Privacy Policy
Who we are. the INVITED is the trading name of Botley House Ltd (registered office 18–20 Canterbury Road, Whitstable CT5 4EY), which operates our serviced apartments in London and Oxford and is the data controller for your information. You can reach us at stay@theinvited.uk.
This notice explains what personal information we collect when you enquire, book or stay with us, why we collect it, and your rights.
1. What we collect and why
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email, phone, address, booking dates, party size, payment status | To take and manage your booking, send check-in instructions, and respond to you during your stay | Performance of a contract |
| Messages you send us (email, WhatsApp, booking platform chat) | To answer questions and provide the service | Performance of a contract |
| Full name and nationality of each guest aged 16+; for guests who are not British, Irish or Commonwealth citizens, passport number and place of issue, and next address on departure | The Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972 requires us to keep this register | Legal obligation |
| Identity verification (deposit properties only): a photo of your government ID, a selfie, and a biometric comparison of the two; the result of the check | To confirm the person booking is who they say they are, prevent fraud, and protect the property and other guests | Contract and legitimate interests (fraud prevention); explicit consent for the biometric comparison, which you give in the verification flow |
| Card details for the refundable damage deposit (deposit properties only) | To hold and, if necessary, charge for damage | Performance of a contract |
| Noise-level readings from a monitoring device in some properties (decibel level only — no audio is recorded) | To protect neighbours and the property | Legitimate interests |
| Reviews and feedback | To improve the service and respond to you | Legitimate interests |
We do not use your information for automated decisions that have a legal or similarly significant effect on you. A failed identity check is reviewed by a person before any booking is declined.
2. Who we share it with
We use specialist providers to run our business. They process your data on our instructions and may not use it for their own purposes:
- Uplisting — booking and channel management
- Besty — guest messaging, online check-in and the verification portal
- Stripe — identity verification (Stripe Identity) and damage-deposit card holds
- Booking platforms you booked through (Airbnb, Booking.com and others), who are separate controllers under their own privacy policies
- Our property manager and housekeeping contractors, who see only what they need for your stay (name, dates, unit)
Stripe and Besty may transfer data outside the UK. Where they do, transfers are protected by the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or an adequacy decision.
We share information with the police or other authorities when the law requires it — including the guest register on request.
3. How long we keep it
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Booking and correspondence records | 6 years after the stay (tax and legal-claims limitation) |
| Guest register (name, nationality, passport details) | 12 months from the date of arrival, as required by law |
| ID document image and selfie | Deleted once verification is complete and any dispute window has closed — no later than 90 days after check-out |
| Identity verification result (pass/fail, date) | 6 years, with the booking record |
| Deposit card hold | Released within 14 days of check-out; card data is held by Stripe, not by us |
| Noise readings | 90 days |
4. Your rights
You can ask us to: tell you what information we hold about you; correct it; delete it (where we are not required to keep it); restrict or object to how we use it; or give it to you in a portable format. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time — though we cannot then complete a booking that requires identity verification.
Email stay@theinvited.uk. We respond within one month. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
5. SMS messaging
By providing your phone number, you consent to receive SMS messages related to your stay with the INVITED. Message frequency varies based on your reservation. Message and data rates may apply. Consent to receive SMS messages is specific to this program and is not transferable to other messaging programs. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP, or text HELP for help.
Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information may be shared only with service providers acting on our behalf for operational purposes such as customer support or messaging delivery; these providers are prohibited from using your information for any marketing or promotional purposes. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
6. Cookies and website
Our websites are hosted on Squarespace, which sets cookies described in its own notice. Our booking pages are provided by Uplisting.
7. Changes
We may update this notice; the date below tells you when it was last changed.
Last updated: September 2026
Consent
By proceeding with reservation, the customer agrees to receive text message from TheINVITED. We will send booking reminders and stay-related updates. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP for help, or STOP at any time to opt out.