The Business Owner’s Guide To Holiday Travel (That Won’t End In A Data Breach)

Imagine you're three hours into a five-hour drive to visit family during the holidays, and your daughter asks, "Can I play Roblox on your work laptop?" The one packed with sensitive client information, financial documents, and full access to your business systems. You're tired from packing, still have hours ahead, and frankly, keeping her occupied sounds tempting. But is it really safe?

Holiday travel presents unique cybersecurity risks that you don't encounter in your everyday life. Distractions, fatigue, unfamiliar networks, and mixing leisure with "just one quick work check" can leave your data vulnerable. Whether traveling for business, pleasure, or a bit of both, here's how you can safeguard your information without spoiling the festive spirit.

Pre-Trip Prep: Essential 15-Minute Checklist

Spend 15 minutes before you hit the road to arm yourself with these protective measures:

Device Essentials:

• Update all security patches and software
  
• Back up critical files to the cloud securely
  
• Set your devices to auto-lock within 2 minutes
  
• Turn on "Find My Device" features for phones and laptops
  
• Charge your portable power bank fully
  
• Bring your own chargers and adapters to avoid risks
  

Family Technology Guidelines:

• Clarify which devices kids can and cannot use
  
• Designate a shared device like a family iPad for entertainment
  
• Create a separate, limited user account if they must use your laptop

Pro Tip: If your kids want screen time during travel, bring along a tablet unlinked from work accounts. Investing in a $150 iPad beats risking a costly data breach.

Hotel WiFi: Avoid Common Connectivity Pitfalls

After checking into the hotel, everyone jumps on the WiFi—phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles. Maybe your teen streams Netflix, your partner checks email, and you try to finalize a work proposal. But here's the catch: hotel networks are public and can expose your data to hackers.

True Story: A family joined a deceptive WiFi network mimicking their hotel's. For two days, their online activities—passwords, credit card details, emails—were intercepted.

Stay Protected With These Tips:

Confirm the WiFi network name with the front desk—don't guess or connect to unknown networks.

Use a VPN for work-related activities to encrypt your data and shield sensitive information.

Switch to your phone's hotspot for confidential tasks like banking or client correspondence instead of hotel WiFi.

Keep personal and work activities separate: let kids stream content on hotel WiFi, but handle business on your secure hotspot.

When Kids Ask, "Can I Use Your Laptop?"

Your work laptop contains your entire professional world—email, bank accounts, client projects. Kids just want to watch videos or chat online.

Why it's risky: Kids might inadvertently download malware, click suspicious links, share passwords, or forget to log out. No harm intended, but it's a significant security threat on your work device.

How to Handle This:

Politely but firmly say no to letting kids use your work laptop. Offer them a trusted alternative device for entertainment.

If sharing is unavoidable:

• Set up a restricted user account
  
• Supervise their activities closely
  
• Disallow downloads
  
• Avoid saving any passwords for their use
  
• Clear browsing history after each session
  

Better yet: Bring a dedicated family device for trips—like an old tablet or laptop without work access.

Streaming on Hotel TVs: Remember to Log Out

Watching Netflix on the hotel smart TV? Someone logs in using your account. Check out occurs, but you forget to sign out.

Consequences: The next guest gains access to your account. Even worse, reused passwords can put other services at risk.

How to Protect Yourself:

• Use your own device and cast content to the TV whenever possible
  
• If logging in on the TV, set a reminder to sign out before leaving
  
• Or download shows ahead of time and avoid hotel TVs altogether
  

Never sign into these on hotel TVs:

• Banking apps
  
• Work platforms
  
• Email accounts
  
• Social media
  
• Any account storing payment details
  

Lost Device? Act Fast!

Travel chaos happens—devices get left behind or stolen. If your device goes missing, here's what to do immediately:

Within the first hour:

1. Activate "Find My Device" to locate it
   
2. If recovery is unlikely, lock it remotely
   
3. Change critical account passwords using another secure device
   
4. Inform your IT support or MSP to cut off business system access
   
5. Notify any affected parties if sensitive data was on the device
   

Essential device features before travel:

• Remote tracking activated
  
• Strong password protection
  
• Automatic data encryption enabled
  
• Remote wipe capability set up
  

Family member's device lost? Follow the same steps—lock it remotely, change passwords, and try locating it promptly.

Beware the Rental Car Bluetooth Data Trap

Connecting your phone to the rental car's Bluetooth is convenient for music and navigation. But did you know the car can retain contacts, call history, and even message previews?

This data often remains after you return the vehicle, accessible to the next driver.

Quick 30-second cleanup before handing back the car:

• Forget your phone from the car's Bluetooth settings
  
• Clear recent destinations from the GPS
  
• Better yet, use an auxiliary cable or avoid connecting entirely
  

Balancing Work and Vacation: Set Clear Boundaries

Promising family time but finding yourself checking work emails incessantly or taking calls during mini-golf? Besides creating tension, mixing work with leisure reduces your alertness and increases security lapses.

Here's how to manage:

• Limit work email checks to twice daily at set times
  
• Use your phone's hotspot—not hotel WiFi—for work-related tasks
  
• Work privately in your hotel room rather than public areas
  
• Be fully present during family moments—avoid multitasking
  

Ultimately, the strongest security tip is to truly unplug. Your business can survive a few days without you, and you'll return with sharper focus and fewer vulnerabilities.

Adopt a Holiday Travel Security Mindset

Separating work and family during hectic travel isn't easy. Kids might need your laptop; you might have urgent emails. Life happens.

The key is intentional risk management:

• Prepare devices thoroughly ahead of time
  
• Know which activities carry high risk (like banking on hotel WiFi) versus low risk (using a hotspot)
  
• Segregate work data from family entertainment whenever possible
  
• Have a clear response plan for security incidents
  
• Learn to say "Not on this device" and stick to it
  

Make Your Holidays Safe and Joyful

The holiday season should focus on shared moments—not data breaches or awkward calls to clients explaining security incidents.

With a little foresight and simple rules, you can protect your business and enjoy your family time. Everyone wins.

Need expert help building travel security protocols for you and your team? Contact us here or call 332-217-0601 to Speak to an Expert. We'll work with you to create effective policies that keep your business secure—without making travel stressful.

Because the best holiday memory should never be "Remember when Dad's laptop got hacked?"