Tea popular in several hotels? (5)
I believe the answer is:
chain
'several hotels?' is the definition.
(as in a chain of hotels)
'tea popular' is the wordplay.
'tea' becomes 'cha' (cha is a type of tea).
'popular' becomes 'in'.
'cha'+'in'='CHAIN'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for chain that I've seen before include "Handcuff" , "unwelcome to house seeker" , "lots of shops?" , "Links - sequence - 22 yards" , "distance for a run?" .)