Sell hotel after unpleasant matter (4)
I believe the answer is:
push
'sell' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'hotel after unpleasant matter' is the wordplay.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'unpleasant matter' becomes 'pus' (I've seen this before).
'h' after 'pus' is 'PUSH'.
(Other definitions for push that I've seen before include "Exert force on (something)" , "Urge" , "Press forward" , "See 8" , "Drive forward" .)