Introduction
Under GDPR, guests have the right to erasure — also known as the "right to be forgotten." When a guest requests that their personal data be removed, Bookboost handles this through guest anonymization. This process replaces identifying personal data in a guest profile with anonymous placeholders, while preserving the data that hotels are legally required to retain. 🔒
Main Concept
Guest anonymization in Bookboost removes personally identifiable information (PII) from a guest's profile: such as name, email address, and phone number, replacing it with anonymous values. This means the guest can no longer be identified, targeted, or contacted through Bookboost.
Importantly, anonymization is not the same as deletion. The underlying reservation record is retained (as required by law in many countries), but the guest's identity is stripped from it.
Key terms:
PII (Personally Identifiable Information) — data that can identify a specific person, e.g. name, email, phone number
Anonymization — replacing PII with non-identifying placeholders
Right to Erasure — a guest's GDPR right to request removal of their personal data
Use Cases
A guest contacts the hotel requesting deletion of their personal data under GDPR
A hotel's data protection policy requires removal of guest data after a defined retention period
A guest unsubscribes and additionally requests full data removal
Compliance audits requiring proof that guest data erasure requests are actioned
Configuration and Setup
How to Anonymize a Guest Profile
Navigate to Profiles in Bookboost.
Search for and open the relevant guest profile.
Locate the anonymization option within the profile (by clicking the three dots that will bring up the profile actions menu).
Click on Anonymize guest
Confirm the action. Bookboost will replace the guest's PII with anonymous values.
The profile will no longer appear in audience lists or campaign targets.
⚠️ This action is irreversible. Once a profile is anonymized, the personal data cannot be recovered.
Known Issues & Limitations
Does not sync to your PMS — Anonymization in Bookboost is not pushed back to your Property Management System. If you need the guest's data removed from your PMS as well, that must be done separately in the respective PMS system.
Per-guest, not per-reservation — Anonymization applies to one guest profile at a time. If a reservation has multiple guests, each profile must be anonymized individually. The number of guests shown on the reservation record does not change.
Reservation data is retained — The reservation itself (dates, room type, booking reference) is preserved as required by law. Only the guest's personal identifiers are removed.
Conclusion
Guest anonymization in Bookboost gives hotels a compliant, structured way to fulfill GDPR erasure requests. By removing PII from guest profiles while retaining required reservation data, Bookboost ensures you meet your legal obligations without disrupting operational records. Always remember to also action the erasure in your PMS separately, and to process requests per guest profile rather than per reservation, as anomyziation does not synch to your PMS.
Support
Please contact us through the 'Talk to Us' option on the left menu in the platform, or through the Bookboost Support email at support@bookboost.io if you have questions or need additional support.