Country hotel, first class, Tripoli, empty (5)
I believe the answer is:
haiti
'country' is the definition.
(Haiti is an example)
'hotel first class tripoli empty' is the wordplay.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'first class' becomes 'ai' (A1 - top quality).
'empty' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'tripoli' with its centre taken out is 'ti'.
'h'+'ai'+'ti'='HAITI'
(Other definitions for haiti that I've seen before include "Caribbean isle" , "Republic on island" , "Caribbean republic" , "West Indian republic" , "earthquake-hit area" .)