Digital Services Act

Definitions

“DSA” means Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (otherwise known as the Digital Services Act).

“Illegal Content” means, in the context of short-term vacation rentals, content that concerns a short-term rental, where the rental itself is being provided in contravention of applicable legislation.

“Recipient of Service” is defined under the DSA to mean 'any natural or legal person who uses an intermediary service, in particular for the purposes of seeking information or making it accessible'. This includes users to whom information is displayed by our service, even if that user does not make a transaction.

“Awaze, we, us, our” is Sandyblue Lda., part of the Awaze group.

1. EU monthly active Recipients of Service

In accordance with our obligations under Article 24 (2) of the DSA, we estimate that the average monthly active Recipients of Service of our service in the European Union from 1 July 2025 up to and including 1 December 2025 is 54,508. This figure is an estimate based on the data available to us, and the guidance in the DSA. Please note that this estimate is prepared solely for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of Article 24 (2) of the DSA and may differ from user information reported in other contexts, and should not be used for any other purpose.

We will continue to monitor our services in the European Union and will periodically publish updated information, in accordance with the requirements of the DSA.

2. Annual transparency report

We will publish annual transparency reports at the end of each reporting cycle, following the full entry into application of the DSA on 17 February 2024.

3. Information about content moderation

Recipients of Service that provide content that is included on our websites (for example concerning holiday homes) are informed of their responsibility and obligation to provide accurate information, and are reminded annually to update information provided as required (though they can update more regularly, if needed).

Holiday home guests are given the opportunity to review properties they have visited after their stay, and such reviews are published on our website. These reviews are handled by a third-party supplier (Feefo). Feefo has guidelines which must be adhered to by reviewers, particularly concerning use of personal information or inappropriate language. Failure to adhere to such guidelines may lead to reviews being removed.

If any content provided is brought to our attention on the basis that it may be Illegal Content, it is sent to content moderators in the relevant department, for human review and verification. If content that we have published on our website, which has been provided to us by a Recipient of Service, is reasonably determined by us to be Illegal Content (as defined by the DSA and in light of all available guidance and our internal policy), the relevant Recipient of Service will be notified and the Illegal Content will be removed in line with our internal procedure (see more information below).

4. Ordering of property listings

We do not use a recommender system or automated scoring mechanism to determine the order in which properties are displayed on our websites.

Property listings are ordered manually within our content management system (CMS). The order may be determined based on a number of operational and commercial considerations, including availability, marketing priorities and direct engagement with property Owners.

Search results pages display only properties that are available for the dates selected by the Recipient of Service. The order of properties shown in search results follows the same manual ordering applied within our CMS.

Recipients of Service can refine their search results by entering criteria such as location, dates of travel, number of guests and number of pets. Additional filters may be applied (for example, facilities or proximity to amenities), and users may choose to sort results using available sorting options (such as price, rating or other clearly labelled criteria). These filtering and sorting tools allow users to control how results are displayed, but they do not change the underlying manual ordering of listings within the CMS.

All of this functionality is directly and easily accessible from the relevant section of the website where properties are displayed.

5. Single point of contact for DSA related enquiries

i) Authorities (meaning Member States' authorities, the EU Commission and the European Board for Digital Services) can email: DSA_Authorities@awaze.com

ii) Recipients of Services (see definition above) can email: DSA_RecipientsofService@awaze.com

The contact details above can only be used for DSA related enquiries. Any other enquiries will not be responded to, and we refer you to this contact page Contact Us

We will endeavour to respond to any communication received through these channels within 28 days of receipt.

You may communicate in English and Portuguese when using this email address. Enquiries submitted in other languages may be responded to using translation tools.

6. Notification of Illegal Content

If you wish to report Illegal Content, you can message us using this form: Form

We will promptly confirm receipt of any reports of Illegal Content, and act within a reasonable period of time to determine the substantiveness of the report.

Notifications given by trusted flaggers (a status which will be awarded by the Digital Services Coordinator of the member state in which the applicant is established) will be given priority and will be processed without undue delay.

We will endeavour to provide a substantive response within 28 days of receipt, where possible. When we notify our decision, we will also provide information about the possibilities for redress in respect of that decision.

If you frequently submit notices and complaints that are clearly unfounded, we will issue a warning. If that warning is ignored, we will suspend the processing of notices and complaints submitted by you for a reasonable period of time.

7. Removal of Illegal Content

If information that we have published on our website, which has been provided to us by a Recipient of Service, proves to be Illegal Content, as defined by the DSA, we will provide the relevant Recipient of Service with a statement of reasons for our decision and include information regarding:

(a) any restrictions on the visibility of specific items of information, including removal of content, disabling access to content, or demoting content;

(b) suspension, termination or other restriction of monetary payments;

(d) suspension or termination of the Recipient of Service’s access to their login.

We will suspend or terminate agreements we have in place with any Recipient of Service who frequently provides manifestly Illegal Content.

8. Complaints

Complaints regarding our handling of notices regarding Illegal Content and any decisions taken in response to notifications must be sent to us at DSA_RecipientsofService@awaze.com

Complaints must be made within six months of receipt of our decision.

No charge is made for this complaint-handling system. We will review complaints and respond within two months of receipt.

Recipients of Service who have received decisions regarding Illegal Content are entitled to use an out-of-court dispute settlement body certified by a Digital Services Coordinator to resolve disputes relating to those decisions and complaints that have not been resolved via our internal complaint-handling system.

9. Transparency Report

In compliance with the DSA, we have published a Transparency Report outlining our content moderation efforts. This report details the volume and nature of content removals, as well as requests received from users and public authorities during the reporting period. Download the report here.