Privacy policy

Last updated: 2 October 2026

This policy explains what personal data GuideConnect collects when you use our website and services, why we collect it, who we share it with and the choices you have. It applies to guides who list tours with us and to travellers who browse and book them.

1. Who we are

GuideConnect is operated by Tourope UK Ltd (company number [Company number]), International House, 6 South Molton Street, Mayfair, London W1K 5QF, United Kingdom. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is processed. We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the EU General Data Protection Regulation and other data protection laws that apply to us.

"Personal data" means any information that identifies you, either on its own (such as your name) or when combined with other information (such as an IP address).

2. The data we collect

When you register as a guide

• Account details: full name, email address, password, the city and country you guide in, mobile phone number, years of experience, the languages you guide in and a short introduction.
• Profile details: profile photo, gallery images, biography, specialities, guide licence or association membership, and the tours you list with their descriptions, durations, group sizes and prices.
• Private contact details: street address, postal code, an alternative phone number, your booking notification preferences, and the name and phone number of an emergency contact. If you give us details of an emergency contact, please let them know and point them to this policy.
• Payout and business details: your business setup, legal name, company registration number, VAT or tax ID, registered address, the names, roles, countries of residence and email addresses of decision-makers, bank account holder name, bank country, currency and account number or IBAN, and your signature on the payout services agreement. Some of these details are collected directly by our payment partner on its own secure page.

When you browse or book as a traveller

• Your name, email address and phone number, booking details (tour, date, group size and price), messages you exchange with a guide, and any review you leave.
• Card and payment details are handled by our payment partner. We do not store full card numbers.

Collected automatically

• Technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device information and the pages you visit, collected when you use the site.

3. How we use your data and why

Data protection law requires a legal basis for each way we use personal data. These are ours:

Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object (see Your rights).

4. What other people can see

Your guide profile is public. Anyone visiting GuideConnect can see your name, profile photo, city and country, biography, languages, specialities, gallery images, the tours you list with their prices, and the reviews you receive. Only you and the GuideConnect team can see your private contact details, emergency contact, and payout and business details.

When a booking is confirmed, we share the details needed to run the tour: the guide receives the traveller's name, group size and contact details, and the traveller receives the guide's name and how to reach them. Payment details are never shared between guides and travellers.

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only as follows:

• Payment partner: to take payments from travellers, verify guides and their businesses, and send payouts.
• Service providers: companies that host our website and database, send our emails and help us detect fraud. They act on our instructions under written agreements and may not use your data for their own purposes.
• Professional advisers and insurers: where needed to protect our rights, handle a claim or receive legal or accounting advice.
• Authorities: police, tax authorities, regulators or courts, where the law requires it or where disclosure is needed to prevent fraud or protect someone's safety.
• A new owner: if GuideConnect is sold, merged or reorganised, your data may pass to the new owner, who will remain bound by this policy.

6. International transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside the UK and the European Economic Area. When we transfer personal data to them, we make sure it stays protected: either the destination country has been recognised as providing adequate protection, or we use the standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and the UK's International Data Transfer Addendum. You can ask us for a copy of these safeguards.

7. Cookies

We use cookies and similar storage that are strictly necessary to keep you logged in and to make the site work. We do not use advertising cookies. If we introduce analytics or marketing cookies in future, we will ask for your consent first and let you change your choice at any time.

8. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purposes above:

• Account and profile data are kept while your account is open and deleted after you close it.
• Booking, payment and payout records are kept for as long as tax and accounting law requires.
• Messages and support requests are kept while they are needed to deal with the booking or request, and for a short period afterwards in case of a dispute.
• Reviews you write may stay on a guide's profile after you close your account, shown without your full name.

9. Security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), restricted staff access and agreements requiring our suppliers to protect data to the same standard. If a breach puts your rights at risk, we will tell you and the relevant regulator without undue delay, as the law requires.

10. Your rights

You have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it;
• have inaccurate data corrected (most of it you can edit yourself in your dashboard);
• have your data deleted;
• restrict how we use your data;
• receive data you gave us in a portable format;
• object to our use of your data based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
• withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything we did before you withdrew it.

To use any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We may ask you to confirm your identity first. We will reply within one month. Some rights are limited by law, for example when we must keep records for tax purposes, and we will explain if that applies.

11. Closing your account

Guides can close their account at any time from the dashboard: go to Account & security and select Delete my guide account. This removes your public profile and every tour you have listed. Data we must keep by law is kept as described in How long we keep your data and then deleted.

GuideConnect is not intended for children. Guides must be at least 18 years old to register.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services or the law change. We will post the new version on this page with a new "last updated" date, and email registered users before any significant change takes effect.

13. Contact and complaints

If you have a question or complaint about how we handle your personal data, contact us:

Tourope UK Ltd
International House, 6 South Molton Street
Mayfair, London W1K 5QF, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 20 7183 1923

You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority. In the UK this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). In the EU you can contact the authority in the country where you live or work. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first.