We take your personal data privacy seriously. Our relationship with you is very important to us and we are sensitive about protecting the personal information and data that you provide to us. We also want you to have the best experience possible on our website and the opportunity to receive interesting and useful information about OARS-related products and services.  We are committed to respecting your privacy, and we take the responsibility of protecting your privacy seriously. For this reason, we have created this privacy policy to help you understand how we collect, store, process, use, and protect your personal information.

This website is owned and operated by O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors while you interact with the content, products, and services on this site, including third-party applications as applicable (collectively, the “Site”). Because we gather certain types of information about our users, we want you to understand what information we collect from you, how we collect it, and how that information is used. You agree that your use of the Site signifies your assent to this Privacy Policy.  This privacy policy may be amended, so we recommend that you check it regularly. Your continued use of this website after the posting of any changes will constitute your acceptance of those changes.

INFORMATION COLLECTED & HOW WE USE IT:

We collect the following types of information from you: i) personal information that you voluntarily provide to us through our website forms or when you participate in contests, promotions, sweepstakes, customer surveys, events, engage with us via social media platforms, and when you email, call, or otherwise communicate with us; and through a voluntary registration process when you place a reservation; and ii) personal information that is derived through your web browser and automated tracking mechanisms.

 

  • Voluntary Information

In order to request more information or place a reservation on our site or over the phone, we will collect personal information about you via phone, email or our website. The personal information we collect may include your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, date of birth, age, height, weight, gender, travel interests, essential dietary and medical history, information about your physical fitness and prior experience, payment information including your credit card and other payment details, emergency contacts, and in some cases, your nationality and information contained in your passport. We do not store your full credit card number beyond the year you travel.  Instead, after the end of the year that you travel, we keep only the last four digits of your credit card, debit card, or electronic card number and payment type for reference.

We do not collect personally identifiable information about you except when you specifically provide such information to us on a voluntary basis.  By requesting information or placing a reservation with us, you consent to the use and method of disclosure as described in this Privacy Policy.

OARS will use the personal information you provide to us in order to: respond to your comments and questions and provide customer service, process your request, bill you for your reservation, provide you with information needed for your trip, including confirmations, receipts, invoices, and customer experience surveys, communicate with our staff and affiliate operators regarding your trip, communicate with you about OARS and partner products, services, offers, contests, promotions, sweepstakes, surveys, research, news, events, trips, and other information and services that may be of interest to you, and link or combine with other information we receive from third parties to help understand your preferences and provide you with personalized service.  We do not control the use of personal data by third parties and they are bound by their own privacy policies.

If you provide us with information about another person, you confirm that they have authorized you to act for them, that they have consented to the processing of their personal information, including sensitive personal data, and that you have informed them of our identity and the purposes for which their personal data will be processed.

 

  • Email

OARS sends out semi-weekly e-newsletters and area- or activity-specific news that we think you’ll want to hear about, but you can count on us to not share your email address with any third-party company without your permission and you can unsubscribe from our emails at any time.

 

  • Telephone

When you call OARS to request information about our trips or to place a reservation we record your phone number. We also collect phone numbers through many of the forms on our website. Occasionally, our team may reach out by phone to provide you with information you’ve requested or to convey information about your trip, but we will not share your phone number with any third-party company.

 

  • Mailing Address

OARS sends out an annual catalog and a limited number of promotional mailing pieces each year (generally no more than six per year) to a select number of households and businesses on our list. From time to time, we may also work with other organizations that we believe are trustworthy and offer products or services that may be of interest to you. In such instances, we might share limited information (such as your name, mailing address, and transaction history) that we have collected from you, including personally identifiable information, so that such organizations may contact you with offers that may interest you. Be assured, however, that we will not share your information with these organizations if you have requested that we refrain from doing so and we will also honor your request not to receive mail from OARS directly.

Business Transfers: As OARS’s business continues to develop, your information may be sold to any successor or purchaser of part or all of the assets of our business. Business assets typically include customer information.

Legal Purposes: We may disclose your information if required to do so pursuant to judicial or governmental subpoenas, warrants, bankruptcy actions and other orders, or as required by law.  In addition, notwithstanding any terms to the contrary in this Privacy Policy, we retain the right to use, disclose, and/or share your personal and non-personal information to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, and situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person.

 

  • Cookies

Our site uses “cookies” and other tracking technologies. Each time a user visits our website, certain use and navigation information is collected by our servers.This type of tracking provides us with information such as the number, frequency, and duration of visits to each web page, which we use to better understand our audience and to improve the content and navigation features of our website. These technologies also allow us to track new visitors to the Site, recognize return visitors, and to store your password.

A third-party cookie may also be placed on your computer, which will collect information about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

Ads will not purposefully target any minors. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, including whether or not to accept them and how to remove them. However, certain features of our website or other services may not work optimally if you delete or disable cookies. For further details, see below, consult the help menu in your browser, or visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

 

Here is more information about certain tracking technologies we currently use on our site:

 

  • Analytics: Google Analytics

We use these tracking tools to collect information about how visitors use our website. For example, we collect information about the referring site and the total number of times a visitor has been to our website.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics, visit: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

 

  • Analytics: Amazon Associates

OARS 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 linking to amazon.com.

 

  • Analytics: AvantLink

We use this technology to track referrals to third-party web retailers when you buy a product linked from our site.

 

  • Advertising: DoubleClick, Google Tag Manager, and Google Publisher Tags

We use these tracking tools to track user behavior over time and across third-party sites to improve the effectiveness of our online advertising. The information collected is used to improve and customize our advertising.

To opt out of being tracked by Google, visit: https://adssettings.google.com/

 

  • Advertising: Facebook Business

We use these tracking tools to track user behavior over time and across third-party sites to improve the effectiveness of our online advertising. The information collected is used to improve and deliver relevant advertising.

To opt out of being tracked by Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/help/568137493302217

OARS has no control over and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these sites.  This privacy policy applies only to our website and not to any third-party websites to which it links. If you follow a link to any of these websites, note that these entities have their own privacy policies and OARS does not accept any responsibility or liability for their policies and practices.  Please check their individual privacy policies before you submit any information to these websites.

 

  • Social Sharing Features

Our site offers social sharing features, which allow you to share actions you take on the Site with other media. The use of such features enables the sharing of information with your friends or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the third party that provides the social sharing feature. For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features, please review the privacy policies of the third parties that provide these features.

OARS contracts with other companies, service providers, vendors, contractors, and agents who complete transactions or perform services on our behalf, such as those that assist us with our business and internal operations including shipping, name and address verification, email distribution, market research, promotions management, gift cards, payment processing, transportation, and lodging. We provide these companies with only the information they need to perform their services. These companies are prohibited from using this information for their own marketing purposes or from sharing this information with anyone other than OARS.

Except as otherwise described in this privacy statement, OARS will not disclose personal information to any third party unless we believe that disclosure is necessary: (1) to conform to legal requirements or to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other legal process received by OARS, whether or not a response is required by applicable law; (2) to protect our rights; or (3) to protect the safety of members of the public and users of the service.

OPTING OUT OF MARKETING:

The personally identifiable information that you provide to us and information about your order may be combined with other personally identifiable information from our records and other sources. This information will be used to make our future marketing efforts more efficient. We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. If you prefer not to receive direct marketing from us, please call us at 1-800-346-6277 or email us at info@oars.com.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

We use many safeguards that include both technical and physical measures to protect your information. These safeguards are continually updated and maintained by our information security professionals.

For online transactions, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology which encrypts your information automatically, and digital security certificates that guarantee your information is being transmitted in secure form directly to our web servers, and not to an unauthorized server. Due to the nature of our services, it is necessary to collect and store a certain amount of personal and financial information. By submitting your information to us, you consent to the storage of this information for a period of time deemed appropriate by us. Our internal computer systems are protected with anti-virus protection and firewalls that block unauthorized access by individuals or networks. O.A.R.S. Companies, Inc. is a PCI Compliant company.  In the event of a data breach of your personal information, we will promptly respond and notify those individuals who are affected.

You have the right to review or have your personal information deleted from our system, to the extent practicable with the understanding that we may be required by law to keep some of that information or may need to keep that information for certain records or to provide services to you. We will respond to all requests in a timely manner.  We will not discriminate against you for your decisions about your personal data. For questions, or to request deletion, please contact OARS at 1-800-346-6277 or email us at privacy@oars.com.

CHILDREN:

Our website is not directed to children under 18, and we do not offer products or services aimed at or directly to children on our website. If a child under the age of 18 has provided us with personally identifiable information, the child’s parent or guardian may contact us and request that such information be deleted from our records.

SPAM:

We have a strict no spam policy.  In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, email that we send will clearly identify who the email is from and how to contact the sender.  In addition, our communications will contain information on how to remove yourself from our mailing list should you no longer wish to receive email communications from us.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES:

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the policy will govern our use of your information and will always be at https://www.oars.com/privacy-policy. By continuing to access or use this site after those changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For more information on our privacy policy, feel free to call us at 1-800-346-6277 or email us at privacy@oars.com.

February 13, 2023