Cookie Policy
Birch Stays — birchstays.com
Effective date: 4 August 2026
Last updated: 4 August 2026
1. Who we are
This Cookie Policy explains how Birch Stays Ltd ("Birch Stays", "we", "us", "our") uses cookies and similar technologies on https://birchstays.com (the "Website").
Birch Stays Ltd is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 13824705. Our registered office is at 76 Duddy Road, Disley, Stockport, England, SK12 2GB.
For questions, contact hello@birchstays.com.
This policy should be read with our Privacy Policy, which explains how we process personal data more broadly.
2. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help sites work, remember preferences, and understand how people use the site.
We also use similar technologies such as:
- pixels / tags (small pieces of code that record events, for example a page view or completed booking);
- local or session storage in your browser (for short-lived technical needs, such as preventing a purchase event from firing twice if you refresh a confirmation page);
- scripts loaded from our analytics and advertising partners when you have given the relevant consent.
In this policy, “cookies” covers these technologies where relevant.
3. How we use cookies
We use cookies to:
- make the Website work securely (for example, keeping you signed in);
- remember your cookie preferences;
- understand how you found us (for example, a campaign link or referring website);
- measure how the Website is used, with your consent;
- measure advertising performance, with your consent.
4. Your choices
When you first visit the Website, you will see a cookie banner. You can:
- Accept all — analytics and marketing cookies are enabled;
- Reject non-essential — only strictly necessary cookies run;
- Preferences — choose Analytics and/or Marketing separately.
We use Google Consent Mode v2. Analytics and advertising tags stay denied by default until you grant the relevant consent.
You can change your mind later by clearing cookies for birchstays.com in your browser and revisiting the Website (the banner will appear again), or by adjusting your browser settings to block or delete cookies. Blocking all cookies may affect parts of the site, such as signing in or completing checkout.
5. Categories of cookies we use
5.1 Strictly necessary cookies
These are required for the Website to function and for security. They do not require consent under UK PECR.
Examples include:
Cookie / technologyPurposeTypical duration
birch_consent_v1
Stores your analytics and marketing cookie choices so we can honour them on later visits
365 days
guest_pending_claim
Remembers a booking claim / invite link so you can connect a stay to your guest account
24 hours
Guest account session cookies (Better Auth)
Keep you signed in to your Birch Stays guest account
Up to 30 days (session)
payload-token
CMS / staff authentication for admin access (not used for ordinary browsing)
Session / as set by the CMS
Stripe cookies / storage
Required to process payments securely during checkout
Session / as set by Stripe
5.2 First-party attribution cookie
CookiePurposeTypical duration
birch_attr_v1
Stores first- and last-touch marketing attribution (for example UTM parameters, referring site, landing page, and ad click IDs such as Google gclid / gbraid / wbraid and Meta fbclid) so we can understand how bookings originate
90 days
This first-party cookie may be set when you land on the Website so we can understand how you arrived. It does not load Google Analytics, Hotjar, Meta Pixel, or Google Ads tags. Those only run if you grant the relevant consent.
5.3 Analytics cookies (consent required)
If you accept analytics cookies, we may use:
ProviderPurposeExamples of cookies / storage
Google Tag Manager
Loads and manages analytics tags according to your consent
_ga, _gid, and related Google cookies (via Google tags)
Google Analytics 4
Understands site usage, traffic sources, and booking funnel performance
_ga, _ga_* (typically up to 2 years)
Hotjar
Session analytics, heatmaps and behaviour insights to improve the Website
Hotjar cookies such as _hjSessionUser_*, _hjSession_* (durations vary; commonly up to 365 days for user identity cookies and shorter for session cookies)
5.4 Marketing cookies (consent required)
If you accept marketing cookies, we may use:
ProviderPurposeExamples of cookies / storage
Meta Pixel (Facebook / Instagram)
Measures ad performance and completed bookings
_fbp, _fbc (typically up to 90 days)
Google Ads / Conversion Linker
Measures advertising conversions and links click data to conversions
Google advertising cookies such as _gcl_* (typically up to 90 days)
When you complete a booking, we may also send conversion events from our servers (for example Google Analytics Measurement Protocol and Meta Conversions API). Those server-side sends only happen if the booking was made with the relevant consent recorded.
6. Third-party cookies
Some cookies are set by third parties when their tools run on the Website (for example Google, Meta, Hotjar or Stripe). Those providers may process data under their own privacy policies. We only enable analytics and marketing third-party tags after you grant the relevant consent.
7. Managing cookies in your browser
Most browsers let you:
- see which cookies are stored;
- delete cookies;
- block third-party cookies;
- block cookies from specific sites.
Browser controls vary. Look under Privacy, Security, or Cookies in your browser settings. Useful starting points:
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available at https://birchstays.com/cookies/.
9. Contact us
Birch Stays Ltd
Email: hello@birchstays.com
Website: https://birchstays.com
Registered office: 76 Duddy Road, Disley, Stockport, England, SK12 2GB
Company number: 13824705
This document is provided for publication on birchstays.com. It is not legal advice. We recommend having it reviewed by a qualified adviser before publication.
