Understanding cookies on our website

A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a Web site to the hard drive of your computer so that the site administrator may identify your computer and passively track its activities on the Web site. This unique number identifies your Web browser to our computer system whenever you visit one of the sites in the Mayfield Network. A cookie will not allow a Web site to learn any personally identifiable information (such as your real name and address) that you have not otherwise disclosed. 

To help serve you better, Mayfield generally uses cookies to (a) deliver products and services more efficiently and (b) measure statistics such as audience size and traffic patterns. This information is only collected in aggregate form and will not be linked to your personally identifiable information. 

Cookies let us know whether or not a Web browser has seen a particular advertisement (so we can show you a variety of material) and count the number of advertisements displayed to a particular browser. We also use cookies to customize the advertising you see based on non-personally identifiable demographic information that you provide when you register. 

The use of cookies is an industry standard, and they are currently used on most major Web sites. It is possible to adjust your Web browser preferences to alert you when a cookie is sent to your hard drive, or to refuse cookies altogether. While Mayfield does not require you to use cookies, keep in mind that certain sites and services will not function properly if you set your browser to refuse all cookies. 

Web beacons, also known as clear GIFs or single-pixel GIFs, are small image files that Mayfield may place on Web pages and within Web-based email newsletters that we send. Working in conjunction with cookies, Web beacons allow Mayfield to accurately count the number of unique users who have visited a specific page on the Mayfield network and the number of times those pages are displayed. We can also use Web beacons to let us know how many people opened a Web-based email newsletter. This information is only collected in aggregate form and will not be linked to your personally identifiable information. 

Without cookies and Web beacons, it would be difficult for Mayfield to know which services have a larger audience than others. Tracking audience size helps us to better understand when to launch new services and enhance the current offerings. Keep in mind that any image file on a Web page can act as a Web beacon. Third-party advertising networks for Mayfield may use Web beacons in their advertisements. 

Because Web beacons work in conjunction with cookies, you can prevent our Web beacon from collecting anonymous information by setting your Web browser to refuse all cookies or the Mayfield Hotels Network cookie in particular. Web beacons are built into our Web pages, so non-functional Web beacons will continue to appear even if you refuse the Mayfield Hotels Network cookie.