Privacy Policy

Visit Sarasota County (“VSC”) values your privacy and recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of information on the internet. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) addresses how VSC collects, uses, and shares information that we collect on or through the VisitSarasota.com website (the “Website”). When we refer to “you,” or “your” in this Policy, we mean the individual user of our Website. References to “our,” “us,” or “we” means VSC.

What Information Does VSC Collect?

The types of information that we collect from you depends upon your interaction(s) with our Website.

If you choose to click the hyperlink on our Website to “Sign Up For ENews,” we will collect your email address, country, zip code, first name, last name, and we will request that you provide your affirmative consent to receive travel and tourism emails from VSC, your acknowledgement that you have read and agree to VSC’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and to determine if you are interested in receiving a Free Sarasota County Visitor Guide (collectively, “Newsletter Registration Information”).

In the event that you choose to request a Visitors Guide from VSC, we will collect your first name, last name, email address (optional), your affirmative consent to receive email communications from us, your telephone number (optional), mailing address, zip code, city, state, information about your interests (optional), your acknowledgement that you have read and agree to VSC’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, if you are interested in receiving information about relocation to Sarasota County from trusted relocation professionals, and we will inquire to determine if you are an EU citizen (collectively, “Travel Guide Request Information”).

If you indicate that you are interested in receiving information about relocation to Sarasota County, we will ask you to answer a variety of questions about your reason for relocating, including whether you are retiring, relocating to work remotely, interested in relocating a business, and other similar questions (collectively, “Relocation Information”).

In connection with your registration to receive a Travel Guide, we will also inquire of you as to whether you are interested in receiving lodging information from our trusted partners and if so, the number of people in your party, the dates you are interested in staying in Sarasota, your lodging type preference, whether you have a preference for beach access, a lodging location, whether you need pet-friendly accommodations, your budget on a nightly and weekly basis, and we will ask you to verify that you are a human with Google’s reCAPTCHA service (collectively, “Lodging Information”).

If you contact us to learn more about scheduling your sporting event in Sarasota County, we will collect information about the type of sporting event, the number of potential participants, age groups, and any other related needs for your sporting event (“Sports Information”).

If you contact us for more information about scheduling a meeting, convention, gathering or other event in Sarasota County, we will collect information about the type of meeting, the number of potential participants, and other related needs for your event (collectively, “Meeting Information”).

If you choose to Contact VSC via written correspondence, telephone, or email, we will collect whatever information that you choose to provide us in connection with your communication to us (collectively, “General Inquiry Information”).

Our Website also utilizes internet cookies. An internet cookie is a small data file that is transmitted to your computing device when you visit our Website. Internet cookies are used to collect information about you when you visit our Website and click our internet cookie banner and choose to accept cookies. An internet cookie is then deployed through our Website by a third party service provider to collect information from you such as your internet protocol device, computing device type, the name and version of the internet web browser that you are using, the domain of your internet service provider, a unique online identifier, your preferred language, the time and date of your arrival on our Website, the duration of your visit to our Website, and your most recent internet history (collectively, “Browsing Information”).

How Does VSC Use My Information?

The manner in which we use the information that we collect from you is more fully described in this Section.

If you provide us with your affirmative consent, we use your Newsletter Registration Information to add you to our e-mail newsletter mailing list. If you affirmatively indicate that you are interested in receiving a Sarasota County Visitor Guide, we will use your Newsletter Registration Information to provide you with the desired Visitor Guide.

If you affirmatively consent to receive a Visitors Guide from us, we will use your Travel Guide Request Information for purposes of sending you the desired Visitors Guide. To the extent that you indicate that you would like to receive information about a relocation to Sarasota, Florida, we will use your Travel Guide Request Information to send to our relocation partners to contact you with additional information about relocating to our community.

We use Relocation Information that you choose to provide to us to share with our affiliates, partners, and economic development corporation to help ensure we provide you with helpful and relevant information concerning your relocation to Sarasota County, unless you indicate that you do not want such information to be shared.

In connection with registering to receive a Visitors Guide from VSC, if you choose to provide us with Lodging Information, we will use your Travel Guide Request Information and Lodging Information to provide to our lodging partners so that they may contact you with accommodation options that fit your criteria.

We use your Sporting Information or Meeting Information, if applicable to the extent necessary to help provide you with additional information or contact information for others in Sarasota County that might be able to assist you with selecting a venue, lodging, and other needs that you might have.

In the event that you choose to contact us through the Website, via written correspondence, or email, we will use your General Inquiry Information for purposes of fulfilling your specific request of us.

We use the Browsing Information that we collect from cookies to detect and troubleshoot issues with our Website, to combat against fraud, malicious and criminal activity on our website, and to identify the most common operating systems, browser types, computing devices, content, and features on our Website to improve and optimize your user experience.

Your Options Regarding Internet Cookies

Depending upon your internet web browser or computing device, you may have the option to toggle your browser or device settings to change the way in which internet cookies and web beacons are handled. Some internet browsers and computing devices enable you reject or block internet cookies from being deployed to your internet device. For more information about cookies and settings on your internet browser or computing device, please consult the help files for these programs and devices. Please note that if you choose to block or reject internet cookies, certain functionality that is built into the Website will no longer operate or display properly.

Does VSC Share My Information with Third Parties?

We share the information that we collect from you as set forth in this Section. If you affirmatively indicate that you would like information about relocating to Sarasota County, Florida, we provide your Travel Guide Information to our third party relocation partners who will contact you with additional information on relocating to our community. In connection with registering to receive a Travel Guide, if you affirmatively indicate that you would like our lodging partners to contact you with accommodation information for an upcoming visit to Sarasota County, we will provide your Travel Guide Information and Lodging Information to our third party lodging partners to fulfill your request.

To the extent that you contact us about a Meeting or Sporting Event, we will share Meeting Information or Sporting Information, as applicable to our third party affiliates and partners for purposes of helping you research, plan, and schedule your event.

In connection with providing our Website and the services that we offer to you, we contract with a number of third party service providers who perform services for us, including web and data hosting providers, software, marketing, analytics, email service providers. In each case, we restrict these third party service providers from using your information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, or other similar types of information for any use other than as required to perform their services for us.

We share Relocation Information with our partners and affiliates, including our economic development corporation and governing bodies, except where you indicate a preference for us not to share this information.

We will also disclose information that we collect from you in the following instances:

Sale or Reorganization of our Organization

In the event that VSC, or substantially all of VSC’s assets, are sold, or VSC reorganizes or merges into another organization, then the information that we have collected from you will be among VSC’s transferred assets to the acquiring or surviving entity.

Compliance with a Legal Obligation

On rare occasions, we may be required to disclose the information that we have collected from you in order to comply with a legal obligation imposed on VSC, including without limitation, in response to a subpoena, court order, or to comply with a judicial or administrative proceeding, court order or other legal process served on us.

Protect and Preserve VSC’s Rights

We will also disclose the information that we have collected about you, to the extent not prohibited by applicable law, where we determine that disclosure is necessary to protect VSC, its rights, property, or to protect its customers, visitors, and partners.

How Does VSC Protect Kids’ Privacy?

VSC is concerned about the safety of children when using the internet. We do not and will not knowingly solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13. For purposes of this Section, “personal information” has the meaning set forth under Section 6501, et. seq. of Title 15 of the United States Code and its regulations (collectively, the “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act”). You must be at least 18 years of age to provide us with any personal information. If you are under 18 years old or otherwise classified as a minor under applicable law, you should not provide information to us. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child that you believe has provided us with personal information, please contact us (see below) to have such information deleted from our records.

Sensitive Information

We ask that you do not send us and do not disclose, any sensitive personal information, including without limitation information related to your racial; ethnic origin; political opinions; religion or other beliefs; health or medical condition; or criminal background on or through the Website or via any communications to us.

Links to Third Party Sites

Our Website contains hyperlinks to third party websites (“Third Party Sites”) that are not owned, operated, or controlled by VSC. We provide hyperlinks to Third Party Sites for your convenience. We do not have any control over any content, information, business or privacy practices of any Third Party Sites. Your use of Third Party Sites is entirely at your own risk. Under no circumstances will VSC be liable or responsible in connection with your use of any Third Party Sites.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

VSC reserves the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time in our sole discretion. When we make such changes, we will update the “Last Modified Date,” which is located at the top of this document. In the event that we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will also post a banner or popup on the main page of our Website to provide you notice of this change. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, changes become effective when posted. Your continued use of our Website after a change has been posted shall constitute your acceptance to this Privacy Policy and any changes.

Accessing, Changing or Suppressing Your Personal Information

If you would like to review, correct, update, or delete the personal information that we have about you, please email, call, or write us using the contact information listed below in the “Contact Us” section. Please indicate in your correspondence to us that you are making a data request and clearly describe your request in sufficient detail to enable us to locate your information. We reserve the right to verify the authenticity of any request, subject to applicable law.

Do Not Track Signals or Requests

At this time, we do not honor Do Not Track signals or requests from internet web browsers because there is currently no standard for doing so.

European Union Data Rights

The European Union’s (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) requires that certain information be provided to EU data subjects when personal data is collected from a data subject, which is detailed in this Section. References to terms such as “controller,” “personal data,” “processor,” and “supervisory authority” shall have the meanings set forth in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016.

The controller of the personal data collected on this Website is Visit Sarasota County, 301 North Cattlemen Road, Suite 203, Sarasota, Florida 34232, telephone: (941) 955-0991.

Personal data is processed for the purposes detailed in this Privacy Policy. If you choose to for our newsletter, the basis for our processing of your Newsletter Registration Information is both your affirmative consent and our legitimate basis in providing our visitors with the information that they request. When you indicate your desire to receive a Visitor Guide, the legal basis for our processing activities with your Travel Guide Request Information is both your affirmative consent and our legitimate basis in providing our visitors with the information that they request from us. If you indicate that you want us to provide your Travel Guide Request Information to our relocation partners, the legal basis for our processing activities is your consent. In the event that you indicate that you would like us to share your Travel Guide Request Information and Lodging Information with our third party lodging partners, the legal basis for our processing activity is your affirmative consent.

We provide personal data to third parties in accordance with this Privacy Policy, including third party service providers that render services to us pursuant to contract, which requires that they only use personal data, if applicable, to the extent required to perform their services for VSC.

The personal data we collect is stored until you contact us to request deletion of the information.

Where personal data is collected from you on our Website or through communications with us and is designated as “required” or “mandatory” to complete and submit an online web form, this personal data is necessary in order for us to provide a requested service to you or to enable you to engage in a particular function on our Website. If you choose against providing us with the required information, you will not be permitted to receive the service or engage in the function. None of the information we collect through the Website is required by statute. The information that you provide to us, including personal data must be truthful, accurate, and complete in accordance with the Terms and Conditions for use of the Website.

VSC is located in the United States. To the extent any information must be transferred to a third country or international organization, VSC will comply with applicable data privacy laws, including execution of the Standard Contractual Clauses as approved by the European Commission.

EU Data Rights

EU Data subjects are afforded certain data rights under the GDPR, which can be exercised by contacting us using the information included below. Data subjects have the following rights:

the right to request access to and rectification of the data subject’s personal data;
the right to request erasure of the data subject’s personal data or for a restriction of processing as it concerns such data subject’s personal data;
the right to object to processing and a right to data portability;
the right to lodge a complaint against VSC with a data supervisory authority; and
to the extent that our processing of your personal data is based upon your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent and exercise your data rights at any time by contacting us at the address below.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or would like to contact us about your information or exercising any data rights that may be available to you, you may
Write us at: Visit Sarasota County, 301 North Cattlemen Road, Suite 203, Sarasota, FL USA 34232
Email us at: [email protected]
Call us at: (941) 955-0991

Last Modified: July 21, 2021

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