Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, and protect your personal information

Last updated: March 9, 2026

1. Who We Are

Mahalo Travels ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website mahalotravels.com. We provide AI-powered trip planning tools and connect travelers with qualified travel agents. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or use our services.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

  • Account information: Name, email address, and password when you register
  • Contact information: Phone number provided in contact forms or agent inquiries
  • Travel preferences: Destinations, dates, budget, interests, and trip details entered through our trip planner
  • Communications: Messages sent through our chat widget or contact forms
  • Deal alerts: Email address when signing up for deal notifications

Information Collected Automatically

  • Device information: Browser type, operating system, device type, screen resolution
  • Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, search queries
  • Location data: General geographic location based on IP address
  • Referral data: How you arrived at our site (search engine, social media, direct link)
  • Session data: Session identifiers and visitor tracking for analytics purposes

3. How We Collect Data

  • Registration and account forms
  • Trip planner and itinerary tools
  • Contact forms and chat widget
  • Deal gate email signup
  • Newsletter subscriptions
  • Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy)
  • Analytics trackers embedded on our pages

4. How We Use Your Information

  • Provide, operate, and improve our trip planning services
  • Generate personalized travel recommendations using AI
  • Connect you with qualified travel agents based on your preferences
  • Send deal alerts and newsletters you opted into
  • Process transactions and agent subscriptions
  • Analyze site usage to improve user experience
  • Prevent fraud and ensure security
  • Comply with legal obligations

5. Third-Party Services

We integrate with the following third-party services that may process your data:

  • Anthropic (Claude AI): Powers our AI trip planning and recommendation features. Travel preferences and queries are sent to generate personalized suggestions.
  • Stripe: Processes payments for agent subscriptions. We do not store your payment card information — Stripe handles this securely.
  • Amadeus: Provides flight and hotel pricing data for trip planning.
  • SerpAPI: Assists with destination research and accommodation data enrichment.
  • Unsplash: Supplies destination imagery. No personal data is shared.
  • OpenWeatherMap: Provides weather forecasts for trip destinations. No personal data is shared.

Each third-party service operates under its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review their policies.

6. Cookies

We use cookies and similar storage technologies (localStorage, sessionStorage) to operate our site, remember your preferences, and analyze usage. For full details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. Specifically:

  • Account data: Retained until you request deletion
  • Trip and itinerary data: Retained while your account is active
  • Analytics data: Aggregated and anonymized after 24 months
  • Contact form submissions: Retained for up to 12 months
  • Email subscription data: Retained until you unsubscribe

We may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., fraud prevention).

8. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data
  • Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails or decline analytics cookies
  • Data portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
  • Restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@mahalotravels.com.

9. Contact Us

For any privacy-related questions or requests, contact us at:

Email: privacy@mahalotravels.com

We will respond to your request within 30 days.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@mahalotravels.com.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

  • Right to Know: You may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you
  • Right to Delete: You may request deletion of your personal information
  • Right to Opt-Out: You may opt out of the "sale" of personal information. We do not sell your personal information.
  • Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights

To make a CCPA request, email privacy@mahalotravels.com with the subject line "CCPA Request."

12. International Users & GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or other regions with data protection laws, you have additional rights:

  • Legal basis for processing: We process your data based on consent, contract performance (providing our services), or legitimate interests (improving our platform)
  • Data transfers: Your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. We take appropriate safeguards to protect your data during transfer.
  • Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to file a complaint with your local data protection authority
  • Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.