1. Information we collect

Information you give us directly

• Quote and contact requests: name, email, phone number, property city/ZIP, property type and size, whether the property is already listed, and any message you send us.
• Onboarding as a property owner: property details and ownership information, government‑issued ID where required for verification, and payout/banking details, which are collected and stored through our payment processor rather than on our own servers.
• Guest communications: if you contact us directly as a guest (rather than through Airbnb, VRBO, or another platform), we retain that correspondence and any information you share in it.

Information collected automatically

When you visit hostthebay.com, we automatically collect certain information through cookies and similar technologies, including IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring pages, and approximate location. We use Jetpack Stats and Google Analytics (via MonsterInsights) for this purpose.

Information from third parties

We receive booking, payment, and guest identity‑verification information from listing platforms (such as Airbnb and VRBO) and payment processors we work with, subject to those companies’ own privacy policies.

2. How we use information

• Respond to quote requests and general inquiries
• Provide property management services: pricing, listing optimization, guest communication, maintenance coordination, and payouts to owners
• Process payments through third‑party payment processors
• Communicate with owners and guests about bookings, stays, and property matters
• Market our services and measure the performance of hostthebay.com
• Meet our recordkeeping and regulatory obligations under our real estate, mortgage, and insurance licenses (CA DRE, NMLS, and DOI)
• Protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity

3. Cookies & analytics

hostthebay.com uses cookies and similar technologies for core site functionality and for analytics through Jetpack Stats and Google Analytics. These tools help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can install the Google Analytics opt‑out browser add‑on to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the site function.

4. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: payment processors, website/hosting providers, email and scheduling tools, and vetted cleaning and maintenance contractors, each of whom may access information only as needed to perform their function for us
• Listing platforms: Airbnb, VRBO, and similar platforms, as necessary to manage bookings for the properties we operate
• Preferred Financial Group, Inc.: our affiliated real estate, mortgage, and insurance company, when you ask for or accept a referral for those services — see Section 7 for details on this relationship
• Legal and safety: where required by law, subpoena, or regulatory request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Host The Bay, our clients, guests, or others
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to the confidentiality expectations described in this policy

5. Your privacy rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the CPRA, gives you the right to:

• Know what personal information we have collected about you and how it has been used and shared
• Request deletion of personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions
• Correct inaccurate personal information
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (we do not currently sell or share personal information for cross‑context behavioral advertising)
• Not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of these rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12. We will need to verify your request and will respond within the time required by law.

6. Data retention

We keep personal information for as long as needed to provide our services, respond to inquiries, and satisfy legal, accounting, licensing, and recordkeeping requirements tied to our real estate, mortgage, and insurance licenses. When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely delete or de‑identify it.

7. Licensed real estate, mortgage & insurance activities

Host The Bay and/or its principals hold licenses issued by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE #01973401), the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS #1307558), and the California Department of Insurance (DOI #0K32217). These licenses subject certain of our activities to additional, industry‑specific disclosure and privacy requirements beyond this general Privacy Policy. Where a more specific notice below applies to an activity, its terms govern that activity.

Real estate license disclosure

As a DRE licensee, we disclose our license number in our advertising and solicitation materials — including this website — as required by California real estate law. If a Host The Bay license holder engages in mortgage loan origination, their NMLS identifier is likewise disclosed alongside the DRE license number in the materials for which it applies.

Affiliated business arrangement: Preferred Financial Group, Inc.

Host The Bay provides referrals to Preferred Financial Group, Inc. (“PFG”) for real estate, mortgage, and insurance services. PFG is a company in which Host The Bay and/or its owners hold an ownership and financial interest. Because of this relationship, these referrals are an “affiliated business arrangement” under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) — this is true even where the same license holder handles both sides of a transaction, because RESPA looks at whether the referral affirmatively influenced your choice of provider, not at who personally performs the work. When we refer you to PFG for real estate, mortgage, or insurance services, federal law requires that we give you a separate, written Affiliated Business Arrangement (ABA) disclosure — before or at the time of the referral — explaining our ownership and financial interest in PFG and providing an estimated charge or range of charges for its services. You are never required to use PFG to do business with Host The Bay, and choosing a different provider will not affect our management of your property.

Financial privacy notice (mortgage‑related activities)

Because we originate mortgage loans, we are a “financial institution” for purposes of the federal Gramm‑Leach‑Bliley Act (GLBA) and its implementing Regulation P. For that activity, we provide a financial privacy notice — separate from this Privacy Policy — describing: the categories of nonpublic personal financial information we collect, such as information from applications, transactions, and consumer reporting agencies; the categories of parties (including PFG and other service providers) with whom that information may be shared; your right to opt out of certain disclosures to nonaffiliated third parties, where applicable; and the safeguards we maintain to protect that information under the GLBA Safeguards Rule.

Insurance privacy notice (DOI‑licensed activities)

Because we sell insurance under our California Department of Insurance license, the California Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (California Insurance Code § 791 et seq.) requires that, at or before personal information is collected in connection with an insurance transaction, we provide a Notice of Information Practices. That notice describes whether information may be collected from someone other than the applicant or policyholder, the types of information that may be collected and their sources, the circumstances under which we may disclose that information to third parties (including PFG) without prior authorization, and your right to access and, where appropriate, correct the personal information we hold about you.

The RESPA ABA disclosure, the GLBA financial privacy notice, and the DOI Notice of Information Practices referenced above are each separate documents delivered directly to clients at specific points in a transaction — they are provided in addition to, not in place of, this web page.

8. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information. Details on the specific measures we use are described on our Data Security page. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children’s privacy

Our website and services are directed to adults and are not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

10. Third‑party links

Our website links to third‑party platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to review them — we are not responsible for their practices.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, for material changes, provide additional notice where appropriate.

12. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy or would like to exercise your privacy rights, contact us: