Privacy, in plain language.

Hostbook support staff may view a venue's account, guest, reservation, message, and payment records to resolve a support request or a service problem. Every view and change is logged with who made it and when, and that log is kept even if the venue is later deleted.

A venue manager can let Hostbook support look at the venue's records for 1, 4 or 24 hours, approved with their PIN, and anyone on the venue's staff can end it early. While it's on, every device at the venue shows a banner. In an outage, or where payments or data are at risk, a Hostbook developer can open one hour of emergency access with a written reason; the venue's managers are emailed straight away and the reason is kept in the venue's support log. Managers can see what support looked at in Settings.

Screenshots attached to a reported issue are kept with the report for up to 90 days, and deleted with the report or the venue.

When a reported issue reaches the Hostbook team, an investigation assistant may read the report, its conversation, the device report and a list of recent changes at the venue (which actions, not their values), with email addresses and phone numbers removed. It can't change your records: it suggests fixes, and a Hostbook developer decides. Each time it looks, the venue's support log records it. When a fix needs to change the venue's records (for example, showing a hidden table again), one of the venue's admins approves the exact changes with their PIN first, unless a developer makes them under emergency access. Each change appears in the venue's activity, and Hostbook can put it back. When a reported issue closes, Hostbook keeps a short summary of what went wrong and what fixed it, with contact details removed, until the venue's account is deleted. The venue sees its own summaries in Settings. Another venue with the same problem may be offered the general fix, never the venue's name or details.

When venue staff send a device report, or ask the help chat for a person, the device sends Hostbook its app version, browser and device type, connection and offline-sync status, storage use, and recent error messages. Reports don't include guest details, except any that appear inside an error message. A venue keeps its newest 25 reports, each for up to 90 days.

Hostbook uses telephone numbers and SMS consent evidence to deliver Premium operational reservation, waitlist, and registered-event messages, process replies, prevent duplicate sends, honour STOP across the Hostbook program, respond to HELP, investigate delivery errors, maintain security, and demonstrate compliance. PAYG venues remain email-only for Hostbook communications.

For a Premium venue, Hostbook may store durable staff-recorded verbal permission containing the guest profile, venue, canonical phone snapshot, disclosure version and source, verified staff identity and role, and timestamp. The record is person-specific, follows future visits at that venue while the phone remains current, and supports only fixed operational templates. It is separate from marketing consent and cannot silently replace a known Push preference.

Household membership links separate guest profiles without merging their identity, consent, communication preference, reservations, or history. A shared phone number does not make one household member's SMS consent apply to another.

Mobile opt-in data and consent are not sold or shared with third parties for their own marketing. Hostbook may disclose the minimum data needed to service providers that transmit messages, host the service, prevent abuse, or support legal and security obligations.

Consent, suppression, attestation, and messaging records are retained for as long as reasonably needed to operate the service, honour suppression choices, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations, and maintain an audit trail. Existing telephone numbers are not treated as SMS consent.

Some Hostbook tools use artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest actions. Staff choose when to use them, and AI suggestions do not change reservations, guest records, or settings on their own. Hostbook currently uses OpenAI as its AI provider.

• AI Host (Premium) suggests seating, section, and online-pacing changes for a service. Hostbook works out these options itself, on the staff device, from table layouts, booking times, party sizes, and service settings. When staff type a request, only the typed text and the venue's room and section names are sent to the AI provider, so the request can be understood. Guest and staff names, email addresses, and phone numbers are removed on the device before anything is sent. Nothing changes until someone allowed to apply changes applies them.
• Import and duplicate tools suggest how to match file columns, explain import errors, and flag likely duplicate guests, bookings, and mailing-list members. Before anything is sent, guest names, email addresses, phone numbers, and source record numbers are replaced with coded placeholders that show only whether values match or look alike. Staff review the results before an import or merge is completed.
• The help assistant answers staff questions about using Hostbook. It receives the conversation and the venue name, with email addresses and phone numbers removed. Please do not include guest names or other personal details in help chat.

Hostbook's AI requests are not saved by its AI provider and may not be used to train or improve its models. OpenAI may keep request data for up to 30 days to detect abuse, unless the law requires it to keep data longer.

Hostbook does not use AI to make decisions about guests that have legal or similarly significant effects.

Hostbook uses service providers to host the service, send messages, process payments, and provide AI-assisted features. They may use personal information only to provide their services to Hostbook and are bound by written agreements that require them to protect it. They are:

• Convex: database, application backend, and file storage, for account, venue, reservation, guest, messaging, and payment records. United States.
• Vercel: website and web app hosting, which handles page requests, IP addresses, browser details, and pages viewed while signed in. United States, with pages delivered from locations worldwide.
• OpenAI: AI-assisted features, as described above. United States.
• Resend: email delivery, including recipient names and email addresses, message content, and delivery events. United States.
• SignalWire: text messages for Premium venues, including phone numbers, message content, replies, and delivery status. United States.
• Stripe: deposits, payments, refunds, and billing, including names, email addresses, card details entered in Stripe's secure fields, and amounts. United States and other countries where Stripe operates.
• Google: optional “Sign in with Google” for staff, using the Google account name, email address, and profile picture. United States.
• Browser push services (Apple, Google, Mozilla, Microsoft): notifications to devices that turned them on, using encrypted notification content and the device's push address. Location varies by browser.
• Komoot (Photon): address suggestions during venue setup, using the address text staff type. Germany.

Hostbook serves venues in the United States and Canada. Hostbook's database is hosted in the United States, and some providers process information in the United States or other countries. Information processed in another country is subject to that country's laws and may be accessed by its courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities.

Before personal information about people in Quebec is communicated outside Quebec, Hostbook assesses the privacy impacts as Quebec law requires.

We update this list before a new provider starts processing personal information. Questions about how information is processed outside your province, state, or country may be sent to support@thehostbook.com.

Privacy and mobile-messaging questions may be sent to support@thehostbook.com. Reservation-specific questions should be directed to the venue.

Hostbook
1506-95 High Park Avenue, Toronto, Ontario