Privacy Policy

Westin Travel is the trade name of Westn Travel and Forex Private Limited (“Westin Travel,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a travel agency registered in India with its office at Survey No 43, 3rd Floor, Arka Rochish, Khajaguda–Nanakramguda Rd, Chitrapuri Colony, Manikonda, Hyderabad, Telangana 500089, India.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you use westintravel.com or our services — whether you book online, by phone, on WhatsApp, by email, or at our office — how we use and share that data, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. It applies to everyone whose data we handle: customers, people they book for, and visitors to our website.

We process personal data in accordance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the “DPDP Act”), the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the rules made under them. Where the law requires your consent, we ask for it at the time you make an enquiry or booking, and you may withdraw it at any time as described under “Your Rights” below.

Information We Collect

We collect only the information we need to arrange the travel services you ask for. Depending on the service, this may include:

• Identity and contact details. Your name, date of birth, gender, nationality, postal address, email address, and phone number.
• Passport, visa, and identity documents. Passport details and copies, photographs, visa application forms, and the supporting documents a consulate or immigration authority requires. Airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and visa authorities will not accept a booking or application without them, so we cannot provide those services if you choose not to share them.
• Financial information. The details needed to take your payment and issue any refund, such as billing information, bank account or UPI details you give us for refunds, and payment confirmation records from our payment gateway. As explained under “Payment Card Data” below, full card numbers are handled by the payment gateway, not by us.
• Travel preferences. Seat and meal preferences, frequent-flyer or loyalty program numbers, special assistance needs, and similar details that help us book the trip you want.
• Co-traveler details. When you book for family members, friends, or colleagues, we collect the same categories of information about them. By giving us another person’s details you confirm that you have their permission (or, for a minor, that you are their parent or guardian) and that you have told them about this Privacy Policy.
• Device and usage data. Standard web server logs generated when you visit westintravel.com, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. We use these only to keep the site running and secure.

We collect this information directly from you — through our enquiry forms, over the phone, on WhatsApp, by email, or in person — and, for co-travelers, from the person making the booking.

How We Use Your Information

We use personal data only for the purposes below:

• Making your bookings. Passing your details to airlines, hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and travel insurers to reserve, issue, change, or cancel the services you have asked for.
• Filing visa applications. Preparing and submitting visa applications on your behalf to the relevant embassies, consulates, and immigration authorities — including the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore, Chennai, for Singapore visa applications we file as an Authorised Visa Agent (AVA).
• Processing payments. Collecting payment for your bookings through our payment gateway (Razorpay), issuing invoices and receipts, and processing refunds.
• Keeping you informed. Sending booking confirmations, itineraries, schedule changes, visa status updates, and other service messages by phone, WhatsApp, or email.
• Responding to you. Answering your enquiries and requests, and resolving complaints.
• Legal and regulatory compliance. Meeting our obligations under Indian law, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping requirements, and responding to lawful requests from courts and government authorities.
• Occasional offers. With your consent, telling you about fares, packages, or services similar to those you have booked or asked about. You can opt out at any time by replying to any such message or contacting us, and we will stop.

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling, and we do not use it for any purpose incompatible with those listed above without telling you first.

How We Share Your Information

We share personal data only with the parties necessary to deliver the service you have asked for:

• Travel suppliers. The airlines, hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, insurers, and other suppliers who provide the services in your booking. They receive only the details they need to deliver their part of your trip, and they handle your data under their own privacy policies.
• Government and immigration authorities. Embassies, consulates (including the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore, Chennai), and immigration authorities, when we file a visa application for you or when travel regulations require passenger information to be provided.
• Payment gateways. Razorpay, which processes card and other electronic payments for us as described under “Payment Card Data” below.
• Professional advisers and authorities. Our auditors, accountants, legal advisers, and government or law-enforcement authorities where the law requires disclosure or where it is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, prevent fraud, or protect the safety of any person.
• Business transfers. If our business is merged, acquired, or restructured, personal data may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

We never sell or rent your personal data, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

Some travel suppliers and visa authorities are located outside India. When your trip or visa application involves them, your data is transferred to those countries because that is the only way to deliver the service. We send only what the booking or application requires.

Payment Card Data

Card payments are processed by PCI-DSS-compliant payment gateways — currently Razorpay. When you pay by card, your card details are entered on and encrypted by the gateway’s secure payment page and go directly to the gateway; they do not pass through or reside on our systems.

We do not store full card numbers, card expiry dates, or CVV codes. We retain only the transaction reference, amount, and payment status that the gateway returns to us, which we need for invoicing, reconciliation, and refunds.

Cookies and Website Data

westintravel.com is a static, informational website. It does not set advertising cookies. It does use one analytics service, listed below, to understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it.

The site makes three kinds of third-party requests, which we list here in the interest of transparency:

• Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to measure site usage — pages visited, approximate location (city level), device type, and interactions such as enquiry-form submissions and clicks on our phone number or WhatsApp buttons. Google Analytics sets first-party cookies (names beginning with _ga) and processes data under Google’s privacy policy. We use this data in aggregate only; it does not identify you by name. You can opt out by blocking cookies in your browser or installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
• Google Fonts. Our pages load typefaces from Google Fonts, so your browser requests font files from Google’s servers, which see your IP address as part of serving the request.
• Google Maps. Our contact page embeds a Google Map showing our office location. Google may set cookies and collect usage data through that embed under its own privacy policy.

No other third-party scripts, pixels, or beacons run on this website. You can block cookies or third-party content in your browser settings without losing access to any part of the site.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We keep personal data only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected:

• Booking and payment records are kept for the life of the booking and then for as long as Indian tax, accounting, and other legal obligations require us to retain them.
• Passport copies, photographs, and visa documents are kept for as long as needed to complete the booking or visa application they were collected for, and thereafter only as long as the law or the possibility of a related claim requires.
• Enquiry details that do not lead to a booking are kept only long enough to respond to you and follow up.
• Server logs are kept for a short period for security and troubleshooting.

When data is no longer needed, we delete it or render it anonymous.

How We Protect Your Data

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the data we handle, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections on our website, secure handling of payments through PCI-DSS-compliant gateways, restriction of access to customer records to staff who need them for their work, and secure disposal of documents we no longer need.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a personal data breach affecting you occurs, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

Your Rights

Under the DPDP Act and the Information Technology Act, you have the right to:

• Access — ask for a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how we have processed it.
• Correction and updating — have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected, completed, or updated.
• Erasure — ask us to delete your personal data. We will do so unless we must retain it for a legal obligation, an active booking, or a legitimate purpose permitted by law.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw consent you have given, at any time, with effect for future processing. Withdrawing consent may mean we cannot complete a booking or visa application that depends on the data concerned.
• Nominate — nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or are incapacitated.
• Grievance redressal — raise a complaint about how we handle your data with our Grievance Officer (see below). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in the “Contact Us and Grievance Redressal” section. We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we respond within the timelines applicable law requires.

Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from anyone under 18. We handle a child’s details — for example, a passport copy for a family booking or visa application — only when a parent or guardian provides them and consents on the child’s behalf. We do not use children’s data for marketing of any kind. If you believe a minor has provided us data directly, contact us and we will delete it.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may link to sites we do not operate, such as airline, hotel, or government visa portals. This Privacy Policy does not cover those sites, and we are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every site you visit.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our services or the law change. The current version is always published on this page, and the “Last updated” date at the top shows when it last changed. For significant changes we will post a prominent notice on our website or contact you directly. Changes take effect when posted on this page.

Contact Us and Grievance Redressal

If you have a question, request, or complaint about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, contact our Grievance Officer:

• Sashi Reddy Jakkula, CEO & Director — Grievance Officer, Westn Travel and Forex Private Limited
• Survey No 43, 3rd Floor, Arka Rochish, Khajaguda–Nanakramguda Rd, Chitrapuri Colony, Manikonda, Hyderabad, Telangana 500089, India
• Email: info@westintravel.com
• Phone: 970 970 3636
• Or via our website: westintravel.com/contact-us

We acknowledge grievances promptly and aim to resolve them within the timelines required under applicable law.