Your right to ask what we hold

Every private company in South Africa is required to publish a manual setting out what records it holds and how you can ask to see them. Ours is at the bottom of this page. This is the short version.

The law is the Promotion of Access to Information Act, usually shortened to PAIA. It exists so that you are not left guessing about what a company knows about you, and so that you have a formal route to ask rather than hoping someone answers an email.

What you can ask for

You can request access to a record we hold, whether or not it is about you. In practice, most requests we would expect are people asking for their own information: the enquiry they sent us, the itinerary we built, the correspondence around a booking, what we still hold from a trip that happened years ago.

You do not need to give a reason for asking about your own information. You do need to describe what you are looking for clearly enough that we can find it.

Who to ask

Sian Loehrer, co-founder, is our Information Officer. Requests go to her directly at sian@marulahill.com or on +27 82 459 0648. Put the request in writing, by email or on paper, and include your name, your contact details, a description of what you want, and the format you would like it in.

You will be asked to prove who you are before we release anything. That is not us being difficult. It is the only way to be certain we are not handing your file to somebody else.

What we hold

Client records, meaning enquiries, itineraries, quotes, passport and traveller details, the dietary and medical notes you have given us, and our correspondence with you. Financial and commercial records, meaning invoices, supplier confirmations, statements, and the agreements we hold with lodges and partners. Employee and contractor records. Marketing and content records, including our photography archive and the newsletter list. Administrative records, meaning policies, licences, our SATSA membership and professional advice.

The manual sets each of those out in full, along with the parts of them that are protected and cannot be released.

What it costs

Fees are prescribed by the Information Regulator rather than set by us, and the current amounts are listed in the manual. If you are asking for a record about yourself, no request fee applies. Where a fee is payable we will quote it to you in writing before any work begins, and where a record can sensibly be sent by email we would rather send it than charge you for paper.

The Information Officer can also waive or reduce a fee where paying it would be a hardship, or where the request is clearly in the public interest.

When we can say no

Some records are protected and we are not permitted to hand them over. Another client's personal information. Anything covered by legal privilege. Commercial terms we are bound to keep confidential, including what we pay our partners. Information given to us in confidence by a lodge or supplier.

If we refuse a request we have to tell you why in writing, and you have a right of appeal. The full grounds are set out in the manual.

The manual

The document covers all of the above in the language the Act requires, including the statutory timelines, the fee schedule, and the appeal process.

Download the Marula Hill PAIA manual (PDF)

If you would rather simply ask us something without any of the formality, that is fine too. Write to us and it will reach Vikki or Sian.