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The Road Scholar Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 2024

Protection of your personal data and your privacy is important to us at Road Scholar. We do our utmost to properly look after your personal data and protect your privacy. This privacy policy is designed to inform you of what information we may collect, why we collect such information, and how we use, collect, disclose, transfer and store your data, whether from our website, discussion boards, social media accounts, mobile applications or any personal data that you provide to us by other means including by calling our customer service personnel. 

This privacy policy covers our treatment of personally identifiable information, personal data, or other personal information ("Personal Information") that we gather when you are accessing or using our services. We gather various types of Personal Information from our users, as explained in more detail below, and we use this Personal Information internally in connection with our services as explained herein, including to personalize, provide, and improve our services, to allow you to set up a user account and profile, to contact you and allow other users to contact you, to fulfill your requests for certain products and services, and to analyze how you use the services. In certain cases, we may also share some Personal Information with third parties, but only as described below.

Consent

By accessing or using our services, you are agreeing to the terms of this privacy policy as well as our website’s Terms & Conditions, and you understand and hereby consent to the extent permissible under applicable law that we will collect, use, and share your Personal Information in the following ways.

Also, note that if you are enrolling a travel companion or another person in one of our programs, it is your responsibility to obtain his or her consent before providing us with their Personal Information.

Minors

Our website is not intended for individuals under 18 years of age. No one under age 18 may provide any Personal Information to or on the website, discussion boards, social media accounts, or any of Road Scholar’s mobile applications. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information directly from individuals under 18; and any information collected regarding individuals under 18 is solely in the service of facilitating family programs with a parent or guardian. If you are under 18, do not use or provide any Personal Information on this website or any associated discussion boards, social media accounts, or mobile applications; do not register on the website, make any purchases through the website, use any of the interactive or public comment features of this website or any associated discussion boards, social media accounts, or mobile applications, or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or username you may use.  If we learn we have collected or received Personal Information from a person under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any Personal Information from or about a person under 18 without a parent or guardian’s consent, please contact us at 800-454-5768

What information we collect and how we collect it

Information Provided by You

We may collect, retain and use Personal Information that you knowingly provide us by filling in forms on our website; subscribing to receive marketing communications such as email newsletters, catalogs or brochures; opening an account on our website; corresponding with us by phone, email, mail or live-chat; or posting on our discussion boards, chatroom, blogs, review forums, social media accounts or mobile applications. Such information may include, but is not limited to, first and last name, address, email address, telephone/mobile number, country of residence, ethnicity, and username and password. The information you choose to submit may also include text, photographs, video, graphics and any other materials you might submit as part of, or in conjunction with, your use of our website, discussion boards, social media accounts, mobile applications or participation in Road Scholar programs.

When enrolling in a program additional information is required to enable us to complete your enrollment, make travel arrangements, and deliver program services. Such information may include payment information, date of birth, gender, health and mobility information, emergency contact details, and passport or drivers’ license numbers. We only collect this information when you enroll in a program or create an account, and will only use it for the purposes described herein. Please note that any health and mobility information shared by you is not used for marketing purposes.

 Information Collected through Technology

We may also use technologies, such as cookies, which are small text files sent by our website to your computer or other access device, which are accessed when you visit our website in the future. Cookies allow us to recognize you every time you visit our website and remember specific information about you and your preferences. We may use cookies to collect information about the way you use our website, to assist us in analyzing your interests and needs, to provide you with personalized online display advertising, and to improve the content and function of our website. Cookies help with the program registration process, storing information from screen to screen to help make your visit more efficient. Knowing how you use the website enables us to better tailor our content and services to most effectively suit your needs. We do not sell cookie-based information, and cookies cannot be used to install programs or deliver viruses to your computer. You may be able to change the preferences on your browser or device to prevent or limit your device’s acceptance of cookies, but this may prevent you from taking advantage of some of our features.

Road Scholar may also collect and track digital information sent by your web browser, such as IP address, usage habits (browsing and search history and traffic source), unique device identifiers and other information.  Through cookies we place on your browser or device, we may collect information about your online activity after you leave our services. Just like any other usage information we collect, this information allows us to improve the services and customize your online experience, and otherwise as described in this privacy policy.

We may also use third parties to improve our ability to identify visitors to our website.  As part of this service, we may collect information about your computer and make available identifiers to these third parties including our visitors’ IP addresses, browser and device type, cookies, usage habits (browsing and search history and traffic source), hashed versions of email addresses and/or certain HTTP header fields captured from your visit.  This enables aggregated statistical information to be gathered and analytical reports produced, with the goal of improving our website and services. We, and third parties, may use this information to obtain more information about our visitors and reach out to them through other channels, such as email, direct mail, digital and/or other marketing channels.

 This website uses analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Contentsquare, Wisepops, and Usabilla. These tools use cookies to help the website analyze how you use the website. The information generated by the cookies about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by these entities in aggregate form. In turn, they may use this aggregated information in order to evaluate use of the website, compile reports on the website’s activity and other services relating to website activity and usage. You can learn more about how Google Analytics and how to opt out here:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

 

Other Technologies

Similar to cookies, we use web pixels, beacons or tags, which are types of code or transparent graphics (sometimes called “clear GIFs” or “web beacons”) with unique identifiers that are used to understand browsing activity. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, web beacons are rendered invisibly on web pages when you open a page.

Our website also makes use of session replay analytics tools to help us reconstruct the user experience on the website. These tools collect data on our behalf. We use them to troubleshoot issues with and improve user experience on our website. The tools provide insight into what works and what doesn’t work for users of the website, and it allows us to, for example, identify and repair technical errors such as broken links that impair the website’s functionality. We may also use the tools to authenticate users, enable website features, prevent fraud, and implement security measures. The tools use cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information related to user behavior on our website, such as mouse movements, clicks, user inputs, scrolling, access times, visit duration, pages viewed, IP address (including location), operating system, page reloading, crash data, performance data, and other diagnostic data. The tools also collect name, email address, phone number, and physical address.

How we use your information

Our primary goal in collecting your information is to provide you with a personalized, relevant, and positive experience with Road Scholar. Road Scholar does not sell or rent your Personal Information or purchase history to any other person or company. We save the email addresses of those who send them to us but will only contact individuals directly by email for marketing purposes with their permission, which can be changed in the My Account section of our website, or by calling or emailing us.

Generally, we use the information that you share with us to send you electronic marketing communications, catalogs, brochures or offers we believe may be of interest to you; to customize our communications to you; to enable us to understand and improve how our website is being used and to promote our programs and services; and to personalize your use of our website. We may also use the information you share with us to authenticate and process your enrollment and send you enrollment confirmations; to manage your account; to respond to inquiries or requests by you; to make travel arrangements for you; to deliver program services; to contact assistance in an emergency; and to invite you to focus groups or otherwise collect feedback on programs you have attended.

How we protect your information

Road Scholar is committed to protecting the information we collect from you. We have put in place technical, administrative and physical security measures that are designed to safeguard your Personal Information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, disclosure and alteration. When you are conducting an account transaction or registering to receive electronic marketing communications, catalogs or brochures from us, we always use industry-standard encryption practices to protect your Personal Information. We limit the personally-identifiable information we provide to business partners with whom we contract to only what they need to carry out their responsibilities.

Please be aware though that, despite our best efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Although we will do our best to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of the information you provide to us, and any information provided to us is at your own risk. In addition, you must prevent unauthorized access to your account and Personal Information by selecting and protecting your password appropriately and limiting access to your computer or device and browser by signing off after you have finished accessing your account.

Access and disclosure of your information

Road Scholar does not share your Personal Information with any other organizations for their own independent marketing or advertising purposes. We do share Personal Information, such as browsing history and purchase data, with third parties to facilitate the display of offers from Road Scholar we believe may be of interest to you. Whenever your Personal Information is transferred, stored or processed by us, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the privacy of your Personal Information

We restrict access to non-public Personal Information about you to employees and third-party service providers who we reasonably believe need access to that information in order to provide necessary products or services. Those parties process information, make travel arrangements, fulfill and deliver programs, process credit card payments, and provide support services on our behalf. For example, we would share participant names and other information (such as allergies and food preferences, emergency contacts, health and mobility information that you provide to us) with program providers and emergency travel assistance companies to the extent relevant and necessary to your enrollment. These third parties are prohibited from using your Personal Information for any purposes other than performing the requested services on our behalf and they are required to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

Certain user information, including your name, location, and any video or image content that you have uploaded to the services, may be displayed to other users to facilitate user interaction within the services. Please remember that any content you upload to your public user profile, along with any Personal Information or content that you voluntarily disclose online in a manner other users can view (on discussion boards, in messages and chat areas, etc.) becomes publicly available, and can be collected and used by anyone. Your user name may also be displayed to other users if and when you send messages or comments or upload images or videos through the services and other users can contact you through messages and comments. Road Scholar reserves the right to use any content or images published or otherwise disclosed by you through our discussion boards, social media accounts, or other public-facing forums for marketing or other business purposes.

We reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any Personal Information to respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations; to enforce or apply our Terms & Conditions and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Road Scholar, our employees, our users, or others. Also, in the unlikely event that Road Scholar is sold, has substantially all of its assets acquired or merges or becomes affiliated with any other individual or entity any customer information owned or under the control of Road Scholar may be one of the transferred assets. Finally, we share Personal Information (including sensitive data) with our insurers and other professional advisors, including attorneys, accountants, consultants, and auditors, that need access to your information to provide operational or other support services on our behalf.

Links to third party websites

The website contains links to third parties who may collect information directly from you. Each of the websites linked from the website have separate privacy policies and data collection practices, independent of Road Scholar, and Road Scholar has no responsibility or liability for these independent policies or actions and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites nor does Road Scholar make any warranties or representations about the contents, products or services offered on such websites or the security of any information you provide to them. We strongly suggest you read the privacy policy of any website carefully before providing any Personal Information.

Also, if you click on a link to a third-party website or service, a third party may also transmit cookies to you. This privacy policy does not cover the use of cookies by any third parties, and we aren’t responsible for their privacy policies and practices. Please be aware that cookies placed by third parties may continue to track your activities online even after you have left our services, and those third parties may not honor “Do Not Track” requests you have set using your browser or device.

 Your Privacy Choices

Residents of Colorado, Oregon, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland & Minnesota have certain rights under applicable state privacy laws. We currently allow residents of other states the option to exercise these rights as well, but prioritize requests received from those six states.

  • Request to Opt-out: We do not sell your Personal Information to third parties. However, we do share it for the marketing purposes we’ve described above. You have the right to opt out of the processing of personal data for purposes of targeted advertising.  Please note that this website honors Global Privacy Control browser signals, but will not respond to other types of “do not track” signals.
  • Request to Know: You have the right to know whether we are processing your Personal Information and request that we disclose a report of your Personal Information. Residents of Oregon and Minnesota have the additional right to receive a list of specific third parties, other than natural persons, to which the business has disclosed Personal Information. Residents of Delaware and Maryland have the right to obtain a list of the categories of third parties to which the business has disclosed the consumer’s Personal Information.
  • Request to Delete: You have the right to request that we delete your Personal Information. Once we receive and verify your request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your Personal Information from our records, unless an exception applies.
  • Request to Correct: You have the right to request that we correct, rectify and/or update any of your Personal Information that is incorrect, incomplete or out of date. If you have signed up to receive electronic marketing communications, or have attended a Road Scholar program, you have an online account with us. You can access, update or correct your Personal Information, your contact information, and marketing preferences in the My Account section of our website. 

Statement Regarding Sensitive Data

We may receive certain information regarding your physical health and mobility limitations necessary to facilitate or accommodate your program experience; and we utilize voluntarily-provided information regarding ethnicity in order to continually improve our efforts to be more diverse and inclusive in our programming. Both of these categories of personal information are considered sensitive data under certain state laws. Please be advised that the use of this information is limited to the description we’ve provided in this privacy policy.

You may withdraw your consent to the use of your ethnicity data at any time and ask us to delete it; likewise, any time after your program experience has concluded you may ask us to delete any information you have provided regarding physical health and mobility limitations.

Residents of Nevada and Washington may have additional rights regarding any health data provided; for more information, please review “Your Consumer Health Data Rights,” below. 

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise the rights described above, please submit a request to us by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices” link, or emailing us at Contact@Roadscholar.org or calling us toll-free at 800-454-5768

Only you or a person whom you authorize to act on your behalf may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. So as to ensure your privacy, we reserve the right to deny a request from an authorized agent who does not submit proof that they have been authorized to act on your behalf. For avoidance of doubt, you may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

Our verification process works as follows:

When you contact us to exercise your rights to know, delete, or correct your personal information, we will first verify your identity by asking you to confirm a few pieces of information that we have in our records, such as your email address, phone number and/or billing zip code. If you are making a request to correct, we can work with you to find another means of verifying your identity that will not involve the subject matter of the request to correct. We may also require information from you to demonstrate that our data is incorrect. This information shall only be used and/or maintained by the business for the purpose of correcting your personal information and to comply with any record-keeping obligations we may have under the law. If you make a request online to delete your personal information, we may need to confirm your request before we delete your information.

You may make a verifiable consumer request up to two times within a 12-month period, without charge. Unfortunately, we cannot respond to your request to delete or correct or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm that the personal information relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

We try to respond to a verifiable consumer request within 45 days of its receipt, and an opt-out request will be processed within 15 days. If we require more time to respond to a verifiable consumer request, we will inform you of the reason and extension time period (up to 90 days). If you have an account with us, we will deliver our response to the email associated with that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our response by mail or electronically, at your option. The response we provide will also explain any reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.

You have a right to appeal any denial of a consumer right. If your request is denied in whole or in part, you have the right to appeal your decision within 30 days. We will review and respond to your request within 45 days, and if your appeal is denied, we will provide you with an explanation of our reasons and a description of any further rights you may have at that time.

Right to Equal Service: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights as a consumer under any applicable laws. Unless permitted by law, we will not:

  • Deny you goods or services.
  • Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services.
  • Provide you a different level of quality or selection of goods or services.

We may offer you certain bona fide loyalty, rewards or discount programs permitted by law that can result in different prices, rates, selection, or quality levels. Participation in a bona fide loyalty, rewards or discount program requires your prior opt in consent, which you may revoke at any time.

 Your Consumer Health Data Rights

As noted in the “Statement Regarding Sensitive Data,” above, we may receive certain information regarding your physical health and mobility limitations necessary to facilitate or accommodate your program experience. For more detail, see below:

The categories of consumer health data collected.

Mobility restrictions and reliance on mobility devices; food allergies and restrictions; use of medical equipment; and any sight or hearing impairment.

The purpose for which the data is collected, including how the data will be used.

We use this information to facilitate the program experience requested by you, namely, to accommodate or address any physical limitations or special requirements that may be necessary to allow you to fully immerse yourself in your selected program and to ensure that your ability level is appropriate to the stated activity requirements of our program.

The categories of sources from which the consumer health data is collected.

We collect our data directly from you, as well as occasionally from our program providers who may offer feedback on a health or medical issue that occurred during a program experience. Your provision of this health and mobility data to us will not expose you to third-party cookies collecting your health data over time and across different Internet websites or online services. 

The categories of consumer health data that are shared.

Mobility restrictions and reliance on mobility devices; food allergies and restrictions; use of medical equipment; and any sight or hearing impairment.

A list of the categories of third parties and specific affiliates with whom we share your health data.

Program providers, emergency travel assistance companies, and insurers.

The manner in which your health data will be processed, and the purpose of sharing your health data. 

We only share your health data with a third party when such sharing is to provide services to you consistent with the purposes disclosed in this privacy policy. Third parties are contractually limited to using this health data for the purposes for which it is shared.

Your rights and how to exercise them.

Residents of Nevada and Washington have the following rights with respect to any health and mobility information that we collect:

      1. Right to confirm whether we are collecting, sharing, or selling health data concerning you and to access such data, including (if applicable) a list of all third parties and affiliates with whom we have shared or sold your health data (and, for residents of the State of Washington, an active email address or other online mechanism that you may use to contact these third parties). Please note that the term “share” may not include disclosures of consumer health data when such sharing is to provide services in a manner consistent with the purposes for which we’ve collected the data and disclosed to you.
      2. Right to ask us to cease collecting, sharing or selling your health data.
      3. Right to delete your health data.
      4. Right to correct your health data.

Please review the “Exercising Your Rights” section, above. For residents of Nevada, we will make every effort to fulfill a request to delete health data within 30 days of the request.

Changes to our privacy policy

This privacy policy will change over time and the use of information which we gather now is subject to this policy as modified. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify and amend this privacy policy in any manner at any time by posting a change notice on our website.  We encourage you to check back periodically. If we make a material change to our privacy policy that would lessen your privacy rights, we will either continue to honor our prior policy, or we will ask for your consent to the change. Otherwise, your continued use of our services once the revised privacy policy has been posted on the website affirms your agreement to such changes.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Phone

800-454-5768 (Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET)

1-978-323-4141 (from outside the U.S. and Canada)

Email

contact@roadscholar.org

Mail

Road Scholar
PO Box 56033
Boston, MA 02205-6033