Membership in the Teacher Home Swap Community (the “ Community ”) is based on the simple expectation of mutual respect, honesty, and each Member following the Golden Rule.
Because trust is an important community value, I will review and accept the following terms and conditions, which will enable this community to benefit from safe, honest, dependable, and respectful exchanges.
By clicking “Accept” at the end of this Membership Agreement and continuing with the member application process, I make the promises contained in this Agreement to all other Members and to TisaHaus, LLC d/b/a Teacher Home Swap (“THS”) and understand that each will be relying on my promises and agreements. THS also makes the promises contained in this Agreement to me and each other Member.
THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT, BINDING ON ME, EACH OTHER MEMBER AND THS, AND IS ENTERED INTO WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT EACH MEMBER AND THS WILL RELY ON THE PROMISES AND AGREEMENTS CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT.
To become a Member of the Community (a “ Member ”) I must:
Education professionals are individuals, located anywhere in the world, who are employed as teachers, professors, teachers’ aids, administrators and others who devote their professional time to the education of students or the support of educators while in the employ of an educational institution. Where available, THS will use a third party verification service, such as Sheer ID to verify an applicant’s status as an education professional. For some post-secondary or international education professionals, such third party services may not be available. In those cases, THS may undertake validation of education professionals directly or through contract with third parties. The standing and roles of applicants from outside the United States may be difficult to verify and education roles, responsibilities and employment may not be equivalent to those in the United States. Consequently, THS undertakes only to exercise reasonable care in validating an applicant’s status as an education professional and may not be held liable for the exercise of its reasonable judgment in relation to such determinations.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS MY DUTY TO ENGAGE WITH EACH PERSON WHO CONTACTS ME IN CONNECTION WITH A BOOKING TO SATISFY MYSELF THAT S/HE IS AN EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL WITH WHOM I AM COMFORTABLE ENGAGING IN A FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.
Bookings :
It’s simple. Any Member can post the availability of his/her entire residence, a room in his/her residence or shared space in his/her residence (collectively, a “Home”). Any visitor to the Sites (a “Visitor”) may view any Posting. If a Visitor wants to engage with a Member to arrange to swap or rent a Home (a “Booking”), s/he must be become a Member, which requires verification that s/he is an education professional (see above). Initial Membership does not require payment of any kind, only that a person meet the Member qualifications listed above.
The Sites allow users to connect with one another to explore Booking possibilities. Once Site users have identified a potential Booking, the Member who created the Posting must pay the annual Membership Fee to connect directly with an interested Member and to finalize a Booking. This provides Visitors with the flexibility to browse before they commit and Members to make Postings to verify interest from Site users before having to make any financial commitments.
BOOKINGS OCCUR EXCLUSIVELY BETWEEN MEMBERS, ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS AGREED TO BETWEEN THEM. THS’ ONLY DUTIES ARE TO OPERATE THE SITES IN COMPLIANCE WITH THIS AGREEMENT.
THS does not endorse any Member or validate its offered Home, collect or disburse funds for any Booking or otherwise act to facilitate any Booking, beyond its operation of the Sites.
Bookings are meant to be simple and flexible, limited only by the bounds of law and the creativity of the Members. Homes may be rented without exchange or exchanged simultaneously, non-simultaneously or for payment. Members may offer the partial use of Homes or to host other Members. THS is not involved in the details of any Booking, so please be creative, be smart, treat other Members with respect, and follow the requirements of this Agreement to preserve the integrity and value of our Community.
Community Pages:
Members can also engage with one another on the Sites Community Pages on a variety of topics that will expand and deepen the opportunities for connections among Members. Members may open or respond to conversations on any topic, including seeking or offering services such as dog watching, student teaching, ideas on teaching topics, etc.
As with all other aspects of this Community, I understand that all such engagements must be respectful, limited to legal topics and exchanges and otherwise will be limited only by my imagination and the imagination of my fellow Members. I am solely responsible for the content of my posts and responses and will refrain from posting anything that would reasonably be seen as illegal, offensive, abusive or derogatory. I understand that THS may suspend or cancel my membership (without refund and/or warning) if I engage in any unacceptable behavior on the Sites.
Following payment of the initial membership fee, Members pay an annual membership fee to support their content on the Sites and Community engagement.
Initial Membership Fee:
I understand that payment of the initial membership fee is due before I may engage with another Member or Visitor regarding a Booking.
Credit Card Charges:
I will provide THS or its Payment Processor (defined below) with a valid credit card, will assure that the card information is up to date at all times, and am ultimately responsible for all amounts payable to THS under this Agreement. If THS or its Payment Processor is unable to charge my credit card for any reason, THS may charge a processing or late fee, which I will pay.
THS may contract with a third party to process credit card payments (a “Payment Processor”).
I authorize THS and each such party, to the extent they are acting under a valid contract with THS, to process payment, initiate credit card charges and otherwise collect all payments I am obligated to make under this Agreement.
Membership Renewal:
My annual renewal date is the date on which I paid my initial membership fee and will be included in my Member profile.
THS will notify me by electronic mail or by a posting on the Sites of any change in the amount of the annual membership fee at least 30 days prior to my annual membership renewal date, otherwise the annual membership fee will be equal to the previous year’s fee.
THS is authorized to charge the annual membership fee to the credit card I’ve provided each year, unless I’ve cancelled my membership prior to my annual renewal date.
Termination:
I may terminate my membership at any time. However, THS is not obligated to provide pro rata or other refunds of my annual membership fee. To avoid paying an annual membership fee, I must terminate my membership at least 15 days before my membership renewal date.
Overarching Legal Responsibilities
Authenticity
Responsibilities for Bookings
Responsibility for Depictions and Condition of Home(s)
Responsibilities for Home Stays
Online, Community Responsibilities/Code of Conduct
Rights:
THS grants each Member a limited, revocable non-exclusive license to access the Sites and their content and to avail themselves of the services THS provides through the Sites or to the Community, but only for the purpose of creating a Posting, searching for and/or Booking a Home, and purchasing or researching (for the purpose of inquiring about purchasing) any of the products or services offered on any Site, and only in a manner that complies with this Agreement.
Limitations:
This license does not grant me the right to use the Sites, access the Community or otherwise benefit from the services offered by THS in any manner that is inconsistent with this Agreement, which use is expressly prohibited. This license does not grant me any right of collection, aggregation, copying, scraping, duplication, display or any derivative use of the Sites or any of its contents or of any right of use of data mining, robots, spiders or similar data gathering and extraction tools.
Use of, and Access to, Personally Identifiable Information
I may obtain personally identifiable information regarding other Members and will provide such information about myself to other Members in connection with my use of the Sites. Information that I provide to THS or to which THS has access is governed by the THS privacy policy (Section 6). I grant THS a license to use all information that I provide to THS or any of its affiliates.
With respect to personally identifiable information that I provide to other Members, I grant each Member a license to use such information only for: (a) communications related to Bookings; and (b) other purposes to which a Member expressly agrees after complete disclosure of the purpose. In all cases, I must give Members an opportunity to remove themselves from my contact list and to stop ongoing communications. Under no circumstances will I disclose personally identifiable information about another member to any third party without consent of the Member.
I will use personally identifiable information I receive or obtain from other Members only in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Copyrights
The Sites are owned by THS and their content are either owned by THS or the Members who provide specific content for Postings. The Sites and content are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation, under applicable law. I will respect and abide by copyright notices or restrictions applicable to any content on the Sites. I will not copy, modify, or store any content or access the Sites except in compliance with this license.
I will not post on the Sites any material or information that is subject to copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right protection without permission and legal authority.
The following explains how THS collects, stores, uses and protects my personal information in connection with my use of the Sites, as well as other pertinent information regarding my privacy. The Sites are owned and operated by THS. As an extension of our basic expectations of mutual respect and honesty for the Community, THS is committed to protecting my personal information.
Accessing, Reviewing and Changing My Profile
Once I’ve been granted Membership in the Community, I may review and change any information I’ve submitted by following the instructions on the profile page. If I change my password or email address, THS may retain a record of previous information. I can also change my Postings and saved search criteria.
As quickly as is reasonably possible following termination of my Membership, THS will remove my Postings, profile and related information from the Sites and THS’ active databases.
After THS has removed information at my request, THS may retain such information in storage databases to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, enforce terms and conditions of the Community or Sites or for other similar, non-public purposes. Due to technical and legal constraints, including stored ‘back up' systems, personally identifiable information that I provide or that THS collects may never be completely removed from THS databases.
Information THS Collects.
THS collects my personal information to provide me with a customized experience, to promote the Sites or its services, and to improve the service THS provides to the Community. THS obtains data from me and other Members through direct input on the Sites, by the automatic collection of information through use of the Sites, when THS representatives speak to me, or from third parties. For example, THS may obtain information from Facebook or Google, if I ask to connect to the Sites through my Facebook or Google account. THS may also gather information from cookies. See the “Use of Cookies” subsection below for more information on cookies.
THS may also collect other information such as IP addresses, mobile device identifier details, Member locations, navigation and click-stream data, the timing and duration of my access to the Sites, search history on the Sites, and other activity details on the Sites.
THS may feature my Postings in editorials and newsletters that it may periodically send out to promote the Sites or THS services. In such materials, THS would only display information that I’ve chosen to display when I create the featured Posting. The entirety of each Posting I create may be viewed by any Visitor (the general public). Posting on the Community Pages and my profile can be viewed by THS employees and by Members of the Community. This Agreement limits the use, copying and displaying of information that I post and reminds Members that the content of the Sites is copyright protected. However, it is possible that Members could violate the Agreement and make improper use of content that I post to the Sites. If I do not want certain information to be viewed or misused, I will not place that information on the Sites. THS may enter into agreements with third party websites to allow my Postings to be posted on such websites or to include information from third party websites on the Sites. Postings that THS shares with third party websites will not include any of my contact information, nor will THS allow third party websites or their users to contact me directly, but will instead have those users re-directed to the Sites. In order for a user of a third party website to view my full posting, they would have to become a Member, which requires, among other things, verification of active teacher status.
Process for Personal Data
THS will, and will pass on to third parties acting under its direction, personally identifiable information that it collects or obtains for processing, storage and use in compliance with this Policy. The Sites may contain Postings for Homes in various countries, which means that personally identifiable information may be collected, stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which THS, its Members or third parties with whom it contracts maintain data storage facilities.
By using the Sites, I may be transferring personally identifiable information outside of my home country or the country in which I created a Posting. I authorize THS to transfer my personally identifiable information in this manner. Regardless of the legal protections in these countries (which may require more or less data security than my home country), THS will take reasonable steps to ensure that my privacy rights are protected in compliance with applicable data protection law and this Policy. THS does not knowingly collect or process data from anyone under the age of 18 years old.
For more information about possible third party processing, storage or use of personally identifiable information, see the subsection titled “THS Disclosure of My Information” below.
THS Use of My Information.
THS uses information that its collects, obtains and maintains about Members (including personally identifiable information) to operate the Sites and provide various services to Members, to promote and serve the Community, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems and enforce the Agreement and rules, regulations, and other internal policies regarding use of the Community, Sites or THS services. THS reserves the right, in its discretion, to provide my contact information to another Member with whom I’ve made a Booking.
THS may use personally identifiable information about me to improve its marketing and promotional efforts, to analyze use or improve services or the content or appearance of the Sites. THS may use my information to contact me and to deliver information to me that, in some cases, is targeted to my interests, such as targeted advertisements, administrative notices, product offerings, and communications relevant to my use of the Sites. If I do not wish to receive these communications, I may opt out using the opt-out instructions included on each individual item of electronic communication.
THS Disclosure of My Information
Due to a variety of factors beyond THS control, THS cannot guaranty that all of my personally identifiable information will never be disclosed outside the bounds of this Policy. For example, THS may be required to disclose information to a government agency or, pursuant to litigation, a non-governmental third party. Despite THS data security measures and those of its third party contractors, it may fall victim to a computer hacking, resulting in a third party’s unlawful access to my personally identifiable information. In violation of the Agreement, Members may abuse or misuse my information that they collect from the Sites.
THS may also engage third parties, who may be located outside of United States, to provide services, such as technology services, assistance with fraud prevention and risk mitigation, customer service, targeted ads, and to facilitate payments from or reimbursements to Members. In connection with the services these third parties have been contracted to provide, THS may provide them with personally identifiable information about me, or I may be required to provide personally identifiable information directly to such third parties. THS contracts with these third parties will require that each third party protect my personally identifiable information in accordance with applicable law and industry best practices. However, the conduct of these third parties is ultimately beyond THS control.
THS does not sell or rent any personally identifiable information about me to any third party.
Financial Information
The terms of my Membership may require that I provide THS, its Payment Processor with my credit card billing information, along with other personally identifiable information. This information is used to bill me for my Membership in the Community. I authorize THS to provide this information to Payment Processors and authorize THS and each Payment Processor, as applicable, to process my transactions. THS and Payment Processors may also provide this information to my credit card issuer for their purposes. Payment Processors may include the credit card companies, banking institutions, and specialized payment processing services such as authorize.net that THS uses to process transactions. The conduct of these third parties is ultimately beyond THS control.
I authorize THS to disclose to Payment Processors all information I submit and authorize Payment Processors to use information from THS or that I submit directly to them in the same manner in which THS is entitled to use information that I submit directly to THS.
Advertisers
THS may aggregate personally identifiable information and disclose it in a non-personally identifiable manner to advertisers and other third parties for marketing and promotional purposes. THS does not disclose to these entities any information that could be used to identify me personally. Personally identifiable information, such as my name, email address, password, credit card number and bank account number, are never disclosed to marketing advertisers. THS may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on its behalf. These companies may employ Cookies to measure advertising effectiveness.
Use of "Cookies"
THS may use data collection devices such as "cookies" web beacons or action tags (collectively, “Cookies”) on certain pages of our Sites. These are small files placed on my hard drive that allow the collection of anonymous information that may assist in providing customized services. THS may also offer certain features that are only available through the use of Cookies. Cookies can also help tailor information to me, taking into account such factors as demographics, interests, and behavior to better understand and serve me and the Community. This information may include the URL of the website that I visit immediately before and after the Sites (even if the URL’s point to third party websites), what browser I am using, and my IP address. Most cookies are automatically deleted from my hard drive at the end of a browsing session. If permitted by my web browser, I may decline THS cookies.
THS may use third party advertising companies to serve ads on its behalf across the Internet. These advertising companies may also collect anonymous information about my visits to the Sites, primarily through the use of Cookies. There may also be a number of services offered by external service providers that help me use the Sites. If I choose to use these optional services, and in the course of doing so, disclose information to the external service providers, and/or grant them permission to collect information about me, then their use of my information is governed by their private policies, if any.
Some of the third party advertisers that THS uses have their own privacy policies and may allow me to opt out of having my information collected.
Control of My Password.
I am responsible for all actions taken with my login information and password. I will be smart and won’t share that information with anyone unless I trust them with my life! If I lose control of my password, damaging disclosure of my personally identifiable information may result and third parties may be able to take legally binding actions on my behalf. With that in mind, if I become aware that my password has been compromised in any way, I will change it immediately.
Limitations on our Privacy Policy.
This Policy only addresses THS’ use, storage and disclosure of my personally identifiable information. If I disclose my information to third parties, including through the Sites, this Policy does not apply (unless my disclosure is to other Members). However, while Members are generally bound by this Agreement, they are not subject to the specifics of the privacy commitments that THS makes in this Policy.
Security
THS uses industry standard practices, including "firewalls" and secure socket layers, to safeguard the confidentiality of my personally identifiable information. My data is an asset that THS protects against unauthorized access. THS uses a variety of security techniques to protect Member data from unauthorized access but no security is guaranteed to be 100% effective so I will use discretion regarding the data I provide to THS or other Members.
Newsletters . Members may receive periodic communication from THS, including newsletters, surveys and phone calls. Each such communication will provide me with an opportunity to opt out of receiving future communications. If I receive survey requests from THS, it is entirely up to me whether I participate. If I do participate, THS will use the information I provide, along with information from other Members to improve its services. If I participate in phone conversation with THS personnel, the conversation may be recorded. Recordings of phone conversations are covered by this Policy.
THS WILL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO ANY MEMBER FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED TRANSACTION MADE USING MEMBER’S ID OR PASSWORD. THE UNAUTHORIZED USE OF MY ONLINE ID AND PASSWORD IN CONNECTION WITH MY THS MEMBERSHIP MAY CAUSE ME TO INCUR LIABILITY TO BOTH THS AND OTHER MEMBERS.
THE SITES ARE INTENDED TO BE USED TO FACILITATE SITE USERS CONNECTING AND MEMBERS BOOKING HOMES DIRECTLY WITH EACH OTHER. THS CANNOT AND DOES NOT CONTROL THE CONTENT CONTAINED IN ANY POSTINGS AND THE CONDITION, LEGALITY OR SUITABILITY OF ANY HOMES. THS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY RELATED TO POSTINGS AND HOMES. I MAKE AND ACCEPT BOOKINGS AT MY OWN RISK.
I USE THE SITES AT MY SOLE RISK. THS DOES NOT CONDUCT BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ANY MEMBER.
THS PROVIDES THE SITES AND ITS SURVIVES “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.
ANY INFORMATION I PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SITE ARE NOT CONFIDENTIAL. MY COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTENT I CONTRIBUTE MAY BE INTERCEPTED BY OTHERS. BY BECOMING A MEMBER, THS IS NOT CREATING ANY CONFIDENTIAL, FIDUCIARY, JOINT VENTURE, EMPLOYMENT, CONTRACTUALLY IMPLIED OR OTHER RELATIONSHIP.
I WILL NOT HOLD THS OR ANY THIRD PARTY WITH WHOM IT CONTRACTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT PROVIDED BY ANY MEMBER.
TRAVEL IS RISKY AND TRAVEL TO SOME DESTINATIONS MAY BE MORE RISKY THAN TRAVEL TO OTHER DESTINATION. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE RISK OF ALL TRAVEL AND WILL NOT HOLD THS LIABLE FOR DAMAGES WITH RESPECT TO TRAVEL TO ANY DESTINATION.
I RELEASE THS FROM ALL LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF MY USE OF THE SITES AND THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THS, OTHER THAN WITH RESPECT TO LIABILITY TO THE EXTENT ARISING DIRECTLY FROM A BREACH BY THS OF ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. I ACCEPT THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF MY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITES AND THS SERVICES, INCLUDING MAKING ANY BOOKINGS AND ANY TRANSACTIONS OR VISITS AT ANY HOME WITH ANY OTHER MEMBER. I WILL NOT HOLD THS OR ANY OF ITS THIRD PARTY CONTRACTORS OR OTHERS INVOLVED IN CREATING OR DELIVERING THE SITES OR SERVICES LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS ARISING OUT OF MY USE OF THE SITES OR THS SERVICES WHETHER OR NOT THS HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THS’ AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY MEMBERS USE OF THE SITES OR THE SERVICES OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY HOME, BOOKING OR INTERACTIONS WITH ANY OTHER MEMBERS, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS I HAVE PAID TO THS AS A MEMBER IN THE 12 MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY. THIS LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THIS AGREEMENT.
I RELEASE AND INDEMNIFY THS AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS, FROM ALL LIABILITIES, INCLUDING REASONABLE LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING FEES AND EXPENSES, ARISING FROM OR CONNECTED TO (A) MY USE OF THE SITES AND ITS CONTENT, AND THS SERVICES; (B) ANY VIOLATION BY ME OF THIS AGREEMENT; (C) CONTENT I CONTRIBUTE; (D) MY INTERACTION WITH ANY OTHER MEMBER; (E) CREATION OF ANY POSTING; (F) BOOKING ANY HOME; (G) MY USE, CONDITION OR BOOKING OF A HOME, INCLUDING ANY INJURIES, LOSSES, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH OR AS A RESULT OF A BOOKING OR USE OF A HOME; AND (H) THE CONDITION OF ANY HOME I MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING ANY INJURIES, LOSSES OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH ANOTHER MEMBER’S USE OF MY HOME.
IN CONNECTION WITH ANY INDEMNIFICATION BY ME, I WILL PROVIDE COUNSEL REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO THS AND THS WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO DIRECT THE DEFENSE OF ANY LITIGATION OR DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
I WILL NOT SETTLE ANY MATTER OR ADMIT ANY FAULT OR LIABILITY WITHOUT OUR WRITTEN CONSENT.
I WAIVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION, PRIVATE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ACTION, OR ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
The execution, interpretation and performance of this Agreement, and any disputes with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are governed by the internal laws and judicial decisions of Colorado, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws. Venue for any litigation arising from this Agreement will lie exclusively in the courts of competent jurisdiction in Summit County, Colorado.
This Agreement constitute the entire agreement and understanding between me and THS. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, promises, representations and statements between me and THS with respect to the Sites and services provided by THS.
Each other Member of the Community is explicitly made a third party beneficiary of this Agreement.
If I have any questions regarding this Agreement, the Sites, services or otherwise relating to the Community or my membership, I can contact THS at info@teacherhomeswap.com.