Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

The Next Bite Charter ("we," "us," or "our") is a private fishing charter operating out of Ludington, Michigan. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit our website, book a trip, or communicate with us, and how we use, protect, and disclose that information.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect information you provide directly to us, including:

• Your name, email address, mailing address, and other booking details
• Party size, guest names, ages, and preferred trip dates
• Payment information processed securely through our third-party payment processor
• Waiver information, including emergency contacts and any medical or safety details you choose to provide
• Messages and inquiries submitted through email, our website, or our booking platform

We do not store complete payment card numbers on our servers.

We may also automatically collect limited technical information when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, referring URLs, and similar analytics information.

3. Booking and Payment Processing

Online bookings are managed through Checkfront, our third-party booking platform. Information submitted during the booking process is processed and stored by Checkfront on our behalf and is subject to Checkfront's privacy practices.

Payments are processed through secure third-party payment processors integrated with Checkfront. We receive payment confirmation and limited transaction details, but we do not store your complete payment card information.

4. How We Use Your Information

We may use your information to:

• Confirm, schedule, and manage your charter reservation
• Process deposits, payments, refunds, and booking changes
• Send booking confirmations, reminders, weather updates, and schedule changes
• Communicate important safety, departure, cancellation, or rescheduling information
• Comply with waiver, licensing, insurance, tax, and legal requirements
• Respond to questions and provide customer support
• Improve our website, booking process, and customer experience
• Protect our business, guests, and legal rights

5. Email and Booking Communications

By providing your email address when booking a charter or contacting us, you agree to receive communications related to your inquiry or reservation.

These communications may include:

• Booking confirmations
• Payment and deposit reminders
• Trip reminders
• Weather and safety updates
• Departure-time or location changes
• Cancellation and rescheduling notices
• Customer-support responses
• Post-trip follow-up

Communications required to manage an active reservation are considered transactional and may still be sent while your booking remains active.

We do not sell or rent your email address or booking information for third-party marketing purposes.

6. Weather and Trip Updates

Lake Michigan weather conditions can change rapidly. We may contact you by email or through the booking platform regarding delays, cancellations, safety concerns, departure changes, or rescheduling.

Guests are responsible for monitoring the email address used during booking for important trip updates.

7. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to remember preferences, maintain website functionality, and help us understand how visitors use the website.

We may use analytics providers, such as Google Analytics, to evaluate website traffic and improve performance and user experience.

You may disable cookies through your browser settings. However, certain website features may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

8. How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share information with:

• Booking-platform providers
• Payment processors
• Email-service providers
• Website-hosting and analytics providers
• Insurance providers when necessary to process an incident or claim
• Government, regulatory, or law-enforcement authorities when required by law
• Professional advisers, such as accountants, attorneys, or insurance representatives, when reasonably necessary

Service providers are permitted to use personal information only as necessary to perform services on our behalf or comply with applicable law.

9. Data Retention and Security

We retain booking records, waivers, contact information, payment confirmations, and related communications only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide our services
• Maintain business and accounting records
• Comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce our agreements
• Protect the safety and legal rights of our guests and business

We use commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure.

10. Your Choices and Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information maintained by The Next Bite Charter by contacting us at the email address listed below.

Certain information may need to be retained when required for legal, accounting, insurance, safety, or contractual purposes.

You may unsubscribe from promotional emails by using the unsubscribe instructions included in those messages. Transactional emails concerning an active reservation may still be sent when necessary to provide your charter service.

11. Children's Privacy

Our charters require guests to be at least 10 years old.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13. Information about a child may be provided by a parent or legal guardian when necessary to complete a reservation, waiver, or safety record.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our services, technology, business practices, or legal obligations.

The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Any updated version will be posted on this page.

13. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or requests concerning your personal information may be sent to:

The Next Bite Charter
Email: admin@nextbitecharter.com

Mailing Address:
PM Lake Lodge, Slip 4
104 Water Street
Ludington, MI 49431