My wife learned a hotel curtain trick from (Southern Living? Not sure where...):
Get one of the pants hangers off the room's clothes rack. Use the two clips to close the curtains in the middle, blocking out that strip of bright light trying to enter the room from between them.
Regarding hotel fire alarms, I've never had one sound while I'm staying at a hotel, but here's a great idea:
http://www.securitymanagement.com/ar...ode-violations
"One code-permissible configuration is called a “positive alarm sequence” (NFPA 72, 6.8.1.3), a sort of pre-signal system combined with a “dead-man’s switch.” In this arrangement, the initial alarm signals only to trained personnel, who must manually acknowledge the signal within 15 seconds of activation. Failure to acknowledge the signal causes an automatic building evacuation.
Acknowledging the signal within the allotted 15 seconds then starts a three-minute “investigation” phase, which allows the source of the alarm to be confirmed by a guard, for example. If no problems are found, the general evacuation signal can be aborted within the three minutes. A failure to abort the signal causes an automatic building evacuation alarm."