December 08, 2025
Imagine you're three hours into a five-hour drive, heading home for the holidays. Your daughter asks, "Can I play Roblox on your laptop?" Your work laptop — containing sensitive client files, financial records, and full access to your business. You're already worn out from packing, have three hours left on the road, and letting her play seems like an easy way to keep her occupied. But is it worth the risk?
Holiday travel often introduces unique security risks that you might not encounter during your everyday routine. You're tired, distracted, connecting to unfamiliar networks, and juggling family moments with "just quick work check-ins." Whether you're traveling for work, leisure, or a mix of both, here's how to safeguard your data without putting a damper on your holiday spirit.
Pre-Trip Essentials: 15 Minutes to Secure Your Devices
Before hitting the road, spend just 15 minutes to protect yourself and your business:
Essential Device Steps:
- Apply all security updates immediately
- Backup all crucial files to a secure cloud service
- Set your device to auto-lock within two minutes of inactivity
- Turn on "Find My Device" features for phones and laptops
- Fully charge your portable power bank
- Don't forget to pack your own chargers and adapter cables
Family Communication:
- Clearly specify which devices kids can and cannot use
- Prepare a separate family tablet or secondary device for their entertainment
- Create a guest user profile on your laptop if kids absolutely must use it
Pro tip: For on-the-go device time, bring a tablet unlinked to any work accounts. Investing $150 in a dedicated iPad beats facing a costly data breach.
Hotel WiFi Risks: What Everyone Gets Wrong
After checking in, everyone eagerly connects their phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming devices to the hotel WiFi. Teenagers stream shows, spouses check emails, and you try to review a last-minute proposal.
The catch? Hotel networks are shared by hundreds of guests, some of whom may have harmful intentions.
Real life example: A family connected to what seemed like hotel WiFi, but it was actually a fake network set up nearby. For two entire days, hackers captured passwords, credit card numbers, and emails.
Stay secure with these tips:
Confirm the exact network name with the front desk. Never guess.
Use a VPN for work-related activity — it encrypts your data and shields your connection.
For sensitive tasks, switch to your phone's hotspot instead of hotel WiFi — especially for banking or client information.
Separate leisure from work: Let kids stream media on hotel WiFi, but access company data only through secure connections.
When Kids Ask: "Can I Use Your Laptop?"
Your work laptop holds critical access—email, bank accounts, client files, business platforms—while kids want to play games or watch videos.
Why it's risky: Children can accidentally download malware, click harmful links, reveal passwords, or forget to log out. No harm intended, but on a work device, these actions pose severe security threats.
How to handle this:
Politely but firmly say no to work devices. Offer an alternative device and stick to this rule consistently.
If sharing is unavoidable:
- Set up a restricted user account for the child
- Supervise their activity closely
- Prevent any downloads
- Never save their passwords
- Clear the browsing history afterward
Better yet: Bring a separate family device for travel, like an older tablet or laptop that doesn't link to work accounts.
Streaming on Hotel TVs: Don't Forget to Log Out
Want to watch a movie on Netflix via the hotel's smart TV? Logging in is easy, but forgetting to log out before checkout exposes your account to the next guest.
Potential fallout: Unauthorized access to your Netflix and possibly other accounts—especially if you reuse passwords (please don't!).
How to avoid this:
- Use your own device to cast content to the TV — it's safer
- Set a phone reminder to log out before checking out
- Download shows ahead of your trip and watch offline to skip hotel TVs entirely
Never log into these on hotel TVs:
- Banking apps
- Work accounts
- Email
- Social media
- Any account with payment info saved
Lost Devices: What to Do Immediately
Travel chaos means devices sometimes get left behind. If your device goes missing:
Within the first hour:
- Activate "Find My Device" to locate your gadget
- If retrieval isn't quick, remotely lock it
- Change passwords for all vital accounts using another device
- Contact your IT support or Managed Service Provider to revoke system access
- If sensitive business data was on it, notify affected parties immediately
Before you travel, ensure your devices have:
- Remote tracking enabled
- Strong password protection
- Automatic encryption
- Capability for remote wiping
Lost device belonging to family members? Apply the same steps: lock remotely, change passwords, and try to locate it.
The Rental Car Bluetooth Pitfall
Connecting your phone to a rental car's Bluetooth for music or directions can save contacts, recent calls, and message previews on the vehicle system.
When returning the car, that personal data often remains accessible to the next driver.
Quick 30-second cleanup before you return:
- Delete your phone from the car's Bluetooth settings
- Clear recent GPS destinations
- Or better: Use an aux cable or don't connect your phone at all
Setting Boundaries on a "Working Vacation"
You planned family time but find yourself checking email multiple times, taking spontaneous work calls, and spending too much time on your laptop while everyone else enjoys the holiday.
This constant juggling reduces your security focus—you're more prone to risky clicks or trusting unsafe networks.
Real advice: If you must work, establish firm boundaries:
- Limit work email checks to twice a day at scheduled times
- Use your phone hotspot, avoiding risky hotel WiFi
- Work privately in your hotel room, not in public spaces
- Be genuinely present with your family when off work
Ultimately, the best security practice is to truly take time off. Your business can withstand a week, and you'll return refreshed and more alert to threats.
Adopt a Smart Holiday Travel Security Mindset
Mixing work and family during holiday travel is complicated. Sometimes your child truly needs your laptop. Sometimes you must check urgent emails mid-drive. Life isn't perfect.
Your aim? Intentional risk management:
- Prepare your devices ahead of time
- Know which activities carry risk (hotel WiFi for banking) versus those that are safer (phone hotspot for email)
- Create clear separations between work data and family activities wherever possible
- Have a plan ready if anything goes wrong
- Know when to firmly say, "Not on this device," and mean it
Make Your Holiday About Memories, Not Mishaps
The holiday season should focus on cherishing moments with loved ones—not recovering from a data breach or apologizing to clients over compromised information.
With simple preparation and straightforward rules, you can protect your business without disrupting anyone's vacation. Your family enjoys their holiday, your business stays secure — and everyone wins.
Looking for expert assistance to create travel security protocols for yourself and your team? Click here or call us at 916-626-4000 to schedule your complimentary 15-Minute Discovery Call. We'll guide you in crafting practical policies that keep your business safe without complicating travel.
Because the best holiday memory should never be, "Remember when Dad's laptop got hacked?"
