Effective October 13, 2026. This update adds Google Analytics, which we use to count visits to the site.

TheCentralCoast.com is an editorial travel guide to California’s Central Coast, published by The Central Coast (“we,” “us”). This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and what we do with it — in plain language, because that’s how we write everything.

The short version

• We only collect personal information you choose to give us — through the trip concierge, a venue inquiry, a Local Stories submission, a newsletter signup, a comment, a purchase, or an email.
• We use it to do the thing you asked for. We don’t sell it, rent it, or share it for advertising.
• We don’t run advertising trackers. We use Google Analytics to see how many people visit and which pages they read.
• Trip details you submit to the concierge are processed by an AI service to draft your itinerary.
• Want something corrected or deleted? Email [email protected] and we’ll take care of it.

What we collect, and why

The trip concierge. When you ask our concierge to plan a trip, we collect your name, email address, phone number if you provide one, and the details of the trip you describe — dates, party size, budget range, interests, and anything you write in the notes. We use this to draft your itinerary, email you a copy, and follow up if you reply. Our editors can see every request.

Venue and wedding inquiries. When you inquire about an event venue through the site, we collect your name, contact details, event date, guest count, budget range, and message. We use this to respond and, when you ask us to, to connect you with the venue in question.

Local Stories submissions. If you tell us your business’s story through our submission form, we collect your name, email, phone number, business details, your answers, any links and photos you include, and any business you nominate. We use this to consider and write a feature about you, and to get in touch about it. Contact details stay with our editors; the story, business details, and photos may be published as part of the feature.

The newsletter. If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address and note which signup form you used. We use it only to send you the newsletter. We email you a confirmation link first, and you’re not added until you click it. Once you confirm, your address is stored with Mailchimp, which sends the newsletter. Every newsletter has a one-click unsubscribe link.

Business listings and purchases. If you buy a listing or other product through our store, we collect the billing details needed to process the order. Payment card details are handled by our payment processor and never touch our servers.

Comments. If you leave a comment, we collect the name and email you enter, the comment itself, and your IP address (which helps us catch spam).

Technical basics. Like nearly every website, our servers and our content-delivery network keep standard logs — IP address, browser type, pages requested — used for security, spam prevention, and keeping the site running. The concierge also applies short-lived rate limits keyed to a scrambled version of your IP address, which is discarded automatically.

Site analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used: which pages are read, roughly where visitors come from, and what kind of device and browser they use. Google Analytics sets its own cookies and receives your IP address, which it doesn’t store. We look at these reports only as totals, never to identify you, and we don’t use them for advertising. You can opt out with Google’s browser add-on.

How the AI concierge handles your details

Our concierge drafts itineraries with the help of an AI model. To do that, the trip details you submit (not your contact details beyond your first name) are sent to our AI infrastructure provider, OpenRouter, which processes them solely to generate your itinerary. Your request and its draft are also stored with us so our editors can review and improve it.

Who we share information with

We share personal information only with the service providers that make the site work, and only for the purposes described here:

• Hostinger — hosts our servers and database.
• Cloudflare — delivers the site, filters malicious traffic, and routes our email addresses.
• Google — provides Google Analytics, which counts visits to the site.
• Postmark — delivers the emails we send you (itineraries, confirmations, replies).
• Mailchimp — stores newsletter subscribers and sends the newsletter.
• OpenRouter — processes concierge trip briefs to generate itineraries, as described above.
• Our payment processor — handles store transactions.
• The venue you ask about — receives your inquiry details when you ask us to make an introduction.

We may also disclose information if the law genuinely requires it. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with anyone for their own marketing.

Cookies

Most of our cookies are functional: the ones WordPress sets when you comment or log in, the ones our store uses to remember your cart, and the security cookies our content-delivery network sets to tell humans from bots. We don’t set advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Google Analytics sets its own first-party cookies (named _ga) to count visits, as described under Site analytics.

Content loaded from other services

Some parts of the site load directly from other companies’ servers, which means your browser shares your IP address with them the same way it does with any website: Mapbox (our interactive maps), Google Fonts (typefaces), Cloudflare’s CDN (icons), Gravatar (author photos on articles), Open-Meteo and NOAA (the live weather and tide readings on our homepage), and occasional embedded media in articles, such as 3D room tours. Each operates under its own privacy policy.

How long we keep things

Concierge requests and venue inquiries are kept while they’re useful for serving you and improving our recommendations, and deleted when you ask. Order records are kept as long as tax and accounting rules require. Newsletter addresses stay on the list until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove them. Comments stay with their articles until removed. Server logs rotate automatically.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us at any time to show you the personal information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it. Email [email protected] from the address in question and we’ll handle it promptly. If you’re a California resident, these are the same rights the CCPA describes — access, deletion, correction, and freedom from discrimination for exercising them — and we honor them for everyone, not just Californians. Since we don’t sell or share personal information for advertising, there’s nothing to opt out of on that front.

Children

The site is written for adults planning travel and isn’t directed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from them; if you believe a child has submitted information to us, email us and we’ll delete it.

Security

The site is served over HTTPS everywhere, access to our systems is limited and credentialed, and we collect as little as we can in the first place — the least data to lose is data never collected. No website can promise perfect security, so we won’t; if a breach ever affects your information, we’ll tell you.

Changes to this policy

When the site gains a capability that changes what we collect, we’ll update this page and the effective date at the top. Meaningful changes get a plain-language note here, not silent edits.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your information: [email protected]. We’re a small editorial team on the Central Coast, and a real person reads that inbox.