Hotel / Motel Security

I taught my kids - the first thing you do after checking into a hotel / motel - the ones that open onto an interior hall as opposed to opening out to the parking lot - is to walk out of your room and count the doorways to the fire stairwell. The reason to count the doorways is because in the event of a fire, you may be crawling to the fire stair in the dark.

The second thing you do is to place your car keys, room key, shoes, pants, and jacket by the door in case of a fire alarm. If you have a carry gun on the bedside table, remember to take it along in the event of a fire.

The third thing, after the above (I did not teach this part to my kids) is to sit back with your six-pack, the pizza, the redacted video, and enjoy your hotel stay.

I stay in hotels a lot. In 2018 I spent more nights in hotel rooms than I did at home, all in the USA and almost all in one specific hotel chain.

This is very, very good advice, brantb. Having been through two hotel fires and several false alarms over the years, these simple preparations have served me very well.

Good stuff, there--my two cents:
I'm partial to second-floor rooms: off of ground level, and low enough to jump to the ground.
I prep the next day's clothes at bedtime, so all I have to do is climb into them, when it's time.

I put my clothes, keys, etc. on the second bed if there is one, or on a desk/table or chair. I don't like leaving things in the hallway to the rooms door. One, because they are a potential trip hazard there, and two, because there's no guarantee my exit will be out the door - it might be out the window on the opposite side of the room. I always put my flashlight on the bedside table. Then I call home and make sure the family has the hotel name, phone, and city in case they need to get in touch with me and are faced with my cellphone being dead or no service.

I'm not one who unpacks - I leave everything packed in my suitcase, removing things as needed, but repacking them when I'm done with them. The exception might be to hang up my suit if I'm going to something formal (extremely rare for me!) My goal is to be able to leave with all my stuff immediately after a notification. Of course I wouldn't jeopardize myself or anyone else by trying to drag a suitcase through a smoky hallway - my things would be abandoned and left in the room in that case. But if the hallway is clear and exit appears easy and assured - my stuff goes with me. No need to leave things like my laptop behind to potentially get doused by the sprinklers if there are no safety concerns preventing me from taking it with me. I'm an extremely light packer too - I'll travel with only one small carry-on, about half the size of what most people use. My carry-on actually goes under an airplane seat. This is extremely handy for when the luggage pigs drag tons of oversized bags onboard and take all the overhead bins for themselves. Plus, if I'm forced to evacuate a hotel, I only have that one little thing to carry (when safely allowable).

...keep your essentials bag by the bed. Have a flashlight.
Stay below the 8th floor.