Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of stayinlakeland.com (the “Site”), operated by Stay in Lakeland (“Stay in Lakeland,” “we,” or “us”). By using the Site you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

1. What Stay in Lakeland Is

Stay in Lakeland is an independent vacation-rental directory and guest concierge service for Lakeland, Florida. We showcase curated short-term rentals, publish tourism content, and offer optional marketing and guest-support services to property owners. We are not a booking platform, a lodging provider, or a party to any rental agreement between guests and owners. All bookings, payments, and stay-related obligations are between guests and the applicable property owner or booking platform (such as Airbnb or VRBO).

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Site. Property owners represent that they have legal authority to list each property they submit and that their listings comply with local zoning, licensing, tax, and HOA rules in Lakeland and Polk County, Florida.

3. Guest Use of the Site

• You may browse listings, destination guides, and travel content for personal, non-commercial use.
• You may contact property owners through our forms, understanding that responses come from owners, not Stay in Lakeland.
• You may not scrape, copy, or republish Site content without written permission.
• You are responsible for any booking, payment, or stay arrangement you make with a property owner or third-party platform.

4. Property Owner Listings

Property owners who list through Stay in Lakeland agree to the following:

• Accurate information. Listings must accurately describe the property, amenities, pricing, rules, occupancy limits, and any known safety considerations. Photos must depict the actual property.
• Legal compliance. Owners are solely responsible for obtaining required Polk County and City of Lakeland business licenses, state vacation-rental licenses, DBPR registration, sales and tourist development tax collection and remittance, HOA approvals, and insurance. Stay in Lakeland does not provide legal or tax advice.
• Content license. By submitting text, photos, or other materials, owners grant Stay in Lakeland a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, adapt, and promote that content on the Site, in marketing, and on partner channels while the listing is active.
• Listing removal. We may remove or decline any listing that violates these Terms, law, or our quality standards. Owners may request removal at any time; reasonable processing time applies.

5. Concierge and Marketing Services

Stay in Lakeland offers optional guest concierge, marketing, and listing-management services under separate service agreements. Pricing, scope, and cancellation terms for those services are described on our pricing page and in each signed engagement. Nothing in these Terms creates an exclusive agency relationship or obligates us to list, promote, or continue service for any property.

6. Third-Party Platforms and Links

The Site links to third-party booking platforms, maps, reviews, and attractions. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, policies, availability, or pricing of those third parties. Transactions conducted on third-party platforms are governed by those platforms’ terms.

7. Intellectual Property

Site design, logos, written guides, curated lists, and aggregate property data are the intellectual property of Stay in Lakeland or our licensors. You may share short quotations and links with attribution. Any other reproduction, modification, or distribution requires written permission.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Site for unlawful, harmful, deceptive, or fraudulent activity.
• Submit false listings, fake inquiries, spam, or content that infringes others’ rights.
• Attempt to bypass authentication, scrape data at scale, or interfere with Site operation.
• Post content that is defamatory, harassing, discriminatory, or violates privacy.

9. Disclaimers

The Site, content, and services are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, availability, and accuracy. We do not warrant that listings, availability, pricing, or third-party content are current or error-free. Travel inherently carries risk; you are responsible for evaluating properties, reviews, and local conditions before booking.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Stay in Lakeland and its officers, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the Site, any listing, any stay, or any third-party platform — even if advised of the possibility. Our total aggregate liability for any claim will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Stay in Lakeland directly in the twelve months before the claim, or (b) US $100.

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Stay in Lakeland from any claim, damage, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your use of the Site, any content you submit, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site or any service at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we believe violates these Terms or is otherwise harmful. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including IP, disclaimers, liability limits, and indemnification) will survive.

13. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Polk County, Florida, and you consent to their jurisdiction. You and Stay in Lakeland each waive any right to a jury trial and to participate in class actions to the extent permitted by law.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Effective” date above. For material changes, we will provide notice on the Site or by email to account holders. Continued use of the Site after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@stayinlakeland.com or write to Stay in Lakeland, Lakeland, Florida, USA.