How to protect your privacy on vacation - unauthorized recording

How to protect your privacy on vacation - unauthorized recording.

You came on vacation and want to preserve and protect your privacy? You don't want to be filmed while staying at the pool of the holiday villa? If you are concerned about the above questions, this article is just for you.

Do I have to give my personal data to the owner of the property?

The answer is yes. According to the regulations of the Republic of Croatia, the owner of a vacation home or luxury villa is obliged to register you in the e-visitor system and will therefore ask for your personal data in order to fulfill his legal obligation. Even if there is no obligation to register a guest, every property owner has the right to request and receive personal data of all his guests because it is necessary for the owner to have information about who is staying in the property at a certain time. Logical, right? We believe that you, in the owner position, would also request the information of the person who comes to stay in your property.

What can the owner of the property do with my personal data?

You gave your personal data to the owner of the holiday villa and the owner duly registered you in the e-visitor system. The owner has a legal obligation to keep your personal data in such a way that third parties cannot obtain them and that he is obliged to delete them if they are no longer necessary for him to perform a certain job or provide you with a service. So, after you have finished your vacation and left the property, you have the right to ask the owner to delete all your personal data from his internal records that do not represent his legal obligation. In particular, the owner must not transfer your data to third parties and use them in any way outside the scope of your permissions and legal obligations.

Does the owner have the right to film the holiday villa and guests during their stay?

The owner is authorized to film the courtyard, the pool and the holiday villa itself for the purpose of supervision, security and protection of his property, but he is obliged to clearly display the recording notice at the entrance to the property. In the case of vacation homes, it is desirable for owners to note in their advertisements that the holiday villa has external video surveillance. If the owner of the property did not clearly highlight the video surveillance signs and/or if you were not aware that a certain villa has video surveillance when booking the accommodation, you are authorized to ask the owner to stop recording during your stay, i.e. to cover the video surveillance cameras. If the owner refuses to comply with your request, you have the right to apply for cancellation of the reservation and refund of the entire amount of the reservation. In addition, you have the right to file a report with the police for unauthorized recording if the recording took place or file a report with the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data.

Is the property owner authorized to record the interior of the holiday villa and guests during their stay?

Inside the villa, the owner is authorized to record only the daytime parts of the property if he explicitly and clearly stated this in his ads and informed the guest about this fact before the reservation, and clearly indicated in the property which rooms are under video surveillance. Under no circumstances property owner is not authorized to film bedrooms and bathrooms in the vacation home, and any unauthorized recording of this type constitutes a serious criminal offense. Guests are authorized to leave the facility immediately and request alternative accommodation and a refund of the entire amount of the reservation, along with calling the police and filing criminal charges. In certain cases guests can also request compensation for damages if these video materials were made public.

How to know if the owner is secretly recording you and how to protect yourself?

If we start from the beginning of the reservation process, several security mechanisms are available to guests in cases where their privacy is important to them on vacation. The owner is obliged to highlight the method and type of video surveillance in his vacation home already in the reservation ads. However, we advise you to carefully look at the photos of the holiday villa you want to book because, as a rule, you will already see cameras used for video surveillance in the photos. In this case, ask the owner or the agency that advertises the accommodation whether the cameras are turned off/covered during your stay and note that this is a condition for your reservation. We also suggest that you ask if there is internal video surveillance of the property.

When arriving on vacation and entering the holiday villa, we advise you once again to look at the prominent signs on the property, then to visually check whether there are cameras inside or outside the property and whether they are covered. Finally, we suggest you ask the owner to allow you to see the application through which he monitors and reviews the cameras. It is also the safest option because you will immediately see how many cameras there are on the property and what they are recording. After that, in agreement with the owner, request that the recording be limited or adjusted in such a way that you have a peaceful and carefree vacation with complete protection of your privacy.

Because of these problems, we suggest you book a vacation home in Croatia through the Home Rent agency. Home Rent offers its guests complete privacy protection and mediation in solving problems that may arise at the property during your vacation, and which problems may violate your privacy.