Terms of Service

1. General Provisions

1.1. StayInKZ is an online platform for searching accommodation facilities (resorts, hotels, guest houses), viewing information about them, and sending booking requests.

1.2. The operator of the platform is:

An individual

Republic of Kazakhstan, Balkhash

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: stayin.kz

Hereinafter — the "Platform", "StayInKZ", "We", the "Operator".

1.3. Acceptance of this Agreement is any of the following actions: registering on the platform, logging into an existing account, sending a booking request, or checking a box to indicate agreement with the terms.

1.4. This Agreement applies together with the following documents, which form an integral part of it:

• Privacy Policy — rules for the collection and processing of personal data
• Cookie Policy — rules for the use of cookie files
• Public Offer — applicable to owners of accommodation facilities

1.5. Language, Governing Law, Age, and Hours of Operation

1.5. The language of this Agreement is Russian. Where versions exist in other languages, the Russian-language version shall prevail.

1.6. Governing law — the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

1.7. The minimum age for independent use of the platform is 14 (fourteen) years, which corresponds to the scope of legal capacity of minors under the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Persons under 14 years of age may not use the platform independently; their data may only be processed with the consent of a legal representative. By using the service, the User confirms that they have reached the stated age.

1.8. At the current stage, the StayInKZ platform operates in test mode and does not charge guests for using the service. Sending a booking request is free of charge for the User. The terms of the test mode may be changed in the manner provided for in Section 15 of this Agreement.

1.9. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and the Privacy Policy regarding matters of the collection and processing of personal data, the Privacy Policy shall prevail. In matters concerning the use of cookie files, the Cookie Policy shall prevail. In relations with Facility Owners, the Public Offer shall prevail.

2. Definitions

• Platform / StayInKZ — the online service located at stayin.kz.
• User / Guest — an individual who uses the platform to search for accommodation facilities and send booking requests.
• Owner / Facility Administrator — an individual or legal entity that has listed an accommodation facility on the platform under the terms of the Public Offer.
• Facility — a resort, hotel, guest house, or other accommodation facility, information about which is published on the platform.
• Booking Request — a request from a User, sent to the Owner of a facility through the platform, expressing an intention to use the accommodation services.
• Lead — a booking request transmitted to the Owner of a facility; in relations between the platform and the Owner, it is governed by the Public Offer.
• Review — user-generated content published by a User following confirmed accommodation at a facility.
• Account — a User’s registered account on the platform.
• Moderation — the review of facilities, reviews, and other content for compliance with the platform’s rules.
• Test Mode — the current stage of the platform’s operation, during which the User’s use of the service is free of charge (Clause 1.8).

3. Status of the Platform

3.1. StayInKZ is an informational intermediary and lead-generation service. The Platform is not a hotel, a travel agency, and is not a party to the accommodation agreement.

3.2. The agreement for the provision of accommodation services (including the terms of stay, the final price, and the procedure for payment, check-in, and check-out) is concluded directly between the User and the Owner of the facility, unless otherwise stated on the facility’s page.

3.3. The Platform does not guarantee:

• the actual availability of vacancies for the selected dates;
• that the final price will match the price indicated on the facility’s page;
• the quality, safety, or conformity of the facility to its description;
• that the Owner of the facility will confirm or respond to the request at all.

3.4–3.5. Request and Transfer of Contact Details

3.4. A booking request submitted through StayInKZ does not constitute automatic confirmation of accommodation.

3.5. The User’s contact details (name, phone number) are transferred to the Owner of the facility only with the User’s explicit consent, expressed by checking a box when sending the request. For details, see the Privacy Policy.

4. Registration and Account

4.1. Registration is required to send a booking request and to use the full functionality of the platform.

4.2. The User undertakes to provide current and accurate information upon registration (first name, last name, e-mail address) and to keep it up to date in a timely manner.

4.3. A single User may have only one account. Creating multiple accounts by one person is prohibited. Transferring access to an account to third parties is prohibited.

4.4. The User is responsible for keeping access to their account secure and for all actions performed using their profile.

4.5. If unauthorized access to an account is discovered, the User must immediately notify the Platform at [email protected].

4.6. The User has the right to delete their account at any time. The procedure and retention periods for data after account deletion are governed by the Privacy Policy.

4.7. The Platform has the right to restrict or terminate access to an account in the cases provided for in Section 10 of this Agreement.

5. Platform Functions for the Guest

5.1. The Platform provides the User with:

• the ability to search for and view accommodation facilities, filtered by destination, dates, and number of guests;
• the ability to view facility listings with photographs, descriptions, prices, and features;
• the ability to send a booking request to the Owner of a facility;
• the ability to add facilities to favorites;
• the ability to publish reviews following confirmed accommodation (Section 7).

5.2. What the Platform Does Not Provide

At the current stage, the Platform does not provide:

• online payment for accommodation through the platform;
• instant automatic confirmation of a booking;
• trip insurance or other travel services.

This list may change as the platform’s functionality develops.

6. Booking Requests

6.1. A booking request is not a confirmed reservation. Once submitted, a request receives the status "Awaiting Owner’s Response" and may subsequently take on one of the following statuses: "Confirmed" (the Owner has approved the request), "Declined" (the Owner has refused), "Response Time Expired" (the Owner did not respond within the established period, see Clause 6.5), or "Cancelled" (the request was cancelled by the User, see Clause 6.7).

6.2. When sending a request, the User undertakes to act in good faith: to provide correct dates of stay, the actual number of guests, and up-to-date contact details.

6.3. It is prohibited to send knowingly fictitious requests, requests without a genuine intention to use the facility, or to provide inaccurate contact details.

6.4. In accordance with the rules of the platform applicable to Facility Owners and established by the Public Offer, a response to a request is expected within 30 (thirty) minutes during the Platform’s business hours — from 09:00 to 21:00 local time at the facility. Requests received outside business hours are processed starting at 09:00 the following day.

6.5. Upon expiry of the established period without a response from the Owner, the request receives the status "Response Time Expired". The Platform bears no responsibility for the absence of a response from the Owner of the facility.

6.6. A User may not have more than one active request in the "Awaiting Response" status at the same time.

6.7. Cancellation of a request by the User is possible only while it is in the "Awaiting Response" status and no earlier than 15 (fifteen) minutes after its creation.

6.8. After the request has been confirmed by the Owner, all further interaction regarding payment, check-in, check-out, and the terms of stay takes place directly between the User and the Owner of the facility, outside the platform, unless otherwise stated on the facility’s page. Should a payment function through the platform become available, the terms will be determined by a separate version of this Agreement.

7. Reviews and User-Generated Content

7.1. A User may leave a review of a facility only if all of the following conditions are met simultaneously:

• the User is logged in on the platform;
• the User has a booking request for that facility with the status "Confirmed";
• the check-in date for that request has already occurred;
• no review has yet been left for that request.

7.2–7.8. Rules for Reviews

7.2. Publication of a review is not possible for site visitors who do not meet the conditions of Clause 7.1, including unregistered users.

7.3. A review must reflect the User’s genuine personal experience gained while staying at the facility.

7.4. When publishing a review, it is prohibited to:

• use profanity, insults, or threats;
• publish knowingly false or misleading information;
• post advertising materials or links to third-party resources;
• publish the personal data of third parties without their consent;
• engage in rating manipulation (creating fictitious reviews, including through third-party or fake accounts).

7.5–7.8. Moderation and License

7.5. Every review undergoes moderation by the Platform prior to publication. A review is published only after approval. The Platform has the right to reject a review that does not comply with the conditions of this section, without being obliged to provide a detailed justification for the refusal, provided it acts reasonably and in good faith.

7.6. The Platform has the right to remove a published review if a violation of these rules is discovered after publication.

7.7. By publishing a review, the User grants the Platform a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use its content (including displaying, moderating, quoting, and publishing it) for the purposes of operating and promoting the platform. This license is perpetual with respect to reviews already published and survives the deletion of the User’s account, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

7.8. The User warrants that they hold all necessary rights to any content (text, photographs) they upload to the platform, and that such content does not infringe the rights of third parties.

8. What the "Verified by StayInKZ" Badge Means for the User

8.1. The listings of certain facilities may display a "Verified by StayInKZ" badge. This section explains its meaning to the User.

8.2. The badge indicates that, at the time the check was carried out, the facility passed a document check and an in-person (on-site) inspection by a representative of the platform confirming that it matches its stated description.

8.3. The "Verified by StayInKZ" badge is not:

• a form of state expert review, certification, or licensing of the facility;
• a guarantee that the condition of the facility will remain unchanged after the date of the check;
• a guarantee of the quality of the stay or of the User’s satisfaction.

8.4–8.5. The Badge and the Intermediary Status

8.4. The presence or absence of the badge does not affect the application of Section 3 of this Agreement regarding the status of the Platform as an informational intermediary.

8.5. The rules for conducting facility inspections and awarding the badge are established by the Platform at its own discretion and are governed, in relations with Facility Owners, by the Public Offer.

9. Rules of Conduct and Prohibitions

When using the platform, the User is prohibited from:

9.1. Publishing unlawful, offensive, discriminatory (including on the basis of race, nationality, religion, sex, age, or health condition) or misleading materials.

9.2. Providing inaccurate data during registration or in a booking request, or impersonating another person.

9.3. Collecting the personal data of other users of the platform without their consent.

9.4. Using the platform for spam, mass mailings, or other unsolicited communications.

9.5. Using malicious code, attempting DDoS attacks, unauthorized access, or attempting to circumvent the platform’s technical protection measures.

9.6. Collecting data about facilities or users by automated means (parsing, bots, scripts) without the Platform’s prior written consent.

9.7. Using the platform for commercial purposes unrelated to its intended purpose, including reselling the contact details of Facility Owners or creating competing services based on the platform’s data.

9.8. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent the platform’s restrictions (including the restriction on the number of active requests, Clause 6.6).

9.9. Providing knowingly false information in reviews or support inquiries regarding the ownership of an accommodation facility by third parties, or regarding rights to a facility that the User does not actually hold.

9.10. Sanctions for violations. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the Platform has the right to apply: a warning, a temporary restriction of account functionality, an account block, or the disclosure of information to the authorized government bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan where there are indications of an offense. The Platform has the right to apply any of the above measures, including an immediate block, depending on the severity of the violation, without being obliged to follow the order in which they are listed.

10. Restriction of Access and Account Blocking

10.1. The Platform has the right to temporarily restrict or fully terminate a User’s access to their account in the event of:

• a violation of the conditions of Section 9 of this Agreement;
• the provision of inaccurate data during registration;
• the systematic creation of fictitious booking requests;
• a reasonable suspicion of fraudulent activity;
• other actions causing harm to the Platform, Facility Owners, or other users.

10.2–10.3. Notification and Appeal

10.2. The User is notified of an account block at the e-mail address provided upon registration, with an indication of the reason, except in cases where notification could hinder the prevention of fraudulent activity.

10.3. The User has the right to appeal a decision to block their account by sending a request to [email protected]. The review period is 5 (five) business days.

11. Intellectual Property

11.1. All rights to the StayInKZ platform, including its design, source code, logo, texts, and catalog structure, belong to the Operator of the platform and are protected by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

11.2. The User is granted a limited, non-exclusive right to use the platform solely for personal, non-commercial purposes consistent with its intended purpose.

11.3. Rights to the photographs and descriptions of facilities uploaded by Facility Owners belong to the respective Owners or to persons who have granted them such rights. By uploading content, the Owner grants the Platform the right to display it publicly in the catalog for the purposes of operating the platform (for details, see the Public Offer).

11.4. Copying, reproducing, systematically collecting (parsing), or otherwise using the catalog and materials of the platform without the Operator’s prior written permission is prohibited.

12. Liability of the Parties

12.1. The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. StayInKZ strives to maintain the availability and correct operation of the service, but does not guarantee its uninterrupted operation free of errors and technical failures.

12.2. The Platform is not liable for:

• the quality of the accommodation services provided by Facility Owners;
• the accuracy of information about facilities provided by Owners;
• an Owner’s refusal to confirm a request or failure to respond within the established period;
• losses incurred by the User in connection with the cancellation of, changes to the terms of, or bad-faith conduct by the Owner of the facility in relation to, a stay;
• the actions of other Users, Facility Owners, and third parties;
• hosting failures, internet connectivity issues, and other technical circumstances beyond the Platform’s reasonable control.

12.3–12.6. Limits of Liability

12.3. This limitation of liability does not apply to cases in which liability cannot be limited or excluded under the mandatory provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (including where there is intent or gross negligence on the part of the Operator).

12.4. Given that the User’s use of the platform is free of charge (Clause 1.8), the Platform’s liability to the User — to the extent not excluded by Clause 12.3 — is limited to actual, documented direct damages and does not include lost profit or indirect losses.

12.5. The User undertakes to compensate the Platform for direct losses arising from the User’s violation of the terms of this Agreement or of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan while using the platform, in the manner provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

12.6. The Parties shall be released from liability for failure to perform their obligations due to circumstances of insurmountable force (force majeure): natural disasters, actions of government authorities, epidemics, mass power or internet outages, and other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the Parties.

13. Personal Data

13.1. The processing of the User’s personal data is carried out in accordance with the Privacy Policy of StayInKZ, available at stayin.kz/privacy.

13.2. The transfer of the User’s contact details to the Owner of a facility is carried out only with separate, explicit consent, expressed by checking a box when sending the booking request.

13.3. The use of cookie files is governed by a separate Cookie Policy, available at stayin.kz/cookies.

14. Complaints and Dispute Resolution Procedure

14.1. For questions regarding the operation of the platform, and in the event of a dispute, the User has the right to contact StayInKZ support at [email protected]. The internal response standard is 5 (five) business days.

14.2. The Parties undertake to make a good-faith attempt to settle any dispute through negotiations. Claims procedure: a written claim is reviewed within 15 (fifteen) calendar days of its receipt.

14.3. If a dispute cannot be settled through pre-trial proceedings, it shall be referred to a court in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This clause does not limit the rights of the User established by the mandatory provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on consumer protection, including with respect to the choice of jurisdiction, where applicable.

15. Amendments to the Agreement

15.1. The Platform has the right to update this Agreement as its functionality develops, as the terms of its operation change (including upon transitioning from test mode to another mode of operation), or as required by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

15.2. A new version takes effect from the moment it is published on the website at stayin.kz/terms, unless otherwise stated in that version itself.

15.3. The User is notified of material changes to the terms by the posting of a new version on the website and/or by sending a notification to the e-mail address provided upon registration, in advance where possible.

15.4. Continued use of the platform after the amendments take effect constitutes agreement with the new version. If the User does not agree with the changes, they have the right to stop using the platform and delete their account.

16. Termination of Use

16.1. The User has the right to stop using the platform and delete their account at any time, through the profile settings or by contacting support.

16.2. The Platform has the right to terminate the User’s access in the cases provided for in Section 10 of this Agreement.

16.3. The procedure for retaining and deleting data after the termination of use of the platform is governed by the Privacy Policy.

17. Final Provisions

17.1. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, this shall not entail the invalidity of the remaining provisions of the Agreement.

17.2. The Platform’s failure to exercise any right provided for in this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of that right.

17.3. If a User sends a booking request on behalf of a third party or a company (for example, arranging accommodation for a group), they confirm that they hold the corresponding authority and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the data provided in the request.

18. Contacts

For questions regarding the operation of the service and this Agreement:

Republic of Kazakhstan, Balkhash

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: stayin.kz

Inquiries are reviewed within the periods provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, or within a reasonable time necessary for review. The internal service standard is a response within 5 (five) business days.

These Terms of Service are drafted in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The current version is always available at: stayin.kz/terms.