| Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), doing business
as Macy's Travel, has travel agency operations in
many countries around the world. CWT's focus is to
provide business travel services to the employees
of businesses with whom CWT signs a corporate travel
services agreement. In doing so, CWT receives individual
data from the employees.
Why the laws apply to us and why CWT needs
to obtain the consent of the traveler
Data protection laws apply to the information received
by CWT because that data can be used to identify an
individual person.
The purpose of data protection is to protect an individual's
rights by keeping personal data secure and by regulating
its processing, so that it may be used only for the
purpose for which it was given/collected. CWT is using
the Data Protection Statement (see below) to request
the consent of the traveler. For examples of such
laws, please see the following Web sites:
- European Directive on Data Protection
- Australian privacy laws
- Canadian privacy laws
- Safe Harbor in the United States
CWT has always had internal confidentiality standards.
We are in the process of implementing company-wide
the measures described below in this policy, as well
as additional ones. Our policy and corresponding procedures
take into account the national laws of the many countries
where CWT has operations, and in some cases surpass
these regulations. It is our goal to standardize globally
the way travel data is handled and processed within
CWT.
Information that we store
The travel data that we store may include: name, address,
email address, credit card references/number, travel
destinations, travel schedules, seating preferences,
smoking or non-smoking accommodations, meal preferences
and reservation information, as well as passport details
and next of kin information.
When servicing a given corporate client, CWT creates
a "Traveler Profile" with travel data for
each traveler, which is kept on file as a reference
document and consulted each time a reservation is
to be made. When a reservation is made, CWT creates
a "passenger name record" (PNR), which contains
all of the information needed to fulfill the travel
request of each traveler.
Based on the travel expenses incurred by travelers
of each corporate client, CWT produces reports that
summarize and analyze the travel trends of that client.
What we do with the information
In addition to creating Traveler Profiles and PNRs,
CWT uses the travel data with the consent of the traveler
for the following travel and other travel-related
purposes.
- Reservations: CWT may need to transfer travel
data to various third party travel suppliers and
computer reservation systems for the purposes of
making reservations within the traveler's home country
or to another CWT agency in another country where
the traveler may be traveling.
- Consolidation of Travel Data: At the request
of the corporate client (the traveler's employer),
CWT or a third party prepares information reports
that summarize and analyze the travel expenditures
per destination, per travel supplier, etc.
- Compliance with Travel Policy: Also at the request
of the corporate client, CWT may report on the compliance
of the travelers with the travel policy of the client
and identify any exceptions to the compliance.
- Collecting Travel Payments: CWT may transfer
travel data to third parties in the traveler's home
country or in another country for the purpose of
collecting payments related to travel reservations.
- CWT Databases: In order to constantly improve
the servicing of our clients around the world, the
travel data is handled out of certain locations
accessible by our travel agents around the world.
- New products and Services: Also with the goal
of improving service and based on the data given
to CWT, we may send additional information to the
traveler if it applies to his/her trip. An example
would be a list of restaurants near a specific hotel,
in a specific city.
CWT as a Data Controller or a Data Processor
CWT proposes two options:
- CWT is Data Controller: CWT needs to collect the
consent of each traveler (Data Protection Statement).
- Client is Data Controller: CWT is data processor
while the Client manages the traveler consent process
internally.
Measures we are taking
CWT is implementing, step-by-step, a process through
which we will standardize the way our company and
its affiliates handle travel data.
- Data Protection Statement: CWT has established
a Data Protection Statement to ensure consent to
various uses of travel data given to CWT. The statements
are signed by the traveler either in paper form
or in electronic form, as determined with the client.
- Transfer to Third Parties: Prior to a transfer,
third parties (except for travel suppliers such
as the airlines, computer reservation systems, hotels,
etc.) are required to sign a transfer agreement
with CWT, which requires them to follow the applicable
data protection laws. An exception may be made if
the third party is located in the EU or in a country
approved by the EU as having satisfactory data protection
laws. This will ensure that even if the laws governing
the third party are less strict than our standards,
the level of protection that the traveler's data
receives will be consistent. For instance, data
consolidators are required to sign an agreement.
Even subsidiaries of CWT in countries with data
protection laws that are considered less strict
also sign a transfer agreement. There is an EU model
clause Data Transfer Agreement signed between Carlson
Wagonlit Holdings B.V. and its subsidiary Carlson
Wagonlit Travel, Inc.
- Security: Pursuant to the various data protection
laws, CWT is implementing appropriate technical
and organizational measures to protect the personal
travel data, obtained from our clients' travelers,
against accidental or unlawful disclosure or destruction.
The measures are being determined for each department,
according to their handling of the travel data.
- Destruction: Under many data protection laws,
personal data must be destroyed after a certain
period of time. CWT keeps travel data only as long
as required by law, a period of time which may vary
according to the requirements for the various internal
departments.
- Our policy may be subject to additional requirements
in compliance with local legislation in certain
countries (please see below, under "Notes").
- Infrequent travelers: Most infrequent travelers
(those travelers who make three or less trips a
year), or "one-offs," will fit into the
global procedure we have outlined in this policy.
One-offs such as consultants for our larger clients
will fill out a Traveler Profile and make reservations
in the same way as our frequent travelers. There
are some situations, however, where the normal procedure
will be impossible to follow, such as with groups,
and ship and mining crews. In these cases, the information
for the one-off trip (including personal data) will
not be given by the traveler, but by a third party.
If the client provides personal data to us about
a traveler, they must ensure that they are entitled
to disclose that data to us and that without us
taking any further steps required by privacy/data
protection laws, we may collect, use and disclose
such information for the purposes described above.
For example, the client should take reasonable steps
to ensure the individual traveler concerned is aware
of the various matters detailed in this CWT Privacy/Data
Protection Policy as those matters relate to that
individual, including our identity, how to contact
us, our purposes of collection, our information
disclosure ractices, the individual's right to obtain
access to the data and the consequences for the
individual if the data is not provided.
We will also send a letter to our clients informing
them of their responsibilities as a third party
providing us with the personal data of an individual
traveler.
- Itineraries: In order to fulfill our responsibility
to inform the individual traveler of our Data Protection
obligations, we intend to include the following
text at the end of each itinerary:
"All information provided by you, or any other
party such as your employer, to Carlson Wagonlit
Travel (CWT) will be used by CWT, its related companies
and other Travel Service Providers requiring this
information, in order to make and process your requested
travel arrangements. A copy of CWT's Privacy/Data
Protection Policy can be obtained from your local
CWT contact or from the CWT Website. Please note
that airlines may be required by law to pass information
contained in this reservation to customs and immigration
authorities when requested."
Please note that this text does not appear on itineraries
issued in the United States and Canada.
Travelers' rights
The traveler's principal rights are to:
- amend his/her personal data, and upon written
request and payment of a statutory fee or if none,
a reasonable fee, to receive from CWT, within a
reasonable amount of time, a copy of his/her Traveler
Profile (see contacts at the bottom of this Policy)
(for data held by third parties, please contact
the third party),
- know how his/her data is being processed, for
what purpose and who is doing the processing,
- choose whether or not to receive unsolicited
services/direct marketing/information on other travel
products and services,
- revoke consent to the DPS (upon written request)
or refuse to provide information.
Please note that if a traveler chooses not to sign,
or to revoke consent to, the Data Protection Statement,
CWT cannot accept his/her travel data and cannot
service the traveler. If this is the case, we encourage
the traveler to contact his/her employer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data is covered by data protection laws?
Personal data (what CWT calls travel data) is defined
as data, which relates to a living individual who
can be identified from the data. If the traveler data
does not refer to or identify any individual employee
then, the data can be processed by CWT without the
traveler's consent. For instance, if the management
reports do not include any references to specific
individuals, then CWT would not have to obtain the
traveler's consent to the delivery of reports to the
traveler's employer.
Why is the travel agreement between CWT and the
client not sufficient to protect the travelers' data?
The travel agreement is between the corporate client
(employer of the traveler) and CWT, and not between
the traveler and CWT. Data protection laws protect
the rights of the individual traveler, and in processing
the individual traveler's data, CWT has obligations
under these laws which it has to fulfill itself and
cannot pass onto the client.
What happens if CWT does not obtain the traveler's
consent, and is therefore not in compliance with the
data protection laws?
Practically speaking, it will be very difficult for
CWT to provide travel services to an individual traveler
who refuses to allow CWT to process his/her travel
data. Included in the data protection laws are harsh
penalties for non-compliance; in some countries it
is a criminal offense.
What obligations do we have in processing the
data within CWT?
CWT must ensure, at the very least, that the personal
data:
- is processed fairly and lawfully,
- is obtained only for specific and lawful purposes
and shall not be further processed in any manner
incompatible with these purposes,
- is not excessive (in terms of the type of data
requested) in relation to the purposes for which
it is collected and further processed,
- is accurate,
- is kept secure and not held for longer than necessary.
Can CWT use the data to carry out its own analyses?
CWT may not use the data for promotion and marketing
purposes by third parties unless the traveler gives
his/her consent. CWT may, for instance, use the data
to analyze the travel trends of its corporate clients
in order to propose other CWT services to the clients,
such as CWT Solutions Group activities, without receiving
the traveler's consent. If the traveler's consent
is only given to his/her employer, the corporate client,
if the client is Data Controller, then that consent
cannot apply to CWT's use for purposes other than
those directed by that Client.
Notes
The following notes are to detail certain points and
country specifics.
- "Carlson Wagonlit Travel" refers to
the group of companies of which the parent company
is Carlson Wagonlit Holdings B.V., a Dutch company,
and its affiliates in over 40 countries around the
world. CWT values the protection of personal data
of all our travelers wherever they are based around
the world.
- "24-hour travel assistance center."
CWT is willing to provide travel services to its
clients and their travelers on an emergency basis
from its 24-hour travel assistance centers, outside
normal business hours of their usual travel agency,
without requiring a signed data protection statement.
CWT believes that this is in the best interest of
the individual traveler during an emergency. However,
CWT will inform the traveler that the traveler is
required to sign the statement as soon as the traveler
is able to do so.
- Australia. We will use and disclose personal
data for the primary purpose for which it was collected.
We may also use and disclose personal data for purposes
related or ancillary to the main reasons we collect
it. Some examples of the way we use and disclose
personal data are provided in this CWT Privacy/Data
Protection Policy, for example, see under the heading
"What we do with the information".
- Canada. Federal laws on data protection will
apply to CWT's activities as of Jan. 1, 2004. Quebec
has existing data protection laws for commercial
activity within that province. Other provinces have
indicated that they may enact data protection laws
for commercial activities within their respective
jurisdictions and CWT will continue to evaluate
its approach to ensure compliance with new laws
as they are introduced.
- European Union. The European Union has established
a list of countries outside of the EU that it considers
safe for the transfer of personal data. This list
currently includes Canada, Hungary and Switzerland.
See below for U.S. arrangement.
- United States Safe Harbor. The European Commission
has negotiated with the U.S. Department of Commerce
certain principles and guidelines for the transfer
of data. These Safe Harbor principles guide U.S.
entities in providing an adequate level of protection
for personal data. The voluntary decision by a U.S.
entity to enter the Safe Harbor means that the entity
must comply with the Principles, publicly declare
that it is doing so, and obtain certification from
the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more information
on Safe Harbor, including a list of the seven Principles,
please review the Safe Harbor Overview. At present
no CWT entity has signed up to the Safe Harbor Principles.
The EU standard contractual clauses for the transfer
of personal data to processors established in third
countries (under Directive 95/46/EC) is signed between
CWT and the CWT U.S. entity.
- Other countries. Other countries are in the process
of adopting data protection laws and we will be
monitoring these laws and determining if we need
to take any additional measures.
Contacts
For any questions concerning your personal travel
data, please contact your local CWT office.
For questions on Data Protection, please write to
the Data Protection Officer in your country or region,
or to our Data Protection mailbox at dataprotection@carlsonwagonlit.fr.
This policy is subject to change. The changes
will be posted on this Web site, so please be sure
to check the site regularly. |