Acceptable Use Policy

Introduction

This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all persons who access or use PataStay, including guests, hosts, property managers and other users of the platform.

It should be read together with PataStay's Terms and Conditions , Host Terms and other applicable policies.

By using PataStay, you agree not to use the platform in a manner that is unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, misleading, unsafe or harmful to other users or PataStay.

General Acceptable Use

PataStay may be used for legitimate purposes connected with discovering accommodation, listing BnBs, managing host accounts, unlocking host information, communicating about stays and using other authorized platform services.

Users must:

• Provide accurate information where required.
• Use the platform for legitimate purposes.
• Respect other users.
• Comply with applicable laws.
• Use payment and communication tools honestly.
• Protect account credentials.
• Follow applicable PataStay policies.

Account Misuse

Users must not create, access or operate PataStay accounts in a misleading or unauthorized manner.

Prohibited account activity includes:

• Creating an account using another person's identity without permission.
• Providing intentionally false registration information.
• Creating multiple accounts to evade restrictions.
• Sharing login credentials for abusive or unauthorized purposes.
• Attempting to access another user's account.
• Using compromised or stolen account credentials.
• Attempting to bypass account suspensions or restrictions.

Fraud, Misrepresentation and Deception

PataStay must not be used to deceive another user or obtain money, services, property access or personal information dishonestly.

Suspected fraudulent activity may result in immediate restriction or investigation.

Property Listing Abuse

Hosts must use PataStay property listings honestly and must only list accommodation they are authorized to advertise or manage.

Hosts must not:

• List properties they do not own, manage or have permission to advertise.
• Use photographs belonging to unrelated properties in a misleading way.
• Create fake listings.
• Intentionally provide false property locations.
• Misrepresent rooms, amenities, facilities or property condition.
• Publish misleading accommodation prices solely to attract enquiries.
• Duplicate properties excessively to manipulate search visibility.
• Use listing titles or descriptions for unrelated advertising.

Unlock and Access Abuse

Certain PataStay information may be available only after a successful guest unlock.

Users must not attempt to bypass, interfere with or defeat paid access controls.

Prohibited activity includes:

• Attempting to access locked host information without paying the applicable fee.
• Manipulating URLs, code, browser tools or requests to reveal locked details.
• Using stolen or unauthorized unlock links.
• Sharing protected unlock access on a large scale.
• Creating systems designed to extract locked host information.
• Attempting to alter an unlock transaction or payment status.

Payment Abuse

Users must not misuse PataStay's payment processes, transaction systems or payment-related communications.

Prohibited behaviour includes:

• Using stolen payment credentials.
• Providing false evidence of payment.
• Manipulating transaction references.
• Making fraudulent refund requests.
• Attempting to reverse valid payments through deceptive means.
• Hosts requesting payment for accommodation they do not intend to provide.
• Sending users fake payment links while pretending they are official PataStay links.

PataStay may restrict transactions or accounts where payment fraud is suspected.

Messaging and Communication

PataStay may provide communication options including telephone details, WhatsApp contact options and on-platform chat.

Communication features must be used for legitimate accommodation, property, support or platform-related purposes.

Users must not send:

• Spam.
• Repeated unwanted messages.
• Fraudulent payment requests.
• Threats.
• Abusive or insulting content.
• Malicious links.
• Unrelated mass advertising.
• Requests for passwords, PINs or one-time verification codes.

PataStay may review on-platform messages where reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, fraud, user complaints or safety concerns.

Harassment, Threats and Harmful Conduct

PataStay does not permit users to harass, threaten, intimidate or deliberately harm other users.

Prohibited behaviour may include:

• Threatening physical harm.
• Repeated unwanted contact.
• Sexual harassment.
• Blackmail or extortion.
• Intimidation.
• Targeted abuse.
• Unlawful discriminatory conduct.
• Sharing another user's private information to harass them.

Serious threats or safety concerns may result in immediate account restriction and may be referred to relevant authorities where appropriate.

Privacy and Personal Information

Personal information obtained through PataStay must not be collected, shared or used for unrelated or abusive purposes.

Users must not:

• Sell guest or host contact information.
• Publish private user information without lawful justification.
• Use unlocked phone numbers for unrelated marketing campaigns.
• Build unauthorized databases of host or guest information.
• Request unnecessary sensitive information.
• Use another person's personal information for fraud or impersonation.

Information should be handled consistently with PataStay's Privacy Policy .

Scraping, Data Harvesting and Automated Access

Users must not systematically extract PataStay data without authorization.

Unless expressly permitted by PataStay, prohibited activity includes:

• Scraping host telephone numbers.
• Mass downloading property listings.
• Harvesting user email addresses.
• Using bots to extract locked information.
• Automated account creation.
• Automated requests designed to overload the website.
• Copying substantial portions of the PataStay database.

Normal search engine indexing and other authorized technical uses may be treated separately.

Platform and Security Abuse

Users must not interfere with PataStay's systems, security, software or infrastructure.

You must not:

• Upload or distribute malware.
• Attempt unauthorized access to servers or databases.
• Exploit security vulnerabilities.
• Attempt to bypass authentication.
• Launch denial-of-service attacks.
• Intentionally interfere with website performance.
• Modify transactions, user permissions or platform data without authorization.
• Attempt to reverse engineer protected PataStay functionality where prohibited by law.

Prohibited Content

Users must not upload, publish or transmit content through PataStay that is unlawful or clearly inappropriate for the platform.

This may include:

• Fraudulent content.
• Malicious software or links.
• Threatening content.
• Content that unlawfully infringes intellectual property rights.
• Material designed to impersonate another person or business.
• Content that unlawfully exposes another person's private information.
• Content connected with unlawful activity.

PataStay may remove content that violates this policy or another applicable platform rule.

Illegal and Prohibited Activities

PataStay must not be used to facilitate conduct that is unlawful under applicable law.

This includes using PataStay to knowingly facilitate:

• Fraud.
• Theft.
• Identity misuse.
• Money laundering.
• Unauthorized financial transactions.
• Violence or threats.
• Exploitation or abuse.
• Other unlawful activity.

PataStay may cooperate with lawful requests from authorities where required by applicable law.

Investigation of Suspected Misuse

PataStay may review relevant platform information where reasonably necessary to investigate suspected misuse.

Depending on the issue, this may include reviewing:

• User account information.
• Property listings.
• Guest unlock records.
• PataStay payment records.
• On-platform conversations.
• Complaint history.
• Administrative activity.
• Relevant technical logs.

PataStay may ask a user to provide clarification, proof of property authority, payment evidence or other information relevant to an investigation.

Enforcement and Account Action

A violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in action by PataStay depending on the seriousness and circumstances of the issue.

Reporting Misuse

If you believe another guest, host or listing is violating this policy, you can report the issue to PataStay.

Where possible, include:

• The property name or listing.
• The user involved.
• A description of the issue.
• Relevant screenshots.
• Messages.
• Transaction references.
• Other information that may help us review the report.

Changes to This Policy

PataStay may update this Acceptable Use Policy to reflect changes to platform functionality, safety practices, security requirements or applicable law.

The latest version will be published on this page together with the applicable revision date.

Continued use of PataStay remains subject to the current platform rules and applicable policies.

Contact PataStay

Contact us if you have questions about this policy or need to report suspected misuse of PataStay.