Public dispute about hotel's downfall (9)
I believe the answer is:
overthrow
'downfall' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'public dispute about hotel's' is the wordplay.
'public' becomes 'overt' (both can mean well-known or unconcealed).
'dispute' becomes 'row' (row is a kind of dispute).
'about' says to put letters next to each other.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet).
'row' after 'h' is 'hrow'.
'overt'+'hrow'='OVERTHROW'
(Other definitions for overthrow that I've seen before include "Trevor who? (anag)" , "cover for furniture" , "Bring down (government)" , "Fall" , "Remove forcibly from power" .)