Business Travel Tips for Winter Travel
December 3, 2025
As winter weather settles in, business travel can become a bit more unpredictableāwith snow, ice, and seasonal delays often impacting even the most routine trips. To help ensure safe and stress-free travel during the colder months, weāve put together a set of practical tips designed to keep your winter journeys running smoothly. Whether youāre heading out for a conference, a meeting, or research needs, these reminders can help you stay prepared and flexible, regardless of your travel method.
- Build in extra time for everything
Winter weather can slow down security lines, shuttle services, and road travel. Add buffer time to itineraries, especially for early morning flights when de-icing delays are most common. - Monitor flights and weather closely
Travelers should sign up for airline alerts and track forecasts for both departure and arrival cities. Winter storms often trigger cascading delaysāeven in cities without snow. - Pack essentials in your carry-on
Important items like laptops, chargers, medication, travel documents, and one change of clothes should always stay with the traveler in case of baggage delays or rerouting. - Keep digital copies of critical documents
Saving itineraries, hotel confirmations, and IDs in a secure mobile folder ensures quick access even if paper copies are misplaced during weather-related disruptions. - Choose flexible booking options when possible
Winter introduces higher cancellation risks. Flexible or refundable fares or refundable hotel rates protect your departmental budgets if plans shift unexpectedly. - Plan for ground transportation challenges
Road conditions can vary widely. Travelers should verify rental car availability and allow extra time for safe winter driving. - Keep devices fully charged
Winter disruptions can lead to prolonged waits. Travelers should carry portable chargers and avoid relying on crowded airport outlets. - Review University Travel Requirements Before You Leave
- Review University Travel Policy 41.121
- This article from June 2025 can help you understand what you may encounter at border crossings and provides resources to ensure, if traveling with university devices and/or data, you remain compliant with IT security protocols as well as Federal export control requirements.
Safe travels!
Questions? Please contact financecustomercare@ohio.edu