Politique de confidentialité

Last updated: September 2026

The protection of your personal data is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we process personal data in connection with the operation of Balmers Hostel, our website www.balmers.com, reservations, stays, and communications with us, and for what purposes such data is processed.

This Privacy Policy is primarily based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). Where the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies, we also take its requirements into account.

1. Data Controller

The controller responsible for processing personal data is:

sisteam gmbh
Balmers Hostel
Hauptstrasse 23
3800 Matten bei Interlaken
Suisse

UID: CHE-170.203.023

E-mail: [email protected]
Téléphone: +41 33 822 19 61
Website: www.balmers.com

For any questions or requests regarding data protection, please contact us using the email address above.

2. Personal Data We Process

Depending on how you interact with us or use our services, we may process the following categories of personal data in particular:

name, date of birth and other identification details;
contact details such as email address, telephone number and postal address;
nationality and other information required for statutory guest registration;
reservation and stay information, such as arrival and departure dates, accommodation booked, number of guests and special requests;
information required for check-in, check-out and guest registration;
payment and transaction information;
communications with us, for example by email, contact form, telephone or WhatsApp;
information and documents you voluntarily provide to us;
technical information such as IP address, browser, device type, operating system, and date and time of access;
information about how you use our website.

As a general principle, we only process personal data that is necessary for the relevant purpose.

3. Purposes of Data Processing

We process personal data in particular for the following purposes:

receiving, processing and managing reservations;
performing accommodation contracts and providing our services;
check-in and check-out;
complying with statutory guest registration requirements;
processing payments and maintaining accounting records;
communicating with guests and prospective guests;
processing enquiries, amendments and cancellations;
operating, securing and improving our website;
statistically analysing the use of our website;
complying with legal, tax and regulatory obligations;
preventing and investigating misuse, fraud and security incidents;
establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where the GDPR applies, depending on the circumstances we base processing in particular on the performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures, compliance with legal obligations, our legitimate interests, or your consent.

4. Reservations, Guest Data and Mews

We use the Mews hotel management and booking system to manage reservations, stays and guest data.

When you make a reservation, we may process information including your name, contact details, date of birth, stay details, reservation information, payment and transaction information, and other information required to process your reservation and stay.

We use Mews in particular for:

receiving and managing reservations;
managing guest information;
organising check-in and check-out;
managing stays and room or bed occupancy;
processing or documenting payments;
communicating in connection with reservations and stays.

The provider of the system is in particular:

Mews Systems B.V.
Wibautstraat 137D
1097 DN Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Mews processes certain personal data on our behalf. For certain services, Mews may also process personal data as an independent controller.

Further information about how Mews processes personal data can be found in Mews’ privacy information.

5. Statutory Guest Registration

As an accommodation provider, we are legally required to maintain guest registration records.

For this purpose, we process the legally required information relating to our overnight guests. This information is collected for public security purposes and may be made available to the competent authorities and supervisory bodies to the extent provided by law.

In accordance with the applicable regulations of the Canton of Bern, statutory guest registration records are retained in an orderly manner for at least five years.

6. Payment Processing

We use payment service providers, in particular Stripe, to process electronic payments.

When you make a payment, the information necessary to process the transaction is transmitted to or collected directly by the relevant payment service provider. This may include your name, payment amount, payment method, transaction information and payment details.

Complete credit card details are generally processed by the payment service provider. We primarily receive the information necessary to confirm, allocate and record the payment for accounting purposes.

Stripe may also process personal data outside Switzerland or the European Economic Area. According to the provider, the applicable mechanisms required to protect internationally transferred personal data are used for such transfers.

The processing of this information is carried out in particular to process your payment and perform the contract concluded with you.

7. Contacting Us

If you contact us through our contact form, by email, telephone or by another means, we process the information you provide in order to handle your enquiry.

This may include:

your name;
email address;
telephone number;
subject and content of your enquiry;
reservation or stay information;
files or documents that you voluntarily provide or upload.

Please do not send us sensitive personal data unless it is necessary for your enquiry.

We generally retain correspondence for as long as necessary to handle your enquiry, maintain an existing or potential business relationship, or establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Statutory retention obligations remain unaffected.

8. Communication via WhatsApp

We offer guests the option of communicating with us via WhatsApp.

If you use this communication channel, personal data will be processed by the operator of WhatsApp. This may include your telephone number, profile information, communication content, and technical and connection data.

WhatsApp is part of the Meta group of companies. Personal data may therefore also be processed outside Switzerland.

The use of WhatsApp is voluntary. You can alternatively contact us by email or telephone.

The relevant provider’s privacy policy applies to the independent processing of personal data by WhatsApp or Meta.

9. Visiting Our Website

When you visit our website, technical information may be automatically collected and stored in server log files.

This may include:

IP address;
date and time of access;
pages and files accessed;
amount of data transferred;
browser and browser version;
operating system;
referrer URL;
device information.

This information is used in particular to technically provide our website, ensure its stability and security, and identify technical errors or abusive access.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files stored on your device. Some cookies are technically necessary for our website to function properly. Other cookies and technologies may be used, for example, to statistically analyse how our website is used.

Where consent is required, we only use non-essential cookies and similar technologies after you have given your consent.

You can manage your choices through the cookie settings available on our website and change or withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future.

You can also delete or block cookies through your browser settings. However, doing so may limit certain functions of our website.

11. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, on our website.

Google Analytics helps us understand how visitors use our website. In particular, information about the following may be processed:

pages visited;
time and duration of visits;
interactions with our website;
approximate geographical location;
device used;
browser and operating system;
source of the website visit.

We use this information in particular to statistically analyse and improve our website and online services.

Depending on the applicable contractual structure, Google Analytics is provided by a company within the Google group, such as Google Ireland Limited or Google LLC.

Google may process personal data outside Switzerland and the European Economic Area.

Where required by law, we only use Google Analytics with your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future through our cookie settings.

The retention period for information collected through Google Analytics depends on the settings we have selected and the applicable specifications of the provider.

Further information about Google’s processing of personal data can be found in Google’s privacy information.

12. Social Media and External Content

Balmers Hostel maintains a presence on social media networks and platforms, in particular Instagram.

If you follow links to these platforms or interact with embedded content, personal data may be transmitted to and processed by the relevant platform operators.

Where external content is embedded directly into our website and personal data is transmitted to the relevant provider when such content is loaded, this will, where required by law, only take place after you have given the appropriate consent.

The privacy policies of the respective platform operators apply to their independent processing of personal data.

13. Disclosure of Personal Data

We do not sell or rent your personal data.

However, we may disclose personal data to third parties where this is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or where disclosure is required by law.

Such recipients may include in particular:

hotel management and reservation system providers, in particular Mews;
payment service providers, in particular Stripe;
IT, hosting and website service providers;
analytics providers, in particular Google;
communication service providers;
banks and financial service providers;
accounting and fiduciary service providers;
legal and other professional advisers;
authorities, courts, police or other public bodies where disclosure is legally required or permitted.

Service providers acting on our behalf generally only receive the personal data necessary to provide their respective services.

14. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside Switzerland or process personal data in other countries.

These countries may include countries within the European Economic Area, the United States of America and other countries in which our service providers or their subcontractors operate.

Where personal data is disclosed to a country that is not recognised by the Swiss Federal Council as providing an adequate level of data protection, we ensure appropriate protection where required by law.

This may include the use of recognised standard contractual clauses or other safeguards provided for by law. Where an officially recognised data protection framework between Switzerland and the relevant country applies, transfers may also be based on that framework.

In cases provided for by law, an international transfer may also be based on your consent, be necessary for the performance of a contract, or rely on another statutory exception.

15. Data Retention

We generally retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the relevant processing purpose or as required by statutory or contractual retention obligations.

In particular, the following retention periods or criteria apply:

Accounting and Business Records
Accounting records, supporting documents and other records subject to statutory accounting and retention obligations are generally retained for 10 years. The statutory retention period begins at the end of the relevant financial year.

Guest Registration Records
Statutory guest registration records are retained in an orderly manner for at least 5 years in accordance with the regulations of the Canton of Bern.

Reservation and Stay Information
Reservation and stay information is retained for as long as necessary to manage the stay, comply with legal obligations, or establish, exercise or defend potential legal claims. Where such information forms part of accounting records or statutory guest registration records, the corresponding statutory retention periods apply.

Payment and Transaction Information
Payment information, invoices and transaction records are generally retained for 10 years where they form part of records subject to statutory accounting and retention requirements.

Enquiries and Correspondence
Enquiries and other correspondence are generally retained for as long as necessary to handle the enquiry, maintain the business relationship, or establish, exercise or defend potential legal claims. Where correspondence forms part of records subject to statutory retention requirements, the corresponding statutory periods apply.

Website and Analytics Data
Technical log data, cookie data and analytics information are retained according to the periods configured by us or specified for the relevant service. We generally select retention periods that are no longer than reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

After the applicable retention period has expired, personal data is deleted or anonymised unless a legal obligation or another permissible reason requires further retention.

16. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or unauthorised disclosure.

Depending on the type of processing, these measures may include access restrictions, authorisation controls, technical safeguards, data backups and encrypted connections.

However, no electronic transmission or storage of information can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free.

17. Your Rights

Subject to applicable data protection law and the relevant statutory requirements, you may in particular have the right to:

obtain information about whether and which personal data we process about you;
have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected;
request the deletion of personal data;
object to certain processing of your personal data;
request the release or transfer of certain personal data in a commonly used electronic format;
withdraw consent previously given, with effect for the future.

These rights may be subject to statutory requirements, exceptions and limitations. In particular, statutory retention obligations may prevent us from immediately deleting certain information.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at [email protected].

To prevent misuse and protect your personal data, we may request appropriate proof of your identity.

Where the GDPR applies to the relevant processing, you may have additional rights.

You may also lodge a complaint with the competent data protection supervisory authority.

In Switzerland, the competent federal data protection authority is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

18. Automated Individual Decisions

As a general rule, we do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you.

Should we use such procedures in the future, we will provide the information required by applicable law.

19. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time, in particular if we change our services or data processing activities, introduce new service providers, or if legal requirements change.

The current version published on www.balmers.com applies.

Last updated: September 2026

sisteam gmbh – Balmers Hostel
Matten bei Interlaken, Switzerland