December 08, 2025
Imagine you're three hours into a five-hour trip visiting family for the holidays. Your daughter asks, "Can I use your work laptop to play Roblox?" This is the same laptop containing sensitive client files, financial data, and full access to your business systems. You're tired from packing, with a long drive ahead, and the idea of keeping her entertained sounds tempting. But is it really harmless?
The truth is, holiday travel introduces security risks you rarely encounter during everyday routines. Distractions, fatigue, unknown networks, and mixing work with family time can expose your data to dangers. Whether your trip is for business, pleasure, or both, follow these essential tips to safeguard your information while keeping the holiday spirit alive.
Pre-Trip Essentials: 15 Minutes to Secure Your Devices
Spend just 15 minutes preparing before you hit the road:
Start With Your Devices:
- Install all pending security updates immediately
- Back up critical files securely to the cloud
- Set automatic screen locks to activate within two minutes
- Enable "Find My Device" on all laptops and smartphones
- Charge external power banks thoroughly
- Pack your own charging cables and adapters to avoid sharing
Set Clear Family Guidelines:
- Explain which devices kids are allowed to use — and which are off-limits
- Bring a family tablet or secondary device solely for entertainment
- Create separate user accounts on shared devices if needed
Pro tip: If children need to use a device during travel, opt for a tablet that's NOT connected to work systems. Investing in a $150 iPad is a small price compared to the fallout of a data breach.
Hotel WiFi: Avoid Common Pitfalls
As soon as you check into the hotel, everyone is eager to connect—phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles. While your teenager streams Netflix and your spouse checks email, you try to review that important proposal before tomorrow's meeting.
Here's the catch: Hotel WiFi is often accessed by hundreds of guests, and not all users have good intentions.
Real-life example: A family unknowingly connected to a fake network posing as their hotel's WiFi in the parking lot. For two days, hackers captured everything they typed—passwords, credit card data, emails.
Stay secure with these steps:
Get the exact WiFi name from the front desk—never guess.
Use a VPN for work tasks to encrypt your connection when accessing emails or sensitive files.
For highly sensitive actions like banking or client data, switch to your phone's mobile hotspot instead of hotel WiFi.
Separate work and leisure online — kids streaming on hotel WiFi is fine; you accessing confidential info? Use your hotspot.
The Risk of Sharing Your Work Laptop
Your work laptop holds the keys to company emails, bank accounts, client files, and business tools. Meanwhile, kids want to watch videos, play games, or chat online.
Why it matters: Kids might unintentionally download malware, click pop-ups, share passwords, or forget to log out of accounts. While innocent, these actions pose a significant security threat on work devices.
How to mitigate risk:
Refuse the use of work devices — politely but firmly say, "This laptop is for work, but you can use this other device." Stick to this rule every time.
If sharing is unavoidable:
- Create restricted user accounts for kids
- Monitor their activity
- Disallow any downloads
- Never save their passwords on the device
- Clear browsing history immediately after use
A smarter move: Pack a dedicated family device for the trip, such as an old tablet or laptop without access to business data.
Streaming on Hotel TVs: Don't Forget to Log Out
Want to watch Netflix in your hotel room? Someone logs into your account on the smart TV, but when you leave, you forget to log out.
Risk: The next guest accesses your account—and if you used the same password elsewhere (please don't!), they could try to break into more of your accounts.
How to avoid trouble:
- Use your own device to cast content to the TV for safer streaming
- Set a phone reminder to log out before checkout if you must sign in
- Even better: Download shows beforehand to skip needing the TV
Avoid logging into these apps on hotel TVs:
- Banking platforms
- Work-related accounts
- Email
- Social media
- Any service storing payment details
Lost Device? Act Quickly!
Travel chaos means devices often get left behind—in restaurants, hotel rooms, rental cars, or airports. If your device goes missing…
Within the first hour:
- Use "Find My Device" to locate it immediately
- If recovery seems unlikely, lock it remotely
- Change passwords for key accounts from another device
- Notify your IT support or MSP to revoke business system access
- If sensitive business data was on it, alert affected parties promptly
Prepare beforehand with:
- Remote tracking enabled
- Strong passwords set
- Automatic data encryption enabled
- Remote wipe capabilities configured
Family members lost a device? Apply the same actions: remote lock, password changes, and location tracking.
Beware the Rental Car Data Trap
Connecting your phone to a rental car's Bluetooth can sync contacts, recent calls, and even message previews.
Returning the car without clearing this data leaves your information accessible to the next driver.
Quick 30-second fix before return:
- Delete your phone from the car's Bluetooth settings
- Clear GPS recent destination history
- Or avoid Bluetooth—use an aux cable or no connection
Setting Boundaries on "Working Vacations"
Even on family trips, you might find yourself checking email, taking calls, or working while others play mini-golf.
This back-and-forth distracts you, lowers security awareness, and increases the chance of risky clicks or untrustworthy network connections.
Be honest with yourself: If unplugging completely isn't possible, create strict work boundaries:
- Check work emails only twice daily at set times
- Use your phone's hotspot instead of hotel WiFi for work tasks
- Work in private spaces like your hotel room, away from public view
- Be fully engaged with family when off the clock, avoiding multitasking
The best security strategy? Actually take time off. Your business can wait a week, and you'll return more alert and secure.
Mastering the Holiday Travel Security Mindset
Work and family life often blend messily during holiday travel. Sometimes your child truly needs your laptop. Sometimes that urgent email can't wait while your spouse drives.
The aim isn't perfection—it's being intentional about minimizing risk:
- Prepare all devices thoroughly before departure
- Recognize which actions carry high risk (e.g., hotel WiFi banking) and which are safer (e.g., your hotspot for email)
- Separate work data from family use whenever possible
- Have a clear plan if security issues arise
- Know when to say, "Not on this device," and firmly enforce it
Make Your Holiday Memories Positive and Secure
The holidays are meant for connecting with loved ones, not dealing with the fallout of a data breach or explaining a security mishap to clients.
With some foresight and simple rules, you can protect your business and still enjoy a worry-free vacation. Your family enjoys their holiday; your business remains safe. Everyone wins.
Need assistance crafting travel security protocols that work for your team and yourself? Click here or give us a call at 760-770-5200 to book a free Quick and Easy Call with us. We'll help you create practical policies that protect your business without making travel impossible.
After all, the best holiday story shouldn't be, "Remember when Dad's laptop got hacked?"
