Arrive at hotel, having lost race (5)
I believe the answer is:
reach
'arrive' is the definition.
(I know that reach is a more specific form of the action arrive)
'at hotel having lost race' is the wordplay.
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet).
'having lost' indicates anagramming the letters (the original order is lost).
'race' is an anagram of 'reac'.
'h' after 'reac' is 'REACH'.
(Other definitions for reach that I've seen before include "Arrive at - stretch of river" , "Put out the hand for a part of the river" , "Scope; get to" , "Arrive at (a place)" , "Get in touch" .)