Last Updated: October 2, 2025
Cookie Policy
1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit our website. They help us provide you with a better experience by remembering your preferences and understanding how you use our platform.
Cookies are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to website owners.
2. Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several important reasons:
- Essential Functionality: To enable core features like user authentication and security
- User Experience: To remember your preferences and settings
- Analytics: To understand how visitors use our website and improve our services
- Performance: To optimize website speed and functionality
- Marketing: To deliver relevant content and advertisements (with your consent)
3. Types of Cookies We Use
3.1 Essential Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility.
Examples:
- Session cookies: Keep you logged in during your visit
- Security cookies: Protect against security threats
- Language preferences: Remember your selected language
Note: These cookies cannot be disabled as they are essential for the website to work.
3.2 Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. We use this data to improve our services.
What we track:
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- How you arrived at our website (referral source)
- Device and browser information
- General location data (country/city level)
Services we use: Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics
3.3 Functional Cookies
These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization, such as videos and live chats. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages.
Examples:
- Remembering your chat preferences
- Video playback settings
- User interface customizations
3.4 Marketing/Advertising Cookies
These cookies track your browsing habits to deliver advertisements that are relevant to you and your interests. They also help us measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
What they do:
- Deliver targeted advertisements
- Limit the number of times you see an ad
- Measure advertising campaign effectiveness
- Build a profile of your interests
Services we use: Meta Pixel, Google Ads (when applicable)
4. Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies are placed by third-party services that appear on our pages. We do not control these cookies and we recommend you check the third-party websites for more information about their cookies.
Third-party services we use:
- YouTube (for embedded videos)
- Google Analytics (for website analytics)
- Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
- Payment processors (for secure transactions)
5. How to Manage Cookies
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences in several ways:
5.1 Cookie Consent Banner
When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie consent banner where you can choose to:
- Accept all cookies
- Reject non-essential cookies
- Customize your cookie preferences
5.2 Browser Settings
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can usually find these settings in the "Options" or "Preferences" menu of your browser. Here are links to cookie settings for popular browsers:
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
- Firefox: Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
- Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Cookies and website data
- Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data
5.3 Opt-Out Tools
You can opt out of certain advertising cookies through these tools:
- Your Online Choices: www.youronlinechoices.eu
- Network Advertising Initiative: www.networkadvertising.org
- Digital Advertising Alliance: www.aboutads.info
⚠️ Important: If you block or delete cookies, some features of our website may not work properly, and your user experience may be degraded.
6. Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals to websites that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. Currently, there is no industry standard for how to respond to DNT signals. At present, our website does not respond to DNT browser signals.
7. Cookie Retention
Cookies may be stored on your device for varying periods:
- Session cookies: Deleted when you close your browser
- Persistent cookies: Remain until they expire or you delete them (typically 1-24 months)
8. Updates to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us:
Staying in Bern
Email: hello@stayinginbern.com
Location: Bern, Switzerland