Bringing a laptop to New York
Charger, a plug adapter, and — if you plan to work — a way online that isn't the hotel Wi-Fi. Nearly all laptop chargers are dual-voltage, so a converter is rarely needed.
Check the charger's input range
Read the small print on the power brick. "INPUT: 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz" means it works on US power with nothing more than a plug adapter.
MacBook and every mainstream Windows laptop charger is dual-voltage. If yours somehow isn't, replacing the charger is cheaper and safer than carrying a step-down converter.
USB-C charging is not universal — check yours
Many laptops now charge over USB-C Power Delivery, which means one charger can serve laptop and phone. But plenty still use a barrel connector, and some that have USB-C won't charge over it.
If yours does charge over USB-C, note the wattage it needs. A 65 W laptop on a 30 W phone charger will drain while you use it — slower than not charging feels, but it still goes down.
Do not rely on hotel Wi-Fi for anything that matters
Hotel Wi-Fi is frequently slow at peak times, sometimes blocks VPNs, and often boots you off every few hours.
If you have calls or deadlines, arrange a backup: phone tethering on a local eSIM is the most reliable, and a coffee shop with real Wi-Fi is the fallback. Test your tethering setup at home, not the night before a meeting.
Assume the network is hostile
Public and hotel Wi-Fi is shared with strangers. Practical, not paranoid:
- Turn file sharing off and set the network to Public on Windows.
- Keep the firewall on.
- Use a VPN for anything sensitive.
- Prefer your phone's hotspot over open Wi-Fi for banking.
Websites are encrypted these days, so this is a lower risk than it used to be — but sharing a printer or a drive folder onto a hotel network is still a genuinely bad idea.
Pack for the desk you won't have
Hotel rooms rarely have a workable desk setup.
- A short extension or multi-socket turns one awkward outlet into three usable ones.
- A laptop stand, even a folding plastic one, prevents two days of neck pain.
- Headphones with a microphone — hotel walls are thin in both directions.
Back up before you leave
Laptops get stolen, dropped and left in taxis. Do a full backup before you travel and make sure you can actually get at your files from another device.
Check you know your passwords without the laptop, too — if your password manager is only on the machine that's gone, the trip gets much worse.