Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 22, 2026
Rate Watch is operated from British Columbia, Canada. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, and the choices you have. We handle personal information in accordance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where applicable, BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
1. Information we collect
Information you give us directly
If you use the "Suggest a destination" form, we collect the destination or hotel you name. The email address field on that form is optional — you only need to fill it in if you'd like a personal reply. We don't run a database of submissions: a suggestion is simply relayed to us as a one-off email, any address you provide is used only to reply to that specific message (as the "reply-to" on the email we receive), and we don't retain, list, or reuse it for any other purpose, including marketing.
Search box entries and check-in dates you type to browse hotel results are used only to filter what's shown to you in that session and aren't linked to your identity or stored against a profile.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, our server and hosting infrastructure may log standard technical data (such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited) for security and troubleshooting. The Site also loads a booking widget from Stay22, a third-party provider, which may set its own cookies or collect browsing data under its own privacy policy in order to show relevant booking options and attribute referrals. We don't control what Stay22 collects; if you'd like details, check Stay22's own privacy policy.
2. How we use information
- To respond to destination suggestions and, where you've asked for one, to reply by email.
- To decide which hotels and destinations to add to our tracked catalog.
- To operate, secure, and improve the Site.
- To attribute bookings made through affiliate links, so we can earn the commissions described in our Terms of Use.
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't use suggestion-form submissions for marketing unless you've separately opted in somewhere else.
3. Third parties we share information with
We don't share the contents of your destination suggestions with third parties. When you click an affiliate or "Book now" link, you leave our Site and interact directly with that provider (e.g. Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, or Stay22's booking partners) under their own privacy policy — we may receive confirmation that a referral led to a booking, but we don't see your payment details or reservation contents.
We may also share information if required by law, or with service providers (such as our hosting provider) who process it strictly on our behalf to keep the Site running.
4. Cookies
The Site itself doesn't set advertising cookies. The embedded Stay22 widget may set its own cookies to function and to attribute bookings. You can control or block cookies through your browser settings; doing so may affect how the booking widget behaves.
5. Data retention
We don't retain a copy of destination suggestions ourselves — each one arrives as a single email in our inbox and is handled like any other email we receive, subject to our own mailbox's retention settings. Standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited) are kept for a limited period for security purposes, then deleted or anonymized.
6. Your rights
Under PIPEDA and BC's PIPA, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it. Because we don't keep a submissions database, if you've emailed us a suggestion and want that email deleted from our inbox, or have any other question about information you've sent us, contact contact@ratewatchers.ca and we'll act on it. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, for BC-specific matters, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
7. Children's privacy
The Site isn't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children.
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision.
9. Contact
Questions about this policy or your information can be sent to contact@ratewatchers.ca.