOTICE
THE GRAND STRAND CONNECTION
JOJO’S ONLINE BEACH SHOP
December 13, 2021
The Grand Strand Vacation Connection through its website thegrandstrandconnection.com promotes grand strand area businesses under the name The Grand Strand Vacation Connection, JoJo’s Online Beach Shop and The Timeshare Advisor. For these companies it has adopted data protection policies with respect to your privacy and security.
This privacy and security policy statement concerns how thegrandstrandconnection.com collects and uses your personal information.
Thegrandstrandconnection.com links to websites owned and operated by other businesses throughout the area, including restaurants, attractions, and accommodations. We do not have access to private and personal information gathered by those websites, unless it is explicitly mentioned in this privacy policy. The Grand Strand Connection is not responsible for the content of or processing of private and personal information on other websites. Our website includes social media programs and features, such the Share button. If you choose to use these features, they may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. The social media programs, features, and widgets we use are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our site. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the feature(s). For more information, please see each website’s privacy and security policy statement.
Contact information
If you have questions or comments about this statement or how we treat personal information, you can contact us at [email protected]
We will use information about you for any of the following purposes:
To make it easy for you to find destinations, events and other information about the Myrtle Beach area as a tourist destination.
Use of e-mail and postal address for sending out newsletters and other physical materials via our website and other channels.
Provide information about meetings and events.
For statistics, aggregation and management of sites and services. Information is obtained in order to allow thegrandstrandconnection.com to get further information about the users, including how users come to the site, as well as tracking general usage patterns of users on our website. We use this information to manage and enhance the site.
Which Data is Processed?
We process both personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information about you. Personally identifiable information is information that identifies you as an individual. Non-personally identifiable information is information and any other details that do not reveal your personal identity.
Personally Identifiable Information
We collect and process the following information:
You can subscribe to newsletters so that you receive emails from Thegrandstrandconnection.com on current news and offers. For us to send email to the appropriate subscriber, you must register your first and last names, as well as an email address.
If you direct a request to thegrandstrandconnection.com such as sending us an email, relevant information could be stored, such as name and email address.
On thegrandstrandconnection.com you can order brochures, products and other information by providing your name, business, email and postal address. Personal information we receive for processing orders of such material will be used to fulfill the order, unless you have explicitly indicated that you want to receive e-mail from us. If you explicitly state that you would like to receive information and offers from our partners, your contact information will be shared.
When you visit thegrandstrandconnection.com your IP address is recorded. We do not link this information directly to you as a user. The information is used to manage and maintain our sites. Examples of information that this data provides: How many people visit different sites, how long the visit lasts, what websites users are coming from and which browser is used. This enables us to develop better and more user-friendly services. See more about web analytics and cookies below.
Surveys
The Grand Strand Connection may use user surveys onsite. It is voluntary to participate in user surveys, and we collect your explicit consent.
Web analysis and cookies
thegrandstrandconnection.com collects data about visitors to thegrandstrandconnection.com. We use common Internet technologies, including Google Analytics and “cookies” to collect information about users so that at any time we can provide the best possible functionality and develop our information services. This information is taken from the computer’s web browser and may include your IP address, operating system, browser, screen resolution and previous website.
The tools that we or our service providers may use to track you include the following:
Cookies
A cookie is a small string of text that a website can send to your browser to help the website remember and customize your visit. For example, we use cookies to help us to tailor our content and services to you, remember your orders, keep you logged into your account, and compile statistics about services usage. With most internet browsers or other software, you can erase cookies from your computer hard drive, block or disable cookies, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Please refer to your browser instructions to learn more about these functions. If you reject cookies, functionality of our website may be limited, and you may not be able to take advantage of many of our website’s features. We might also collect information on the browser type, including plug-in versions such as Flash or QuickTime. Another example of information we might capture is the URL where a user is entering or exiting the site.
To read more about cookies, including how to opt out of accepting cookies on your computer, see for example: allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/ and Google Analytics.
Web beacons/clear GIFs. Clear graphics interchange format images (“GIFs”) are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, are embedded invisibly on webpages or in emails. We, or our service providers, may use clear GIFs (also known as web beacons, web bugs or pixel tags) in connection with our services to track the activities of visitors to our website, and to help us manage content and compile statistics about usage of our services. We, or our service providers, may also use clear GIFs in emails to our users to help us track email response rates, identify when our emails are viewed, and track whether our emails are forwarded.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics’ third-party audience data such as age, gender and interests to better understand the behavior of our users, to work with companies that collect information about your online activities, and to provide advertising targeted to suit your interests and preferences. For example, you may see certain ads on this website because we contract with Google and other similar companies to target our ads based on information we or they have collected, including information that was collected through automated means (such as cookies and web beacons). These companies also use automated technologies to collect information when you click on our ads, which helps track and manage the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
If you do not want your data collected with Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. This add-on instructs the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.ja) running on websites to prohibit sending information to Google Analytics.
To opt-out of analytics for the web, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page and install the add-on for your browser. For more details on installing and uninstalling the add-on, please see the relevant help resources for your specific browser.
Updates to your browner or operating system may affect functionality of the opt-out add-on. Learn about managing add-ons for Chrome here. If you are not using Chrome, check directly with the manufacturer of your browser to determine whether add-ons will function properly on the browser version that you are using.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer sometimes load the Google Analytics opt-out add-on after sending data to Google Analytics. Therefore, if you are using Internet Explorer, the add-on will set cookies on your computer. These cookies ensure that any collected data is immediately deleted from the collection server. Please make sure that third-party cookies aren’t disabled for your Internet Explorer browser. If you delete your cookies, the add-on will, within a short timeframe, reset these cookies to ensure that your Google Analytics browser add-on remains fully functional.
The Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on does not prevent data from being sent to the website itself or in other ways to web analytics services.
Learn about how Google Analytics collects, uses and processes data here.
Learn about the cookies Google Analytics uses here.
Adobe
Adobe uses cookies in several ways, such as:
Authenticating and identifying you on our websites so Adobe can provide you the services you requested.
Keeping track of information you have provided — for example, keeping items in your shopping cart as you browse adobe.com
Remembering your preferences or where you left off in your use of an Adobe website (learn more or opt out)
Measuring your use of Adobe websites so that Adobe can improve them, tailor its websites to your likely interests, and conduct market research
Understanding your likely interests so Adobe can provide you more relevant Adobe ads and content on non-Adobe websites and in non-Adobe apps (learn more or opt out)
Running the Adobe Experience Cloud solutions that help our business customers personalize and improve the performance of their websites, apps and marketing messages (learn more or opt out).
Facebook uses cookies if you have a Facebook account; use the Facebook Products, including its website and apps; or visit other websites and apps that use Facebook Products (including the Like button or other Facebook technologies). Cookies enable Facebook to offer the Facebook Products to you, and to understand the information Facebook receives about you, including information about your use of other websites and apps, whether or not you are registered or logged in. Facebook’s data policy describes the information it processes to support Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and other products, and other features offered by Facebook. Facebook’s cookie policy explains how Facebook uses cookies.
Opting out from one or more companies listed on the DAA Consumer Choice Page or the NAI Consumer Opt-Out Page will opt you out from those companies’ delivery of interest-based content or advertisements to you, but it does not mean you will no longer receive any advertising through our website or on other websites. Please note that even if you opt out, you may continue to receive advertisements, for example, based on the particular website that you are viewing (e.g., contextually based ads). Also, if your browsers are configured to reject cookies when you opt out on the DAA or NAI websites, that opt out may not be effective. Additional information is available on the DAA’s website http://www.aboutads.info/ or the NAI’s website at www.networkadvertising.org.
The service providers we use for online advertising may change. By visiting our website, you accept and consent to our use of Google, Facebook and other services to serve advertisements to you.
Personal Information About Minors
Thegrandstrandconnection.com does not gather information about your age and does not purposely process information about children under 15 years of age.
Access To The Information
To ensure that the processing of information is carried out in a safe manner, only specifically authorized persons in The Grand Strand Connection.
We will not disclose, sell, distribute, rent, license, share or pass details or personal information to any third parties other than those who deliver and are contracted to deliver services to us, unless we have your express consent to do so, such as consenting to share information with partners when ordering guides.
Mail Monkey
We utilize Mail Monkey and others as our email distribution and processing company. We will not share personal information with our distribution partners to a greater extent than is necessary to complete the purpose, such as sending out brochures and newsletters.
Direct Marketing
It is voluntary to subscribe to notifications. Notifications contain current information about the Grand Strand area, but may also contain commercial information about products and services from suppliers in the area, and so on. You can unsubscribe at any time via a link in the notifications.
We do not allow any third party to use your personal data for marketing or communication purposes unless we have your express consent to do so.
Safeguarding of the Information
We have established rules and procedures for the protection of personal data and privacy.
When we treat “non-personally identifiable information” combined with “personally identifiable information” (for example your name combined with geographical location) the collected information is treated as personally identifiable information.
If we share your personal information with a third party, we will ensure that there are arrangements and agreements in place to ensure the safety of the information and prevent that the third party uses the personal information for purposes other than what was agreed.
We shall use all reasonable precautions to ensure that our employees, data processors and third parties who have access to information about you have adequate information to ensure that they treat such information in accordance with this statement and our obligations under privacy legislation.
Your Rights
You have the right to know how your personal information is processed by an enterprise. If we handle personal information about you, you are entitled to access your own information. If personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or inaccessible, you can ask us to correct the information. See contact information in the introduction to this declaration.
We do not process and store information about you for longer than necessary for the intended purpose, or as required under existing agreements, and not beyond legal limits. We delete personal information when a user gives notice that he/she no longer wishes to use the service. For example, your email address used to send out notifications is deleted when you unsubscribe. The same is done when we are notified of inactive email addresses.
Enforcement of This Privacy Policy Statement
We may use the information that we collect about you when we have reason to believe that it is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against persons or entities that may harm you, us or others. We may also disclose your information when we believe it is required by law.
Consent, Governing Law, Venue
This privacy statement applies to all users of our website. We require that users agree to comply with the declaration as part of our relationship.
By using our website, you accept that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this privacy policy, which includes transferring data to agents and third parties as described in this statement.
The Grand Strand Connection operates from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the USA and is subject to USA laws. This declaration also meets the minimum requirements imposed by local, US and EU law. You agree that any disputes will be handled by the court in South Carolina, in accordance with the laws of USA, unless otherwise dictated by mandatory local law.
Changes to the Declaration
We reserve the right to change or update the privacy statement. All changes are valid from the time of being posted, and will include information gathered from that date, as well as existing information held by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB. You can find out when these guidelines were last revised by referring to the date given by “last updated” on this page.
Trademarks, Copyrights and Restrictions
Any unauthorized use of unique content within this website without specific written permission is prohibited.
Interest-Based Online Advertising and Google Analytics
We use the Advertising Reporting Features in Google Analytics to collect demographic data, such as age, gender and interests, about our users. We, as well as Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to inform, optimize, and serve content based on your past visits to our Website. You can learn more about Advertising Reporting Features here, and on the data Google collects under Google Privacy Policy.
You may opt out of the automated collection of information by third-party ad networks for the purpose of delivering advertisements tailored to your interests, by visiting the consumer opt-out page for the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and edit or opt-out your Google Display Network ads’ preferences at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/. You can also use Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/. Because those opt-out and preference control pages are specific to the individual browser used to visit it, and because that page is not operated by us, we are unable to perform the opt-outs on your behalf.
ADVERTISING
Retargeting Ads
From time to time, the Website may engage in remarketing efforts with third-party companies, such as Pinterest, Google, Facebook, or Instagram, in order to market the Website. These companies use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the Website.
Affiliate Program Participation
The Website may engage in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.
The Grand Strand Connection is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website will post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.