privacy policy

What you give us

• Your email address, when you join the Founding Hosts List.
• Your fit-call answers, if you choose to answer them: how many properties you operate, how you take bookings today, your biggest challenge (plus anything you type under “Something else”), your timeline, and how the founders offer fits your plans.
• What you send us, such as emails to hello@hostmodehq.com.
• Booking details, if you schedule a call. Booking runs on Google Calendar’s appointment page, so the name, email and notes you enter there are collected by Google and shared with us.

What we record when you sign up

• Your consent: the wording you agreed to, when you agreed, and the page you were on.
• How you found us: the page you first landed on, the website that sent you, any campaign tags in the link (such as utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign), the referral code of the host who referred you, and which signup form you used.
• Your referral code: a personal code we create so you can share HostMode with other hosts.
• A fit-call result: if you answer the questions, an internal note of whether a call looks like a good fit right now, needs a closer look, or isn’t the right timing yet.

Technical information

When you sign up, our server briefly uses your IP address to block repeated or automated signup attempts. We don’t store it with your record. Like most websites, our hosting provider keeps standard server logs, such as IP address, browser type and the pages requested, for security and reliability.

We don’t collect payment information on this website.

• To send what you signed up for: your editable Canva Welcome Book template, launch updates, founders offer details, behind-the-scenes previews, direct booking ideas and the occasional announcement.
• To run referrals: to record who referred you and, as our referral program takes shape, to tell you about referral perks.
• To see whether a fit call makes sense: we compare your answers against a few simple criteria, such as portfolio size, timeline and budget. If the answers look like a strong match, we show you a link to book a call. If they need a closer look, a person on our team reviews them and may email you. Either way you stay on the list, and answering never unsubscribes you.
• To understand how people find us: we look at signups by campaign, referring site and referral code to see which channels work.
• To keep the site working and secure: to prevent spam and abuse and to fix problems.
• To meet legal obligations: for example, keeping a record of your consent and honoring unsubscribe requests.

We share personal information only with the services that help us run HostMode, and only what each one needs.

Google and Canva handle information under their own privacy policies when you use their pages.

We don’t sell your personal information, and we don’t share it with anyone for their own marketing or for cross-site advertising. We may disclose information if the law requires it, to protect the rights and safety of our users or others, or to a buyer or successor if HostMode is sold or merged.

We use Google Analytics to understand how people find and use this website: which pages they visit, which site or campaign sent them, and what kind of device and browser they use. Google Analytics sets cookies to do this, and Google receives your IP address, which it uses to estimate your general location. We’ve turned off Google’s advertising features, so this information isn’t used to show you ads.

If you’re in Europe (the EU, the UK and nearby countries), we ask before setting any analytics cookies, and nothing loads until you agree. Elsewhere, analytics is on by default. Wherever you are, you can change your choice at any time with “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.

The site also keeps a few small items in your browser’s storage:

• the campaign and referral details from the link you arrived through, so they can be attached to your signup;
• a note that you’ve signed up (your email address, referral code and a sign-in token), so the thank-you page recognizes you;
• your unfinished fit-call answers, kept only until you close the tab;
• your cookie choice.

You can clear these at any time in your browser settings.

No other company collects information about your activity across other websites through this site. Because we don’t track you across websites or use advertising tools, we don’t change how analytics works when your browser sends a “Do Not Track” or Global Privacy Control signal. Google’s booking page and Canva may use their own cookies when you visit them. If we add advertising tools, such as the Meta Pixel, we’ll update this policy first, and we won’t load them when your browser sends either signal.

We email you only because you joined the Founding Hosts List. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and you can also unsubscribe by writing to hello@hostmodehq.com. The unsubscribe link works right away, and we act on emailed requests within 10 business days. It doesn’t delete your record; if you’d like that too, just ask.

Our email platform, Kit, tells us whether an email was opened and which links were clicked, so we can send more of what’s useful. Most email apps let you block this by turning off automatic image loading.

We keep your information for as long as you’re on our list. If you unsubscribe, we keep your email address and the fact that you unsubscribed, so we never email you again by mistake; we delete the rest when you ask. Fit-call answers stay with your subscriber record. Team alerts about fit calls stay in our inbox until we no longer need them for following up. Google Analytics keeps visit information for up to 14 months. The items in your browser stay until you clear them.

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• show you the personal information we hold about you;
• correct anything that’s wrong;
• delete your information;
• stop sending you emails.

Email hello@hostmodehq.com from the address you signed up with, and we’ll reply within 30 days. If you write from a different address, we may ask you to confirm the request from the one on our list, so no one else can see or change your information. We won’t treat you differently for making a request.

California and other U.S. states. Some states give residents the right to know, access, correct and delete their information, and to opt out of its sale or use for targeted advertising. We don’t sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, and we offer the rights above to everyone. Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, you may ask whether we’ve shared your information with other companies for their own direct marketing; we haven’t.

Visitors outside the U.S. HostMode is based in the United States, and our service providers store information there. If you’re in the EU, UK or a similar jurisdiction, we rely on your consent to send you emails (which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing), and on our legitimate interest in running HostMode for the rest: reviewing fit-call answers, tracking referrals and keeping the site secure. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.

HostMode is for people running short-term rental businesses and isn’t meant for anyone under 18. We don’t knowingly collect information from children under 13 or under 16 where local law says so. If you think a child has signed up, email us and we’ll delete their information.

The website runs over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Signups go through our own server, so the keys to our email account never reach your browser, and only the people who run HostMode can see subscriber records. No method of sending or storing information is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect yours and choose service providers that do the same.

If we change this policy, we’ll post the new version on this page with a new effective date. If a change affects how we use information you’ve already given us, we’ll also email you before it takes effect.

Questions or requests about your information:

• Email: hello@hostmodehq.com