Privacy Policy

This document outlines Hostelling International USA's (HI-USA) online privacy policy, which governs personal information gathered on the national website and its aliases. HI-USA, Michigan follows the same policy with changes noted below where certain items do not apply to the Michigan Council.

HI-USA Commitment to Online Security

Physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been employed to safeguard the security and integrity of personal information. Billing information is encrypted whenever transmitted or received online which is currently done through HI-USA. Personal information is accessible only by staff or volunteers designated to handle online enquiries, purchases or complaints. All HI-USA, Michigan agents and contractors with access to personal information obtained on the HI-USA, Michigan website are also bound to adhere to this policy.

Personal Information that HI-USA, Michigan May Collect Online

When an individual makes a donation or signs up for a trip or event online, HI-USA, Michigan may collect the following types of personal information: name, age, postal and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers and billing information. HI-USA, Michigan may also collect other demographic or psychographic information through member surveys and program participation with their consent.

How HI-USA, Michigan Uses Personal Information Collected Online

Unless you consent, we will not use your personal information for any purpose other than that for which it is submitted. We use personal information to reply to enquiries, complete a transaction, manage complaints, provide operational notices and in program recordkeeping. HI-USA membership entitles the purchaser to certain benefits, including access to hostels, discounts and communications from HI-USA and its local affiliates. HI-USA (of which HI-USA, Michigan is a local affiliate) is a tax-exempt, not for profit organization that relies on individual contributions to fund operations and directly solicits its membership for this purpose. HI-USA will provide its members with the opportunity to opt out of receiving various membership benefits, communications and solicitations. Election boxes appear as part of individual communications and solicitations. At any time you can add or remove your name from an HI-USA, Michigan list by contacting us at volunteer@hi-michigan.org.

How Your Information May Be Shared

In order to process an enquiry, transaction or complaint, HI-USA, Michigan may send information to HI-USA National Office. HI-USA, Michigan will not sell or rent your personal information to any third party. HI-USA, Michigan will not give direct access to any third party for the distribution of information or a given product or service offer, without being coordinated through HI-USA, Michigan.

HI-USA, Michigan may also release personal information to appropriate governmental authorities under the following circumstances:

Where release is required by law (for example, a subpoena) or regulation, or is requested by a government agency conducting investigations or proceedings;
Where our records indicate a member or participant may be engaged in fraudulent activity or other deceptive practices that a governmental agency should be made aware of;
Where your communication suggests possible harm to others.

Help Us Keep Your Personal Information Accurate

If your personal information changes or you would like to review the personal information we may have on file, please e-mail us with the new information or your review request at volunteer@hi-michigan.org. Let us also know the HI-USA, Michigan program, product or service that led to your submission of personal information so we may efficiently locate your information.

Computer Tracking and Cookies

Our websites are not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information not entered by visitors. Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to others, but again, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be used to gather such information.

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. HI-USA, Michigan uses non-identifying cookies to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. You can still use the HI-USA, Michigan site if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our cookies do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

If you have a complaint about HI-USA, Michigan's compliance with this privacy policy, you may contact us at volunteer@hi-michigan.org.