Policies

This page explains how Cool Travel Istanbul LLC ("we") handles personal data when you use this website, book a transfer or tour, or contact us.

What we collect

• Booking details: your name, e-mail address and phone number, the names of other passengers if you give them, your flight number, pickup and drop-off addresses, date and time, number of passengers and suitcases, child seats and any notes you add.
• Payment: card payments are made in Stripe's secure payment form. Your card number goes directly to Stripe; we never see or store it. We keep the payment reference and the amount paid.
• Messages: what you send us by WhatsApp, e-mail or phone.
• Website use: the cookies, analytics and advertising tags described in the Cookie Policy below, including what you type into the booking form before you submit it.
• Technical logs: our server records IP addresses and browser details in its logs to keep the site secure and to investigate failed bookings or payments.

How we use it

• To provide the service you booked: plan the pickup, pass the trip details to your driver, follow your flight and keep you updated.
• To take payment, send your booking confirmation and, for card payments, your invoice.
• To protect the booking system against fraud and abuse.
• To understand how the site is used and improve it.
• To measure which of our ads lead to bookings and to show our ads to people who have visited this site, as described in the Cookie Policy.
• To meet our legal obligations, such as keeping accounting and tax records.

Legal basis for processing

• Our contract with you: booking and payment details, messages about your booking, and passing the trip details to your driver.
• Your consent (EEA, UK and Switzerland): analytics and advertising cookies and tags, our own analytics including booking form progress, and the Meta Conversions API. You can withdraw it at any time with the switch in the Cookie Policy.
• Our legitimate interests (everywhere else): the same analytics and advertising, to understand how the site is used and measure our ads. You can object at any time with the same switch.
• Our legitimate interests: keeping the site and booking system secure (server logs and the Cloudflare Turnstile check) and investigating failed bookings or payments.
• Legal obligation: keeping accounting and tax records.

Who receives your data

We do not sell your personal data. We share it with the people and services we need to run the business, and with Google, Meta and OpenAI for advertising as explained in the Cookie Policy:

• Your driver and our operations team: the name, phone number, flight number and pickup details needed to carry out your trip.
• Stripe: processes card payments and generates the invoice for card payments, so it receives your card details and the cardholder's name and, for the invoice, your name, e-mail address and the amount paid.
• Google: Google Ads and Google Analytics measure visits, ad clicks and bookings; Google Maps Platform looks up the addresses you type into the booking form and calculates the route and distance; Google's e-mail service delivers our e-mails; and Firebase Cloud Messaging delivers new-booking alerts to our staff's devices, which carry the booking details (customer and passenger names, phone number, flight number, pickup and drop-off, date and time).
• Meta: the Meta Pixel and the Meta Conversions API measure visits and bookings that come from our Facebook and Instagram ads. If you message us on WhatsApp, WhatsApp (also part of Meta) carries those messages.
• OpenAI: the ChatGPT Ads measurement pixel measures visits, enquiries (a tap on WhatsApp, phone or e-mail, or a message in our website chat) and bookings that come from our ads in ChatGPT. On the booking confirmation page it also receives your e-mail address and phone number, but only as one-way hashes (SHA-256), never in readable form.
• Cloudflare: if our system detects unusual activity from your session, it may ask you to complete a Cloudflare Turnstile check before you continue.
• ipwho.is: looks up the approximate city and country of an IP address for our own analytics.
• Hostinger: our hosting provider, which runs the servers and the database that store the information described on this page.
• GitHub: the small language-flag images in the menu load from GitHub's servers, which see your IP address when they load.
• Authorities: when the law requires us to disclose information.

Several of these providers, including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Stripe and Cloudflare, process data outside Turkey, including in the United States.

We update this policy when our practices or legal requirements change; the date at the top of this page shows the current version.

For any privacy-related inquiries, please contact us via WhatsApp (+905435485953) or email (info@cooltravelistanbul.com) .

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. We use them, together with tags (small scripts) from Google, Meta and OpenAI, to keep the site working, to understand how it is used and to measure and target our advertising. What runs depends on where you are and on your choice.

Your choices

• Visitors in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland: we ask first. Until you press Accept in the cookie banner, Google's, Meta's and OpenAI's tags stay in the restricted state described below, our server reports nothing to Meta, and our own analytics records nothing about your visit. Pressing Reject keeps it that way. We tell whether you are in these regions from your device's time zone setting. (On your very first page view our server may set its analytics identifier before your browser has reported its time zone; without your consent it is never used.)
• Visitors everywhere else: analytics and advertising cookies are on from your first page view, and the cookie banner is a notice. You can switch them off below at any time.

While analytics and advertising are off (because you pressed Reject, used the switch below, or have not yet answered in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland):

• Google's tag still loads, but in a restricted mode: it sets no cookies and does not use your contact details. It sends Google only cookieless signals, for example that a page was viewed or a booking was made, which Google uses to estimate ad results in aggregate. An ad-click identifier may be carried in the page address instead of a cookie.
• The Meta Pixel loads but stays switched off, so it sends nothing to Meta and sets no cookies, and our server sends nothing to Meta either (the Conversions API described below).
• The ChatGPT Ads (OpenAI) pixel loads with its measurement switched off, so it sends nothing to OpenAI, and it removes its own cookies.
• Our own analytics stops recording your visits, and the booking form is no longer tracked as you fill it in. An identifier already stored on your device is not renewed; clearing this site's cookies removes it.

Your choice is stored in a cookie in this browser, so it applies to this device only. If you clear your cookies, you will need to make it again.

Turn off analytics and advertising cookies

Cookies we use

Essential (always on):

• cool_travel_istanbul_session, XSRF-TOKEN (this site, 2 hours): keep your booking session while you move through the booking steps and protect our forms against forgery.
• cookies_accepted (this site, 400 days): your answer to the cookie banner or the switch above.
• cti_consent_required (this site, 30 days): whether your device's time zone is in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, so our server applies the same rules as your browser.
• locale (this site, 1 year): the language you chose.
• __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid (Stripe, 1 year and 30 minutes): fraud prevention, set only when the payment form loads.

Analytics and advertising (on by default, except in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, where they are used only after you accept):

• ctv_vid, ctv_vs (this site, 400 days, renewed on each visit): our own analytics identifier and a signature proving our server issued it. See "Our own analytics" below.
• _ga, _ga_* (Google Analytics, up to 2 years): count visitors and visits for Google Analytics, which receives them through our Google Ads tag.
• _gcl_au, _gcl_aw (Google Ads, 90 days): connect a click on one of our Google ads to a later booking.
• Cookies on Google's own domains, such as doubleclick.net (Google): remarketing and ad measurement across websites.
• _fbp, _fbc (Meta, 90 days): connect visits and clicks on our Facebook and Instagram ads to bookings, and build audiences for our ads.
• __oppref (OpenAI, 30 days): connects a click on one of our ads in ChatGPT to a later enquiry or booking.
• __obref (OpenAI, 365 days): a random reference for this browser, used to measure our ChatGPT ads.

Other storage in your browser (not cookies, so clearing cookies alone does not remove them; clearing this site's data does):

• ctb_step3_data (this site, local storage, until you clear this site's data): the contact and passenger details you typed in the booking form, so that reloading the page does not lose them. It stays in this browser after the booking is made.
• theme (this site, local storage, until you clear this site's data): your light or dark display choice, set only if you use that switch.
• cti_chat_token, cti_chat_open, cti_chat_seen, cti_chat_handoff, cti_chat_lead (this site, local storage, until you clear this site's data): set only if you use our website chat. They keep your conversation and its window state between pages, carry a booking the chat prepared into the booking form, and remember that your first message was already counted as an enquiry, so it is reported to our ad platforms once.
• cti_sid (this site, session storage, deleted when you close the tab): groups the pages you view in one tab into a single visit for our own analytics. Analytics category: set only while analytics are on.

Our own analytics

• Device identifier: we store a randomly generated identifier on your device for up to 400 days. It contains no name or contact details, but it is not anonymous: it lets us recognise the same device across visits and build a history of the pages you viewed, how long you spent reading them, the images you opened, the links you clicked, and any booking you started or completed. We also record where you came from (the referring site, campaign tags and any Google ad-click identifier), your browser and device type, and an approximate city and country derived from your IP address; the IP address itself is stored only in hashed form. We use this to see which routes, tours and articles people find useful, to measure our ads, and to fix what does not work.
• Booking form progress: while you are filling in a booking, we record your progress so we can see where the process is difficult: which step you reached, the route and dates you chose, the vehicle you selected and the price you were quoted, and the details you enter, including your name, e-mail, phone number and flight number. This is kept even if you do not finish the booking. It is never used to contact you about an unfinished booking, and it is only visible to our own staff. If you would rather it were not kept, switch analytics and advertising off above before you start, or ask us to delete it.

We do not attempt to identify you through browser fingerprinting. To ask what we hold about your device, or to have it deleted, contact us using the details in the Privacy Policy. Deletion requests are honoured for the analytics history described here; booking records may need to be retained where accounting or tax rules require it.

Advertising and remarketing

We advertise on Google and on Meta (Facebook and Instagram), with these tools:

• Google Ads (AW-17346733095 and AW-16985040069): while analytics and advertising are on, it measures which ads lead to visits and bookings, including steps such as starting a booking or tapping our WhatsApp, phone or e-mail links (conversion tracking), and lets us show our ads to people who have visited this site (remarketing). The same Google tag sends page views to our Google Analytics property. On the booking confirmation page it sends your e-mail address and phone number to Google in hashed (SHA-256) form, so Google can match the booking to an ad click (enhanced conversions); Google's tag may also pick up contact details entered on this site for the same purpose.
• Meta Pixel: while analytics and advertising are on, it records the pages you view, the tours and vehicles you look at, and when you start and complete a booking, with its value.
• Meta Conversions API: our server sends Meta its own copy of some of these events (pages, tours and vehicles viewed, and completed bookings), with your IP address and browser type. When you complete a booking, it adds your e-mail address, phone number and name, hashed (SHA-256) before they leave our server, so Meta can match the booking to an ad. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland this happens only after you accept. Elsewhere, switching analytics and advertising off above stops it too.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.

How Google uses data from sites that use its services: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

You can opt out of personalised advertising at any time in Google Ads Settings, in Meta ad preferences, and for many other ad networks at optout.aboutads.info. These settings control the ads you see; what this site and our server send to Google and Meta is controlled by the switch above.

Welcome to Cool Travel Istanbul, operated by Cool Travel Istanbul LLC. By using our website and booking our services, you agree to the following terms and policies. Please read them carefully before making a reservation.

Booking & Payment

• Secure Booking: All reservations must be made through our official booking widget, WhatsApp, or phone.
• Instant Confirmation: Upon successful booking, a unique 6-character booking code will be generated and a confirmation email will be sent.
• Prices: Prices are in euros (EUR). The total shown before you pay is the fixed price of the booked service, with taxes and service charges included. Bridge and highway tolls are not included and are paid separately, as is anything a tour page lists as not included, such as entrance fees or meals.
• Payment Methods: Bookings made on this website are paid by card at checkout, processed securely by Stripe. For bookings arranged with us by WhatsApp or phone, the payment method is agreed when you book.
• Invoice: When you pay by card, Stripe generates an invoice for the amount paid, and we attach it to your booking confirmation email; if it cannot be attached, we send it to you on request.

Information Accuracy

It is the passenger's responsibility to provide accurate information, including pickup/drop-off locations, contact details, and most importantly, flight numbers for airport transfers. Cool Travel Istanbul LLC is not liable for delays caused by incorrect information provided by the customer.

Service & Conduct

Our fleet is regularly maintained to ensure safety and comfort. We reserve the right to refuse service to any individual acting inappropriately or violating safety regulations provided by our professional chauffeurs.

Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to update these terms at any time. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the current terms posted on this page.

• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before: cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled pickup time of a transfer, or the start time of a tour, and you receive a full refund.
• Less than 24 hours before: the amount paid is not refunded, and changes to the booking cannot be accepted. If a flight delay or an emergency affects your plans, contact us and we will look at rescheduling options with you.
• No-shows: if the passenger has not come to the pickup point by the end of the free waiting time below and cannot be reached, the driver may leave; the booking then counts as a no-show and is not refunded.
• If we cannot provide the service: you receive a full refund.

Waiting time and no-shows

• Airport pickups: your driver waits up to 90 minutes from the actual landing time of your flight, free of charge. We track the flight, so an early or delayed landing moves the pickup with it.
• Pickups from a hotel or any other address (for example a transfer to the airport): your driver waits up to 15 minutes after the booked pickup time.
• Tours and hourly car hire with driver: the booked hours start at the booked start time. Your driver waits at the pickup point and you can set off whenever you are ready, but the tour still ends at the scheduled time; time before you board is not added at the end.

How to cancel or change a booking

Send us your 6-character booking code by WhatsApp (+905435485953) or email (info@cooltravelistanbul.com) and tell us whether you want to cancel or change it. Changes requested more than 24 hours before the start are subject to availability.

Refunds

Refunds for card payments go back to the card you paid with, through Stripe. Once we have issued a refund, the time it takes to appear on your statement depends on your card issuer.

Airport pickups and flight delays

For airport pickups we follow your flight using the flight number you give us and adjust the pickup to your actual landing time. Your driver waits near the terminal, not inside it. When you have collected your luggage, message us on WhatsApp and your driver picks you up at the arrivals exit within 10 minutes. Your driver waits up to 90 minutes from landing, which leaves time for passport control and baggage claim, and there is no extra charge for waiting time caused by a delayed flight. Please make sure the flight number is correct and keep your phone reachable on arrival.

At Cool Travel Istanbul LLC, protecting your data is our priority. The site is served only over encrypted connections (HTTPS), card details are handled by Stripe rather than by us, and booking and analytics records are visible only to our own staff.

Your Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data at any time, or ask us to stop using it for analytics or advertising, by contacting our support team via WhatsApp or Email. You can withdraw your cookie consent at any time with the switch in the Cookie Policy. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to a data protection authority: in Turkey the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK), or the authority in the country where you live.

How long we keep data

Booking records are kept at least as long as accounting and tax rules require. Our own analytics history is kept until you ask us to delete it. Cookies expire as listed in the Cookie Policy.

We are committed to complying with all applicable data protection regulations to safeguard your privacy.