Data Privacy Policy

1. Introduction and Scope

This Data Privacy Policy explains how rentcarvienna.com ("we", "us", "our") collects, processes, stores, and protects personal data in connection with our car rental services in Vienna, Austria. This policy applies to all visitors to our website, prospective customers, and confirmed renters who book a vehicle through our platform.

We operate in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), the Austrian Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz - DSG), and any applicable national legislation. By using our website or making a booking, you acknowledge the practices described in this policy.

The data controller responsible for your personal information is rentcarvienna.com, operating from Vienna, Austria. For any data-related enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal data only to the extent necessary to provide our car rental services and fulfil our legal obligations. The categories of data we collect include:

2.1 Personal Identification Details

When you make a booking or create an enquiry, we collect your full name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and driver's licence details (including licence number, issuing country, and expiry date). This information is required to verify your eligibility to rent a vehicle under Austrian road traffic regulations.

2.2 Booking and Rental Data

We collect details related to your booking including pickup and drop-off locations (such as Vienna International Airport - VIE, Hauptbahnhof, or city centre addresses), rental dates and times, selected vehicle category, optional extras (child seats, GPS, additional drivers), and any special requests submitted at the time of booking.

2.3 Payment Information

Payment card details and transaction information are processed exclusively by our third-party payment processors. We do not store full card numbers on our servers. We retain only transaction references, payment confirmation status, and the last four digits of a card for support purposes. Our no-deposit booking model means that in many cases no card authorisation hold is placed at the time of reservation.

2.4 Browsing and Technical Data

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical data including your IP address, browser type and version, device type and operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time spent on site, and cookie identifiers. This data helps us maintain website security, diagnose technical issues, and understand usage patterns.

2.5 Location Data

With your explicit consent, we may collect approximate location data through your device to suggest the nearest pickup point, whether that is at Vienna Airport, along the Ringstrasse, or near your accommodation in districts such as Mariahilf or Leopoldstadt. You may disable location sharing in your browser or device settings at any time.

3. How We Use Your Data

We process your personal data on the following lawful bases and for the following purposes:

3.1 Processing Your Booking (Contractual Necessity)

Your identification, booking, and driver's licence data are processed to fulfil the rental contract - confirming your reservation, arranging meet-and-greet airport pickup, preparing the vehicle, verifying your driving entitlement, and issuing rental documentation. This processing is necessary to perform the contract you have entered into with us.

3.2 Customer Support

We use your contact details and booking history to respond to queries, handle complaints, assist with extensions or modifications, and resolve any issues arising during or after your rental period. Support may be provided via email at [email protected] or by phone.

3.3 Service Improvement and Analytics

Anonymised and aggregated browsing data helps us understand how customers navigate our website, which vehicle categories attract the most interest, and where the booking journey can be simplified. This processing is based on our legitimate interest in improving our services.

3.4 Marketing Communications (Consent-Based)

If you have given your explicit consent, we may send you promotional emails about seasonal deals, discounts on specific vehicle categories, or useful travel tips for driving in Vienna and the surrounding region. You may withdraw this consent at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or contacting us directly.

3.5 Legal Compliance

We are required by Austrian and EU law to retain certain records for specified periods. This includes financial transaction records under tax law and incident-related data under road traffic regulations. Processing in these cases is based on legal obligation.

4. Data Sharing with Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We share your data only with trusted third parties where strictly necessary:

4.1 Payment Processors

Payment data is transmitted to our certified payment processing partners who operate under PCI-DSS compliance standards. These processors handle all card authorisations and charge transactions and are bound by data processing agreements with us.

4.2 Vehicle Suppliers and Insurance Providers

To fulfil your rental, your booking and identification data may be shared with the local vehicle supplier responsible for providing the car, and with insurance underwriters who provide coverage for your rental period under Austrian insurance law (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz - VersVG).

4.3 Booking Platform Integrators

We work with booking engine partners and comparison platforms to display availability and process reservations. These partners receive only the data necessary to complete the booking transaction and are contractually obligated to handle it in accordance with GDPR.

4.4 Legal Authorities

We may disclose personal data to Austrian law enforcement, courts, or regulatory authorities if required by law or to protect the legal rights and safety of our customers, staff, or business.

4.5 International Transfers

If any data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, to maintain the same level of protection afforded under EU law.

5. Data Retention Periods

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to our legal obligations:

• Booking and rental records - retained for 7 years from the date of rental, in accordance with Austrian tax and commercial law (Unternehmensgesetzbuch - UGB).
• Driver's licence and identification copies - retained for 3 years from the end of the rental period, then securely deleted.
• Customer support correspondence - retained for 2 years from the date of the last interaction.
• Marketing consent records - retained until consent is withdrawn, plus a further 12 months for compliance documentation.
• Website analytics data - anonymised and aggregated after 26 months; raw IP log data deleted after 90 days.
• Payment transaction references - retained for 7 years in line with financial record-keeping requirements.

After the applicable retention period expires, data is securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised.

6. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject under the GDPR and Austrian data protection law, you have the following rights:

6.1 Right of Access

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with information about how it is being processed. We will respond to verified access requests within 30 days.

6.2 Right to Rectification

If any personal data we hold is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to request correction. This is particularly important for driver's licence details and contact information used in active bookings.

6.3 Right to Erasure

You may request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, where you withdraw consent, or where processing is unlawful. This right is subject to our legal retention obligations described in Section 5.

6.4 Right to Data Portability

Where processing is based on consent or contractual necessity, and is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

6.5 Right to Object

You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling. You may also object to direct marketing communications at any time, and we will cease processing your data for that purpose immediately.

6.6 Right to Restrict Processing

In certain circumstances you may request that we restrict the processing of your data - for example, while a rectification request is being assessed.

6.7 Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehorde - DSB) at www.dsb.gv.at, Wickenburggasse 8, 1080 Vienna, Austria.

7. Data Security Measures

We take the security of your personal data seriously. Our technical and organisational measures include:

• All data transmissions between your browser and our website are encrypted using TLS (Transport Layer Security) with up-to-date cipher suites.
• Access to personal data is restricted on a need-to-know basis. Staff handling booking data undergo regular data protection training.
• Our servers are hosted in EU-based data centres with physical security controls, regular vulnerability assessments, and intrusion detection systems.
• Payment data never passes through our own servers - it is tokenised and handled entirely by PCI-DSS certified processors.
• We maintain an internal data breach response procedure. In the event of a breach affecting your rights, we will notify the Austrian DSB within 72 hours and inform affected individuals without undue delay where required by law.
• Cookies and session tokens used on our website are managed in accordance with our separate Cookies Policy available at rentcarvienna.com/cookies.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to provide core functionality, remember your preferences, and improve your browsing experience. A full description of the cookies we use, their purpose, and how to manage them is available in our Cookies Policy. Non-essential cookies are only activated following your explicit consent via our cookie consent banner.

9. Policy Updates

We may update this Data Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, applicable law, or best practices. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the bottom of this page and, where appropriate, notify registered customers by email. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website following any update constitutes your acknowledgement of the revised policy.

10. Contact Us About Privacy

If you wish to exercise any of your data subject rights, have questions about this policy, or wish to raise a privacy concern, please contact us:

• [email protected]
• +1 (915) 944-2589
• Vienna, Austria

We aim to respond to all data-related requests within 30 days. If your request is complex or you have submitted multiple requests, we may extend this period by a further two months, in which case we will notify you within the initial 30-day window.

Last Updated: June 2025. This policy applies to rentcarvienna.com and its associated booking services operating from Vienna, Austria.