Holiday Travel Security Tips Every Business Owner Should Know

Holiday travel often brings a welcome break from day-to-day work, but it also introduces security risks that aren’t part of your normal routine. These holiday travel cybersecurity tips for business owners will help you avoid common risks while keeping your devices and business data secure. Between long drives, crowded airports, unfamiliar networks, and the blending of work and family time, it’s easy to overlook small actions that can expose sensitive business data.

Whether you’re traveling for a meeting, visiting family, or trying to balance both, a few intentional steps can help protect your devices and your business without adding stress to your holiday plans.

Before You Leave: A Quick 15-Minute Security Preparation

A brief checkup before you hit the road can dramatically reduce the chances of something going wrong while you’re away.

Secure Your Devices

  • Make sure all operating systems and security tools are updated
  • Back up important documents to your preferred cloud platform
  • Shorten screen timeout settings to automatically lock your device
  • Turn on location tracking tools like “Find My Device”
  • Fully charge your power bank and confirm it works properly
  • Bring your own charging cables and adapters to avoid using public options

Plan Ahead for Family Tech Use

  • Let kids know which devices they’re allowed to use
  • Bring a dedicated family tablet or shared device
  • If sharing your laptop is unavoidable, set up a restricted user profile

Smart move: A low-cost tablet for road trips is far cheaper and far safer than exposing business data on a work computer.

Hotel Networks: Why They’re a High-Risk Convenience

Hotel Wi-Fi is one of the most common sources of security exposures during travel. These networks are often open, widely shared, and easily spoofed by attackers pretending to be the hotel.

A Common Scam: Cybercriminals create a fake network with a nearly identical name to the hotel’s. Guests connect without thinking, and everything they type, logins, financial information, emails can be intercepted.

How to Reduce Wi-Fi Risks

  • Ask the front desk for the exact Wi-Fi name; don’t assume
  • Use a VPN before accessing email or business systems
  • Switch to your mobile hotspot for sensitive accounts
  • Separate personal streaming from business activity; let family use hotel Wi-Fi while you rely on cellular data for anything confidential

When Kids Ask to Use Your Laptop

Children aren’t trying to cause problems, they’re simply not aware of what’s risky. Casual browsing, downloads, pop-up clicks, or sharing logins can unintentionally compromise a work device.

What You Should Do

Best practice: Don’t share your work laptop at all. Provide a different device for games, shows, or video calls.

If sharing is unavoidable:

  • Use a guest account with no access to business applications
  • Supervise their activity
  • Prevent installations or app downloads
  • Avoid saving their logins or passwords
  • Wipe browsing data once they’re finished

Safer alternative: Bring an older device solely for family entertainment.

Using Streaming Apps on Hotel TVs

Logging into your personal streaming accounts on hotel smart TVs can create unintended access issues, especially if you forget to log out before checkout.

A Better Approach

  • Cast from your phone or tablet instead of signing in directly
  • Set a reminder to log out before departure if you must sign in
  • Download movies and shows on your devices ahead of time to avoid using the TV

And remember, never use hotel TVs for anything sensitive, including email, banking, or work accounts.

If a Device Is Lost or Left Behind

Travel environments are fast-paced and chaotic, and it’s not uncommon to misplace a device in a restaurant, airplane seat, rental car, or hotel room.

Immediate Steps to Take:

  • Use “Find My Device” to determine its location
  • Remotely lock the device if it can’t be retrieved quickly
  • Reset passwords for your most critical accounts
  • Notify your IT provider or MSP so they can disable system access
  • If client data may have been exposed, begin your notification process

Configure These Protections Before You Travel

  • Remote tracking enabled
  • Strong, unique device passwords
  • Automatic encryption
  • Remote wipe capability

These safeguards help minimize damage if the device cannot be recovered.

Rental Cars and Stored Phone Data

Most modern rental vehicles store information from connected devices including call logs, contacts, and navigation history, unless it’s manually removed.

Before Returning the Car

  • Remove your device from the vehicle’s Bluetooth settings
  • Clear recent navigation routes
  • Consider using wired connections or avoiding pairing altogether

Managing Work During Family Travel

Trying to balance work and vacation can lead to multitasking, rushed decisions, and lower awareness, making you more vulnerable to phishing attempts or unsafe networks.

Setting Healthy Boundaries

  • Choose two dedicated times per day to check email
  • Use your phone’s hotspot for work, not the hotel network
  • Handle business tasks inside your room rather than public spaces
  • Commit to unplugging when you’re with family

The more rested and present you are, the better your judgment will be.

Building a Practical Holiday Travel Security Mindset

Holiday travel rarely goes according to plan, but you can significantly reduce risk by thinking ahead and applying a few core principles:

  • Prepare your devices and accounts before you leave
  • Know which activities are high-risk vs. low-risk
  • Keep business data separate from family entertainment
  • Have a clear response plan if something happens
  • Set boundaries around device usage and stick to them

Security isn’t about perfection, it’s about smart, proactive habits.

A Safer, More Enjoyable Holiday Season

Your holiday plans should focus on time with family, not trying to resolve a security crisis. With a little preparation, you can enjoy your travel experience while keeping your business data secure.

If you’d like support creating a travel security checklist for your team or implementing stronger protections across the business, we’re here to help.

Schedule your free security consultation here.

A relaxing holiday shouldn’t turn into a lesson in cybersecurity. With the right steps, you can keep your data protected and enjoy the time that matters most.

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