Wood used by hotel managers (3)
I believe the answer is:
elm
'wood' is the definition.
(elm is a type of tree)
'used by hotel managers' is the wordplay.
'used by' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'ELM' is hidden within 'hotel managers'.
(Other definitions for elm that I've seen before include "It provides shade" , "Tall shade tree" , "Hard wood" , "Strange tree for Mel" , "wooden" .)