Privacy Notice

1. Introduction

1.1         HELVETII Hikes Ltd (“HELVETII”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information.

1.2         This Policy applies when you:

  • Visit our website;
  • Make a booking or attend one of our Trips;
  • Enquire about or book an International Trip operated by our partner;
  • Sign up to our newsletter or join our community channels; or
  • Communicate with us.

1.3         We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1.4         For the purposes of data protection law, the data controller is HELVETII Hikes Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 16353788. You can contact us about this Policy or about your personal data at info@helvetiihikes.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1         Personal details:

  • Name;
  • Date of birth, where required to confirm eligibility (our Trips are for adults aged 18 and over);
  • Email address, postal address and phone number.
  • Emergency contact details for the person you would like us to contact in an emergency.

2.2         Booking information:

  • Details of the Trips you book and attend;
  • Payment status. Payment card details are processed securely by our payment provider — we do not store, and do not have access to, your full card details.
  • Bookings made before 18 August 2026 were processed through Bokun, our previous booking system.

2.3         Health and safety information:

  • Relevant medical, dietary or accessibility information that you disclose to us for the purposes of your safety and participation.

2.4         Website and communication data:

  • Messages you send us by email, contact form or social media;
  • Information collected automatically when you use our website, including through cookies (see Section 11).
  • Responses to post-trip feedback forms. These are anonymous unless you choose to provide your name or contact details.

2.5         Photography and media:

  • Photographs and video taken during Trips for marketing and promotional purposes, in accordance with Section 12.

3. How We Collect Your Data

3.1         We collect personal data when you:

  • Make a booking through our website;
  • Sign up to our newsletter or join our community channels;
  • Contact us by email, social media or contact form;
  • Nominate someone for The Ripple; or
  • Attend a HELVETII Trip.

3.2         Bookings are made and managed through our website, which is built on WordPress and uses WooCommerce to process bookings and to record booking and participant information.

4. How We Use Your Data

4.1         We use your personal data to:

  • Process your bookings and payments;
  • Communicate Trip details, updates and important information to you;
  • Manage participant lists, attendance and safety;
  • Respond to your enquiries;
  • Facilitate bookings for International Trips operated by our partner;
  • Send you marketing communications, where you have consented; and
  • Operate, maintain and improve our services.

4.2         We only use your data where there is a lawful basis to do so, as set out in Section 5.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

5.1         Under the UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following bases:

  • Performance of a contract — to administer and deliver the Trips you book;
  • Consent — for marketing communications, and for the use of certain cookies;
  • Legitimate interests — to operate, administer and improve our business, where this is not overridden by your rights and freedoms; and
  • Legal obligation — where we are required to process data to comply with the law, for example in respect of financial and tax records.

5.2         Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time (see Sections 10 and 12).

5.3         Health and safety information is special category personal data. Where we process it, we do so on the basis of your explicit consent, which you give when you complete a participation form before a Trip. You may withdraw that consent at any time, although we may then be unable to allow you to take part where the information is necessary for your safety.

6. Third-Party Services and Processors

6.1         We use a number of trusted third-party service providers who process personal data on our behalf as data processors. Each is required to handle personal data securely and in accordance with data protection law.

6.2         These include:

  • WordPress.com — our website hosting provider;
  • WooCommerce — our booking and order-management system, integrated within our website;
  • Protected Trust Service (PTS) – which operates the trust account holding customer payments, and provides the booking management system on which booking records are held, alongside WooCommerce;
  • Protected Payment Services (PPS) — our payment provider, which securely processes all customer payments into an independent client trust account operated by Protected Trust Services;
  • MailerLite — our email marketing platform, used to send newsletters and updates to subscribers who have consented; and
  • Google Workspace — which hosts our business email.

6.3         In each case, payment card details are processed directly by the relevant payment provider under their own security standards. HELVETII does not store, and does not have access to, your full payment card details.

6.4         Where a Trip includes a specialist activity delivered by a third-party provider (for example climbing, via ferrata or water-based activities), we may share limited relevant information with that provider where necessary for the delivery and safety of the activity. Those providers are responsible for their own handling of your personal data.

7. The Ripple

7.1         The Ripple is a programme through which a member of our community may nominate another person to receive a fully funded place on a HELVETII Trip.

7.2         When you submit a nomination, we collect your name and email address, your relationship to the person you are nominating, and their first name. We use this information to consider the nomination and to contact you about it.

7.3         We do not contact the person you nominate unless the nomination is selected. Where it is, we will ask you for their contact details so that we can send them their invitation.

7.4         By submitting a nomination, you confirm that you have that person’s permission to share their first name with us.

7.5         Nominations are open at all times. Where a nomination is not selected, we retain it for up to twelve months so that it can be considered when a future place becomes available. After twelve months it is deleted.

8. International Trips

8.1         Our overseas expeditions are operated by Ultimate Adventure Travel Ltd. Where you enquire about or book one of these expeditions, we will securely share the personal information necessary to facilitate your booking, including your contact details and any information required to operate your expedition.

8.2         For those bookings, Ultimate Adventure Travel Ltd is the data controller in respect of the information they hold about you, and their own privacy policy will apply.

8.3         Both HELVETII Hikes Ltd and Ultimate Adventure Travel Ltd process personal data in accordance with UK GDPR.

9. Sharing Your Data

9.1         We do not sell your personal data to any third party.

9.2         We may share your personal data with:

  • HELVETII Hosts and staff, only where necessary for the delivery and safety of a Trip;
  • The third-party processors listed in Section 6;
  • Ultimate Adventure Travel Ltd, in respect of International Trips;
  • Accommodation providers, where a booking is requires it;
  • Our professional advisers, such as our accountants, where necessary; and
  • Legal or regulatory authorities, where we are required to do so by law.

10. Data Storage, Security and Retention

10.1       We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

  • Secure systems and reputable third-party platforms;
  • Restricted access to personal data on a need-to-know basis; and
  • Appropriate safeguards against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure.

10.2       We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Financial and booking records are ordinarily retained for a minimum of six (6) years in line with legal requirements. Health and safety information is retained only for as long as necessary in connection with the relevant Trip, except where it forms part of an incident or safeguarding record, which is retained for a minimum of six years.

10.3       Ripple nominations are retained for up to twelve months where not selected.

11. Marketing Communications

11.1       Where you have consented, we may contact you about upcoming Trips, HELVETII news, offers and announcements. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by:

11.2       Withdrawing your consent to marketing does not affect our ability to send you information that is necessary for the administration of a Trip you have booked.

11.3       You may consent to receiving marketing from us by subscribing through our website, or by ticking the marketing option at checkout when you make a booking. We will only send you marketing where you have given that consent. Making a booking does not, by itself, subscribe you to our marketing.

12. Cookies

12.1       Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enable core functionality (including the booking and checkout process), to remember your preferences, and to help us understand how our website is used.

12.2       You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website, including your ability to make a booking.

13. Photography and Media

13.1       Photographs and video may be taken during Trips for HELVETII’s marketing and promotional purposes.

13.2       If you do not wish to appear in photographs or video, please inform us in writing before the Trip, or notify a Host on the day, and we will take reasonable steps to respect your wishes.

14. Your Rights

14.1       Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you;
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;
  • Request erasure of your data in certain circumstances;
  • Restrict or object to our processing of your data;
  • Request the transfer of your data (data portability), where applicable; and
  • Withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

14.2       To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@helvetiihikes.com.

14.3       You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection, at www.ico.org.uk. We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you approach the ICO, and encourage you to contact us first.

15. Relationship to Other Policies

15.1       This Policy should be read together with the HELVETII Booking Terms and Conditions and the HELVETII Cancellation Policy, both of which are available on our website.

16. Changes to This Policy

16.1       We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version will always be available on our website, and material changes will be reflected in the date shown below.

17. Contact Us

17.1       If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or about how your personal data is handled, please contact us at info@helvetiihikes.com.

HELVETII Privacy Policy — August 2026