Privacy Policy

(Effective Date:  August 13, 2008)
10Best, Inc. is committed to protecting the privacy of consumers of its interactive products and services. This privacy policy is intended to inform you, as a 10Best.com user, about kinds of information we may gather about you when you visit our site, how we may use that information, and the alternatives you have regarding our use of and your ability to correct or change the information you provide us. This privacy policy applies to the10Best.com site and associated Internet-accessible 10Best-branded services like the 10Best Community (including but not limited to the 10Best Journals, Business Reviews, Personal 10Best Lists, and Business Suggestions), otherwise collectively referred to in this policy as "10Best". Please note, however, that this policy applies only to 10Best and not to the other companies or organizations that may have links on, or which advertise or sell products and/or services on, the 10Best.com site. From time to time, we may utilize a third-party trusted vendor to gather information on our behalf.

When you register as a 10Best user or sign up to receive our e-mail newsletter, we may request and collect specific information including but not limited to your age, gender, email address, billing address, and interests. We ask for this information in order to provide you with the best possible array of services and to maximize your experience at the 10Best.com Web site. By registering as a 10Best user, you agree to allow 10Best to use your personal information so that 10Best can let you know about additional travel-related goods, services, and packages that 10Best makes available to its customers. You may opt out of the email offers, but doing so may preclude you from enjoying other benefits of the 10Best site. We also use cookie technology in order to improve your experience by remembering your preferences, customizing your 10Best.com user settings, and authenticating your access to your personal information.

At 10Best, we take your privacy seriously. We only collect information that allows us to:

• separate one user from another, and
• provide a more personalized experience.

The Information We Collect

10Best Community
When submitting information through any of the 10Best Community tools, we require users to submit an email address which serves as a "user name". This unique identifier simply allows us to internally separate one user from another and allows users to "access and edit" their submissions.  Users are also required to choose a nickname and password.  Nicknames will be used to attribute submissions to authors for the benefit of other users.

Cookies
10Best utilizes cookies (and may use other tracking technologies).  Cookies (and other technologies) may serve to recall personal information previously submitted by a 10Best.com user. In addition, when browsing 10Best.com, you may receive cookies from third parties that advertise and/or sell products/services on 10Best.com. 10Best does not control the cookies used by such third parties. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you should be able to configure your web browser to block cookies.  However, by refusing to accept cookies, you may not be able to take full advantage of all features on the 10Best.com website.

Consent to Receive Emails
By checking the box to receive emails during the sign up process, or otherwise notifying us or our vendor of your desire to receive emails, you have asked for and agreed to receive travel-related emails.

If you no longer wish to receive such emails, or if you wish for us to change or delete any personal information which you have submitted to us, please send us a request by email to legal@10Best.com.

Children's Privacy
10Best has not designed the 10Best.com site for, and does not intend to for it be used by, anyone under age 13.  In fact, our Terms and Conditions of Service require that all users of the 10Best.com site be at least 18 years old.  Should 10Best inadvertently acquire personal information or other data from users under the age of 13, the Company will not knowingly provide this data to any third party for any purpose whatsoever, and any subsequent disclosure would be due to the fact that the user under age 13 used the 10Best.com site and submitted personal information without solicitation or authorization from 10Best.

Future Changes
10Best reserves the right to change its Privacy Policy from time to time at its discretion, which you acknowledge including by registering as a user. To be aware of the most up to date version of the Privacy Policy, you should consult this Privacy Policy each time when using the site. Thanks for using 10Best.

Legal Notice

A. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
PLEASE READ THIS LEGAL NOTICE BEFORE USING THIS SITE. By continuing to access or use this site, or any service on this site, you signify YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. From time to time, 10Best may modify these terms. Accordingly, please continue to review these terms whenever accessing or using this site. Your use of the site, or any service on this site will constitute YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF THIS LEGAL NOTICE, as modified. If, at any time, you do not wish to accept these terms, you may not use the site. Any terms and conditions proposed by you which are in addition to or which conflict with these terms and conditions of service are expressly rejected by 10Best and shall be of no force or effect.

1. User Consent to Terms and Conditions of Service. You represent that you have read and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of service ("TOS") for 10Best. You further agree: (a) to comply with U.S. law regarding the transmission of any data obtained from the Service (as defined herein) in accordance with the TOS, (b) not to use the Service for illegal purposes, and (c) not to interfere or disrupt networks connected to the Service.

2. Intellectual Property. This Web site, including but not limited to text, content, photographs, video, audio and graphics (the "Service"), is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, international treaties and/or other proprietary rights and laws of the U.S. and other countries. The Service is also protected as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and treaties. You agree to abide by all applicable copyright and other laws, as well as any additional copyright notices or restrictions contained in the Service.

3. Restrictions on Use. You may not use the Service for any illegal purpose or in any manner inconsistent with the TOS. You agree to use the Service solely for your own noncommercial use and benefit, and not for resale or other transfer or disposition to, or use by or for the benefit of, any other person or entity. You acknowledge that the Service has been developed, compiled, prepared, revised, selected and arranged by 10Best and others (including certain other information sources) through the application of methods and standards of judgment developed and applied through the expenditure of substantial time, effort and money and constitutes valuable intellectual property and trade secrets of 10Best and such others. You agree to protect the proprietary rights of 10Best and all others having rights in the Service during and after the term of this agreement and to comply with all reasonable written requests made by 10Best or its suppliers of content, equipment or otherwise ("Suppliers") to protect their and others' contractual, statutory and common law rights in the Service. You agree to notify 10Best in writing promptly upon becoming aware of any unauthorized access or use of the Service by any party or of any claim that the Service infringes upon any copyright, trademark or other contractual, statutory or common law rights.

4. Further Restrictions on Use. YOU MAY NOT COPY, REPRODUCE, RECOMPILE, DECOMPILE, DISASSEMBLE, REVERSE ENGINEER, DISTRIBUTE, PUBLISH, DISPLAY, PERFORM, MODIFY, UPLOAD TO, CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS FROM, TRANSMIT OR IN ANY WAY EXPLOIT ANY PART OF THE SERVICE, EXCEPT THAT YOU MAY DOWNLOAD MATERIAL FROM THE SERVICE AND/OR MAKE ONE PRINT COPY FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL, NONCOMMERCIAL USE, PROVIDED THAT YOU RETAIN ALL COPYRIGHT AND OTHER PROPRIETARY NOTICES. THE ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION INCLUDED IN THE SERVICE MAY NOT BE RECIRCULATED, REDISTRIBUTED OR PUBLISHED BY YOU WITHOUT 10BEST'S PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT. MODIFICATION OF THE SERVICE'S CONTENT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF 10BEST'S COPYRIGHT AND OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. ADDITIONALLY, YOU MAY NOT OFFER ANY PART OF THE SERVICE FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTE IT OVER ANY OTHER MEDIUM INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO OVER-THE-AIR TELEVISION OR RADIO BROADCAST, A COMPUTER NETWORK OR HYPERLINK FRAMING ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF 10BEST. THE SERVICE AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSTRUCT A DATABASE OF ANY KIND. NOR MAY THE SERVICE BE STORED (IN ITS ENTIRETY OR IN ANY PART) IN DATABASES FOR ACCESS BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY OR TO DISTRIBUTE ANY DATABASE SERVICES CONTAINING ALL OR PART OF THE SERVICE. YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICE IN ANY WAY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF ANY DATA SOLD OR CONTRIBUTED BY YOU TO ANY THIRD PARTY. FURTHERMORE, YOU MAY NOT USE ANY OF 10BEST'S TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, SERVICE MARKS OR LOGOS IN ANY MANNER WHICH CREATES THE IMPRESSION THAT SUCH NAMES AND MARKS BELONG TO OR ARE ASSOCIATED WITH YOU OR ARE USED WITH 10BEST'S CONSENT, AND YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE NO OWNERSHIP RIGHTS IN AND TO ANY OF THESE NAMES AND MARKS. YOU WILL NOT USE THE SERVICE OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN IN UNSOLICITED MAILINGS. YOU WILL NOT USE ANY OF 10BEST'S TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, SERVICE MARKS OR LOGOS IN UNSOLICITED MAILINGS. YOU WILL NOT SEND UNSOLICITED MAILINGS TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY USING THE SERVICE. YOU AGREE TO COMPLY WITH ANY OTHER APPLICABLE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE SET FORTH ON THE SERVICE, INCLUDING THE LINKING AND FRAMING POLICY.

5. License. You acquire absolutely no rights or licenses in or to the Service and materials contained within the Service other than the limited right to utilize the Service in accordance with the TOS. Should you choose to download content from the Service, you must do so in accordance with the TOS. Such download is licensed to you by 10Best ONLY for your own personal, noncommercial use in accordance with the TOS and does not transfer any other rights to you.

6. Rights Reserved. All present and future rights in and to trade secrets, patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, know-how and other proprietary rights of any type under the laws of any governmental authority, domestic or foreign, including rights in and to all applications and registrations relating to the Service (the "Intellectual Property Rights") shall, as between you and 10Best, at all times be and remain the sole and exclusive property of 10Best. All present and future rights in and title to the Service (including the right to exploit the Service and any portions of the Service over any present or future technology) are reserved to 10Best for its exclusive use. Except as specifically permitted by the TOS, you may not copy or make any use of the Service or any portion thereof. Except as specifically permitted herein, you shall not use 10Best's Intellectual Property Rights or the Service, or the names of any individual participant in, or contributor to, the Service, or any variations or derivatives thereof, for any purpose, without 10Best's prior written approval.

7. No Guarantees. The lists of information contained on 10Best's site are not guaranties or warranties about the quality or fitness of any particular item, product or service on such list. Rather, such information is solely the opinion of 10Best based on its research, its mystery travelers and other information available to it including at times input from visitors to the site. However, opinions about the subject matter contained in the lists on 10Best's site may vary from person to person.

8. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. 10BEST DOES NOT GIVE ANY WARRANTY OR OTHER ASSURANCE AS TO THE OPERATION, QUALITY OR FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SITE OR ITS PARTNER SITES RELATING TO HOTEL, AIRLINE, VACATION AND CRUISE OR OTHER BOOKING TRANSACTION CAPABILITIES THAT MAY BE OFFERED THROUGH THE SITE FROM TIME TO TIME OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ACCESS TO THE SITE MAY BE INTERRUPTED, RESTRICTED OR DELAYED FOR ANY REASON. SIMILARLY, 10BEST DOES NOT GIVE ANY WARRANTY OR OTHER ASSURANCE AS TO THE CONTENT OF THE MATERIAL APPEARING ON THE SITE, ITS ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SERVICE AND ANYTHING CONTAINED THEREIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, BOOKING TRANSACTIONS, CONTENT, SERVICES, GOODS OR ADVERTISEMENTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" ABOUT WHICH 10BEST MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT, TITLE OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. 10BEST DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT OR THAT THE SERVICE IS FREE OF ERRORS OR VIRUSES, AND IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU MAY SUFFER AS A RESULT OF SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. YOU AGREE THAT 10BEST SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR (I) ANY DAMAGES, ANY LOST PROFITS, LOSSES, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY CLAIM AGAINST 10BEST BY ANY OTHER PARTY INCLUDING ANY PARTNER SITES OR (II) ANY FAULT, INACCURACY, OMISSION, DELAY OR ANY OTHER FAILURE IN THE SERVICE CAUSED BY YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE ON SUCH EQUIPMENT, OR BY ANY PARTY OTHER THAN 10BEST. YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE CONTENT OF OTHER WEB SITES, SERVICES INCLUDING ANY AND ALL BOOKING TRANSACTION SERVICES, GOODS OR ADVERTISEMENTS THAT MAY BE LINKED TO THE SERVICE IS NOT MAINTAINED OR CONTROLLED BY 10BEST. 10BEST IS THEREFORE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AVAILABILITY, CONTENT OR ACCURACY OF OTHER WEB SITES, SERVICES OR GOODS THAT MAY BE LINKED TO, OR ADVERTISED ON, THE SERVICE. 10BEST IS ALSO NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RELIABILITY OR CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF THE TELEPHONE LINES AND EQUIPMENT YOU USE TO ACCESS THE SERVICE. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT 10BEST AND/OR THIRD-PARTY CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDING BOOKING TRANSACTION PARTNERS TO THE SERVICE MAY CHOOSE AT ANY TIME TO INHIBIT OR PROHIBIT THEIR CONTENT FROM BEING ACCESSED UNDER THE TOS. YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY BOOKING TRANSACTIONS YOU MAY WISH TO ENGAGE IN ARE SUBJECT TO ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH ON 10BEST.COM OR IN PARTNER SITES AND YOU AGREE TO REVIEW ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PARTNER SITES IN CONNECTION WITH BOOKING TRANSACTIONS THAT YOU MAY DESIRE TO ENGAGE IN PRIOR TO MAKING ANY PURCHASES THROUGH 10BEST PARTNER SITES.

9. Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE, SHALL 10BEST BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES EVEN IF A 10BEST AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED SPECIFICALLY OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS OR ITEMS ON THE SERVICE INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY BOOKING TRANSACTION CAPABILITES OFFERED ON THE SERVICE THROUGH A THIRD PARTY PARTNER SITE OR ANY PROVISION OF THE TOS, SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF REVENUE OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR LOST BUSINESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL 10BEST'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE) EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR ACCESSING THIS SITE.

10. WARNING -- USING YOUR MOBILE PHONE OR PDA WHILE DRIVING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. SUCH USE OF YOUR MOBILE PHONE OR PDA MAY LEAD TO ACCIDENT, PERSONAL INJURY, OR DEATH. 10BEST ASKS AND REQUESTS THAT YOU DO NOT USE YOUR MOBILE PHONE OR PDA WHILE DRIVING IN ORDER THAT YOU NOT ENDANGER YOURSELF OR OTHERS.

11. Representations and Warranties. You represent, warrant and covenant that: (a) you have the power and authority to enter into this agreement; (b) you are at least eighteen (18) years old; (c) you shall not use any rights granted hereunder for any unlawful purpose; and (d) you shall use the Service only as set forth in the TOS.

12. Governing Law. These TOS shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of South Carolina, without giving effect to conflicts-of-law principles thereof. You agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Greenville County in the State of South Carolina with respect to any legal proceedings that may arise in connection with the Service or from a dispute as to the interpretation or breach of the TOS.

13. Miscellaneous. You accept that 10Best has the right to change the content or technical specifications of any aspect of the Service at any time at 10Best's sole discretion. You further accept that such changes may result in your being unable to access the Service.

14. Headings. The section titles in the TOS are used solely for the convenience of you and and have no legal or contractual significance.

15. Severability. If any provision of the TOS is found invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the other provisions of these TOS will remain in force.

16. Entire Agreement. The TOS and any other terms and conditions of service on 10Best and its successor, constitute the entire agreement between you and 10Best and govern your use of the Service.

17. 10Best Community Terms of Use The 10Best Community contains free services offered to the 10Best traveler community wherein our users can share opinions and experiences, make suggestions, and organize content. All users must be at least eighteen (18) years of age.

As such, 10Best intends for these services to be used for discussions of travel-related subjects only. Posts dealing with religion, politics, etc. will be deleted without any warning. Similarly, posts of the following nature also will not be tolerated:

• racist, sexist, or otherwise inflammatory comments
• personal attacks or harassment of other users
• off-topic submissions that are intended to disrupt the continuity of discussion/thread
• posts that reveal private or confidential information about other 10Best users, including their names, phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, places of employment, etc.
• posts made using another person's user-ID or name
• posts with advertisements, commercial intents, or those intended to drive traffic to another Internet site via a hyperlink
• inappropriate or coarse language and/or topics
• posts that break the law or discuss committing or how to commit an illegal activity
• posts that breach or infringe any person's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights to publicity or privacy

Further,

• You will not collect or store personally identifiable information about any other individual on this Site, or otherwise stalk, repeatedly contact or harass another user;
• You will not impersonate any other person or misrepresent a relationship with any person or entity, including misrepresenting a relationship with 10Best, Inc.; similarly, you will not adopt a false identity if the purpose of doing so is to deceive or defraud another;
• You will not post any content that contains any viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, or other computer software or program designed to interrupt this Site we provide, users' ability to enjoy this Site, or the proper functioning of any software, hardware or equipment or materials used in connection with this Site;
• You will not use any information on this Site for any commercial purposes, except as expressly authorized by 10Best, Inc.;
• You will not search, mine or link any data or information to or through this Site without 10Best, Inc.’s express consent and authorization; and
• You will not send any bulk unsolicited advertising, promotional information, email or other solicitation (including without limitation junk mail, "spam," chain letters or pyramid schemes of any sort) to any person through the use of this Site.

Repeated violation of these guidelines or a severe one-time violation will result in a revocation of your user-ID and any and all user privileges on the 10Best site.  10Best relies on users to help maintain these guidelines. Users who uncover violations of the these guidelines should forward them to our attention through the addresses and/or phone numbers listed below.

B. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
10Best respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. 10Best may, in appropriate circumstances and at its sole discretion, terminate links with web sites which infringe the copyright rights of others.

If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on the 10Best service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that the 10Best service contains links or other references to another online location that contains material or activity that infringes your copyright rights, you may notify 10Best by providing 10Best's copyright agent the information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §512.

Once a journal entry or post is submitted to and published on 10Best.com, it becomes the sole property of 10Best, Inc. to use in whatever manner we choose. By submitting any material to 10Best or posting material on the 10Best.com site, the person submitting or posting the material also automatically grants 10Best a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, edit, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such material (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology, now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content.  Third parties may not use this information in any shape, form, or fashion without the express written consent of 10Best, Inc.

Third-party groups and companies are not permitted to copy, amend, republish, email, or distribute any information obtained from 10Best.com, including the Community, without the express written consent of 10Best, Inc. If a user would like to share information that appears on 10Best.com, he/she should pass along a hyperlink to that page via email.

 

C. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PHOTO UPLOADS TO 10BEST.COM

In consideration of the acceptance of the photo you submitted, you grant 10Best and other designees (“Licencees”) the right to publish, display, copy, distribute, and otherwise use the photo and any related data and information you provide (collectively, the “Photo”) on and in connection with www.10best.com and other Licensees’ websites;

• (ii) any advertising, marketing, or publicity in connection with such websites; and
• (iii) any related contests, promotions, and other programs.

You represent and warrant to the Licensees that you own or have the full and exclusive rights to submit the Photo and grant the above-referenced usage rights and that the above-referenced uses by the Licensees will not infringe upon the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third parties. You agree to indemnify and hold the Licensees harmless for any claims, losses, damages, and expenses resulting from the inaccuracy or invalidity of such representation and warranties.

You further represent that you are at least 18 years of age and have legal authority to enter into this agreement and submit the Photo. You agree to indemnify and hold the Licensees harmless for any claims, losses, damages, and expenses resulting from the inaccuracy or invalidity of such representation and warranties.

You acknowledge that 10Best, Inc reserves the right to review and reject any Photo submissions. The Licensees do not guarantee that your Photo will be used or displayed on 10Best.com, on any other website, or in any other manner.

By way of example only, and not as a limitation, you specifically agree not to:

• Upload, post, e-mail, or otherwise transmit any Photo or Image that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable at 10Best’s sole discretion;
• Upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Photo or Image that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;
• Upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Photo or Image that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
• Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or any regulations having the force of law in posting Photos or Images.

 

 

Contacting 10Best Concerning Privacy or Usage Terms
10Best's agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on or regarding this Web site can be reached as follows:

By mail:
10Best, Inc.
Attn: Legal
9 LeGrand Blvd., Suite A
Greenville, SC 29607
USA

By phone:
(864) 241-0779

By fax:
(864) 241-0917

By email:
legal@10best.com