Cookie Statement

Cookie Statement

Whenever you use our online services, including our applications, cookies and other tracking technologies can be used in various ways, such as making the GeorgianTravelGuide.com website work, to analyse traffic, or for advertisement purposes. These technologies are either used by us directly, or by our business partners, including third party service providers and advertisers we work with.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data that is placed in the browser of your computer or on your mobile device. So-called “first party cookies” (not as much fun as they sound) are cookies which are served by the entity operating the domain through which the cookie is served. GeorgianTravelGuide.com’s own cookies are therefore “first party cookies”. In case we allow others to service cookies through the GeorgianTravelGuide.com websites and apps, these cookies are so-called “third party cookies”.

In addition, there is a difference between session cookies and permanent cookies. Session cookies will only exist until you close your browser. Permanent cookies have a longer lifespan and are not automatically deleted once you close your browser. We strive to serve cookies or allow the serving of cookies with a maximum lifespan of 5 years. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as for security purposes and where absolutely necessary, will a cookie have a longer lifespan than that.

Next to cookies, other tracking technologies are used which are similar to cookies. These can include web beacons (also known as pixel tags, web bugs or gifs), tracking URLs or software development kits (SDKs). A web beacon is a tiny graphic image of just one pixel that can be delivered to your computer as part of a web page request, in an app, in an advertisement or in an HTML email message. Pixels can be used to retrieve information from your device, such as your device type or operating system, IP address, and time of visit. They are also used to serve and read cookies in your browser. Tracking URLs are used to understand from which referring website the GeorgianTravelGuide.com websites or apps are used. SDKs are small pieces of code included in apps, which function like cookies and web beacons.

All these technologies are together referred to in this Cookie Statement as “cookies”.

How are cookies used?

Cookies are used for different purposes. They allow you to be recognized as the same user across the pages of a website, between websites or when you use an app. The types of information that we collect through cookies include IP address; device ID; viewed pages; browser type; browsing information; operating system; internet service provider; timestamp; whether you have responded to an advertisement; the referring URL; and features used or activities engaged in within the website/apps.

They allow you to be recognized as the same user across the pages of a website, across devices, between websites or when you use our apps. When it comes to purpose, they are divided into three categories – functional cookies, analytical cookies and marketing cookies.

Functional cookies

These are cookies required for our websites and apps to function and they must be enabled in order for you to use our services.

Functional cookies are used to create technologically advanced, user-friendly websites and apps that adapt automatically to your needs and preferences, so you can browse and book easily. This also includes enabling essential security and accessibility features.

More specifically, these cookies:

• Enable our website and apps to work properly, so you can create an account, sign in, and manage your bookings.
• Remember your selected currency and language settings, your past searches and other preferences to help you use our website and apps efficiently and effectively.
• Remember your registration information, so that you don’t have to retype your login credentials each time you visit our website or app. (Don’t worry, passwords will always be encrypted.)

Analytical cookies

These cookies measure and track how our website and apps are used. We use this information to improve our website, apps and services.

More specifically, these cookies:

• Help us understand how visitors and customers like you use Booking.com and our apps.
• Help improve our website, apps, and communications to make sure we're interesting and relevant.
• Allow us to find out what works and what doesn't on our website and apps.
• Help us understand the effectiveness of advertisements and communications.
• Teach us how users interact with our website or apps after they have been shown an online advertisement, including advertisements on third-party websites.
• Enable our business partners to learn whether or not their customers make use of any accommodation offers integrated into their websites.

The data we gather through these cookies can include which web pages you have viewed, which referring/exit pages you have entered and left from, which platform type you have used, which emails you have opened and acted upon, and date and time stamp information. It also means we can use details about how you’ve interacted with the site or app, such as the number of clicks you make on a given screen, your mouse movements and scrolling activity, the search words you use and the text you enter into various fields.

Marketing cookies

These cookies are used by Booking.com and our trusted partners to gather information about you over time, across multiple websites, applications, or other platforms.

Marketing cookies help us to decide which products, services and interest-based advertisements to show you, both on and off our website and apps.

More specifically, these cookies:

• Categorise you into a certain interest profile, for instance, on the basis of the websites you visit and your click behavior. We use these profiles to display personalized content (such as travel ideas or specific accommodations) on Georgiantravelguide.com and other websites.
• Display personalized and interest-based advertisements both on the Georgiantravelguide.com website, our apps and other websites. This is called ‘retargeting’ and is based on your browsing activities, such as the destinations you’ve been searching for, the accommodation you’ve viewed and the prices you’ve been shown. It can also be based on your shopping habits or other online activities.
• Retargeting ads can be shown to you both before and after you leave Georgiantravelguide.com, as their purpose is to encourage you to browse or return to our website. You might see these ads on websites, in apps or in emails.
• Integrate social media into our website and apps. This allows you to like or share content or products on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn.

These ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons work using pieces of code from the individual social media providers, allowing third party cookies to be placed on your device.

These cookies can be purely functional, but they can also be used to keep track of which websites you visit from their network, to build a profile of your online browsing behaviour and to show you personalized ads. This profile will be partly built using comparable information the providers receive from your visits to other websites in their network.

To read more about what social media providers do with your personal data, take a look at their cookie and/or privacy statements.

Non-cookie techniques – email pixels

We may also use techniques, such as pixels, which we don’t mark as cookies because they do not store any information on your device.

We sometimes place pixels in emails, such as newsletters. A ‘pixel’ is an electronic file the size of a single pixel, that is placed in the email and loaded when you open it. By using email pixels, we can see if the message was delivered, if and when you read the message and what you click on.

We also receive this information about the push notifications we send you. These statistics provide us with feedback about your reading behaviour, which we use to optimise our messages and make our communication more relevant to you.

What are your choices?

To learn more about cookies and how to manage or delete them, simply visit allaboutcookies.org and the help section of your browser. In the settings for browsers such as Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox or Chrome, you can set which cookies to accept and which to reject. Where you find these settings depends on which browser you use. Use the "Help" function in your browser to locate the settings you need.

If you choose not to accept certain technical and/or functional cookies, you may not be able to use some functions on our website. We currently do not support “Do Not Track” browser settings.