Privacy Policy

At The Shift Retreats, we believe that trust is the foundation of everything we do. This policy explains, in plain language, what personal information we collect when you visit our website or attend one of our events, how we use it, and the choices you have. We are committed to handling your data with the same care and intention we bring to every retreat.

1. Who we are

The Shift Retreats is operated by Calmcation. Our events and retreats take place at The Lakes, Headcorn, Kent. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

If you have any questions about how we handle your data, you can reach us at any time at calm@calmcation.co.uk.

2. What information we collect

Information you give us. When you make an enquiry, register for an event, or book a retreat, we collect your name, email address, and phone number. If you share any health or wellbeing information with us to help us tailor your experience, we treat this with the utmost sensitivity as special category data.

Payment information. We do not store your card details. All payments are processed securely by our third-party payment providers, who are independently certified to handle financial data. We receive only a confirmation of the transaction.

Website usage data. When you browse our website, we may collect anonymised information about how you navigate and interact with our pages — such as which pages you visit and how long you spend on them. This helps us understand what resonates with our community and improve the experience for everyone.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected:

• To process your booking or respond to your enquiry
• To send you practical information about events or retreats you have registered for
• To send you updates, seasonal offerings, and inspiration — but only where you have asked us to
• To improve our website and understand how our community engages with our content
• To comply with our legal and financial obligations

We will never use your information in ways that feel intrusive or contrary to the spirit of what we do.

4. Our legal basis for processing

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on:

• Contract performance — to fulfil a booking you have made with us
• Legitimate interests — to respond to enquiries, improve our website, and communicate with our community in ways you would reasonably expect
• Consent — for optional marketing communications; you can withdraw this at any time
• Legal obligation — where we are required to retain records by law

5. How long we keep your data

We keep booking and financial records for seven years, as required by UK tax and accounting law. After that, they are securely deleted.

If you have subscribed to our mailing list, we will hold your details until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you. We will never hold on to data longer than is necessary.

6. Sharing your data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. Full stop.

We work with a small number of trusted service providers — such as our email platform and payment processor — who may process your data on our behalf. Each of these providers is bound by a data processing agreement and is only permitted to use your information for the specific purpose we have engaged them for.

We may also disclose information where required to do so by law or by a regulatory authority.

7. Your rights

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Access — to request a copy of the information we hold about you
• Rectification — to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure — to ask us to delete your data where there is no compelling reason for us to keep it
• Portability — to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Objection — to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing

To exercise any of these rights, simply email us at calm@calmcation.co.uk. We will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to help it function properly and to understand how it is being used.

Essential cookies are necessary for the site to work and cannot be switched off. They do not store any personally identifiable information.

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. These are optional and only set with your consent. You can adjust your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie banner on our site.

9. Get in touch

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, we would love to hear from you. Please write to us at calm@calmcation.co.uk and we will do our best to help.