When the Hotel Manager Becomes the Villain: Employee Dismissal and the Need to Blame Someone

For any hotel manager, managing a team means making difficult decisions. Among them, dismissals are undoubtedly the most unpleasant. No matter the reason behind an employee’s departure, the manager will always be the villain of the story. And in many cases, the dismissed employee’s reaction is not limited to frustration or sadness: they embark on a personal crusade to discredit the person who “took” their job away.

The script plays out time and again. The hotel will never be the same without them—at least, in their own mind—and the only way to settle the score is to make sure that everyone knows about it. Friends, co-workers, regular guests, social media, even former managers or industry contacts... any channel will do to spread the idea that their dismissal was a monumental injustice and that the person who carried it out is a heartless tyrant. But is that really the case?

The dismissed employee’s narrative: “The hotel will not survive without me”

The first thought of many employees who receive notice of their dismissal is a mixture of surprise and outrage. “How dare they fire me? I am essential here”. It does not matter whether their performance was mediocre, whether they had accumulated complaints, or whether the company simply needed to make adjustments for budgetary reasons: in their mind, the decision is unfair and the hotel will suffer enormously as a result.

The problem is that this sense of self-importance can turn into resentment. And that resentment, if not handled properly, becomes a clear objective: discrediting the manager at all costs.

The smear campaign: tactics and strategies

When a dismissed employee feels their departure is unfair, they are not content simply to accept the situation and move on. In their mind, they must settle the score, and the best way to do so is to destroy the reputation of the person directly responsible for their dismissal. How do they do it?

Speaking badly about the manager to colleagues who remain

• Phrases such as: “You’ll see, now everything will get worse”, “That guy has no idea what he’s doing”, or “He fired me because he didn’t like me, but I’m sure you’ll be next” begin circulating through the hotel corridors.
• Objective: sow doubt and distrust, turning the rest of the team against the manager.

And so, the dismissed employee turned Prophet of Chaos roams the corridors like an apocalyptic guru, while the hotel continues operating exactly as before, colleagues nod out of politeness and, as soon as they turn away, get back to work as if nothing had happened.

Creating a dramatic and exaggerated story

• What may have been a justified dismissal becomes an epic tale of betrayal: “I gave everything to this place and they threw me out like a dog”, “I was the best employee and they fired me out of jealousy”, “The manager wants to bring in someone from their inner circle, so they pushed me out”.
• Objective: generate sympathy and reinforce the idea that the manager is ruthless.

What comes next? Claiming the manager received a suitcase full of cash to replace them? That the dismissal was part of a secret ritual by a hotelier lodge? The dismissed employee’s ego becomes so inflated in their own narrative that they will soon go from misunderstood martyr to fallen hero...

Posting reviews or using social media to tarnish the hotel’s and manager’s image

• Posts with messages such as “They talk a lot about quality, but this is how they treat their employees” often receive support from friends and acquaintances who have no context.
• Objective: damage the hotel’s and management’s reputation so that it appears to be a terrible place to work.

And here comes the masterstroke of the Midnight Avenger: writing a vindictive review worthy of a soap-opera script. With almost heroic seriousness, they write something like this on Tripadvisor, Google or Facebook: "This hotel treats its employees worse than the lobby carpets. I gave everything to this company and they fired me for no reason. If you have any dignity, DO NOT STAY HERE." Naturally, they post it from a fake profile, but with all the subtlety of an elephant in a tutu: dramatic phrases, chaotic punctuation, and excessive use of capital letters and exclamation marks.

Best of all, their only “likes” come from their aunt, three friends who have never set foot in the hotel, and another former colleague who was dismissed for falling asleep on shift. Meanwhile, real guests keep booking, unaware of the digital epic unfolding in the mind of the bitter former employee.

1. Seeking allies among former employees
   • Contact former colleagues who were dismissed to join forces and reinforce the “tyrannical manager” narrative.
   • Objective: create noise and pressure on management.

Because nothing says "my dismissal was completely unfair and had nothing to do with my performance" quite like organising a squad of resentful former employees to launch an offensive of recycled complaints. It is almost endearing to imagine the scene: the dismissed employee, mobile phone in hand, tracking down everyone who fell in battle before them. "Brother, do you remember when they exploited us with that eight-hour shift? We have to do something; people need to know". Meanwhile, the other person, who got over their dismissal months ago and now sells insurance or runs a food truck, simply replies: “Who are you?”. But the Midnight Avenger does not give up, because if their crusade has taught them anything, it is that shared resentment is more powerful than any logical argument.

When a dismissed employee fails to gain enough support through gossip within the team or social-media comments, the next step is to go directly to the hotel owners. And they do it in the most cowardly way possible: through anonymous notes or manipulative messages.

Although owners often know their team well and can distinguish between an attempt at manipulation and a legitimate complaint, if the noise is loud enough, doubts begin to take root.

1. Anonymous letters

Because, of course, if there is one thing that truly convinces owners that their manager is incompetent, it is a letter written in shaky handwriting on recycled paper, anonymous, without evidence, but with the absolute certainty that “someone” has seen everything. What better strategy than resorting to the old trick of the cowardly accusation, in which the sender is so brave that they do not even sign their name? It is the corporate equivalent of a ransom note made from magazine cuttings, except in this case the aim is to kidnap the manager’s credibility.

• Typical content:
  • Accusations of corruption, favouritism or mismanagement.
  • Rumours about alleged conflict-ridden relationships with employees.
  • Fabricated allegations of supposed financial irregularities or workplace mistreatment.
• Objective: generate distrust and make the owners begin to question the manager’s leadership.

2. Emails from fake accounts

Creating anonymous addresses to send “concerned” messages to the owners, pretending to be a current employee who fears reprisals if they speak openly.

This is where the spectacle reaches its peak: the dismissed employee, now transformed into a shadowy avenger, opens an email account with an anonymous name worthy of a spy novel (concernedemployee123@mail.com or hiddenhotelsecret@serious.com). Imagine the scene: in the dimness of their room, with a conspiratorial expression on their face, they type with trembling fingers: “Dear owners, I fear for the future of the hotel”. What they probably do not know is that the owners have seen this trick more times than they have changed uniforms, and their message lands in the spam folder faster than their last complaint at reception.

• Content:
  • "Many employees are unhappy, but they are afraid to speak."
  • "The manager is making decisions that are affecting the hotel’s profitability."
  • "You should investigate how they are managing resources."
• Objective: sow doubt without leaving a trail back to the real source of the rumour.

3. Using third parties to apply pressure

This is where the art of manipulation reaches levels worthy of a cheap soap opera. The dismissed employee, now the conductor of an orchestra of grievances, hands out sheet music to former colleagues, hoping they will repeat their melody of victimhood. The funniest part is that they do it with the subtlety of an elephant in a china shop: “Hey, you’re still there—why don’t you tell the boss that the hotel is falling apart without me? It’s not that I care, but I’m just saying…” Meanwhile, the regular guest, who only wanted their coffee with milk without any drama, finds themselves caught up in a corridor conspiracy they never asked for. And the supplier, who can barely tell the manager from any random guest, is now receiving hints about how the “new management” is driving the hotel into ruin.

• Convince employees who are still at the hotel to approach the owners with subtle complaints.
• Contact influential guests or suppliers so that they can convey their concern.
• Objective: make the pressure appear to come not from a resentful former employee, but from multiple sources.

And if all of the above fails, the final act of the drama arrives: the Midnight Avenger in crisis, feeling like the protagonist of a conspiracy film, decides it is time for the big revelation. They sit in front of their computer, with an intense stare and furrowed brow, and convince themselves that their mission in life is to expose the manager’s supposed tyranny. It does not matter that no one else shares their outrage; they have decided that the truth must come to light, even if that “truth” is a jumble of exaggerations, victimhood and a few facts taken out of context. Perhaps they even imagine that, after their complaint, the owners will walk into the manager’s office as if in a police-film scene, remove them on the spot and replace them with... yes, of course, with the misunderstood martyr themselves.

But reality is far sadder and more predictable. Instead of the revolution they expect, all they achieve is the team’s general exhaustion, the owners’ suppressed laughter and the hotel’s complete indifference, as it continues operating as usual without noticing their absence. In the end, the only thing their campaign for poetic justice achieves is reinforcing the reason they were dismissed in the first place: not because the manager is a tyrant, but because some employees confuse professionalism with melodrama.

The most ironic part of this pathetic crusade is that, far from proving their dismissal was unfair, all it achieves is confirming that it was more than deserved. Every anonymous message, every badly told piece of gossip, every attempt to manipulate third parties only highlights their lack of professionalism and their absolute inability to accept reality. They see themselves as a master strategist, a hero of the people fighting oppression, but from the outside what one sees is a former employee in crisis making a fool of themselves, throwing a tantrum because the world does not revolve around them. While they keep plotting their “revenge”, the hotel keeps operating, the manager remains in their position and life goes on... except for them, still trapped in their personal tragicomedy.

And the manager? Caught in the crossfire

The problem is that the manager has no right to defend themselves publicly. A dismissed employee can say whatever they want on social media, among friends or even to guests, but the manager cannot go out and explain every decision or answer every accusation without compromising the hotel’s image.

• If they remain silent, it appears they accept blame.
• If they respond, they reinforce the resentful employee’s narrative.
• If they try to explain, it will seem as though they are making excuses.

That is why the best strategy for a manager in this situation is not to play the game. The key is that time usually proves the truth, and discerning people know how to distinguish between an upset employee and the reality of the hotel.

However, there comes a point when defamation ceases to be a simple tantrum and becomes a crime. When anonymous messages turn into threats, false accusations seriously damage the reputation of the manager or hotel, or identity theft is used to deceive third parties, it is time to set patience aside and take legal action. In these cases, documenting every attempt at defamation and going to the police or a lawyer specialising in cybercrime or workplace harassment is the only sensible response. Because it is one thing for a former employee to throw a tantrum on social media, and quite another to allow a frustrated avenger’s obsession to cross the boundaries of legality.

Although some former employees will inevitably try to damage the manager’s reputation after their dismissal, there are ways to prevent and minimise the impact of these attacks:

1. Carry out dismissals with complete transparency
   • Ensure that the employee receives a clear, documented explanation, with evidence of poor performance or the need for dismissal.
   • If the dismissal is due to attitude problems or misconduct, keep records of previous warnings.
2. Anticipate the impact on the team
   • After the dismissal, it is advisable to speak with the rest of the team and clarify any concerns without going into unnecessary detail.
   • Make it clear that decisions are made for the good of the hotel and the team, not for personal reasons.
3. Do not give in to emotional blackmail
   • Some employees will try to manipulate the situation: “If you fire me, I’ll make sure everyone speaks badly about you”.
   • A manager must not allow themselves to be intimidated and must stand firm.
4. Build a solid reputation before conflict arises
   • If the manager already enjoys a good reputation with the team and guests, attempts to discredit them will lose momentum.
   • The best defence is consistency in leadership.

Managing the Rest of the Team: Maintaining Stability

While the Midnight Avenger plots their revenge in the shadows, the manager’s real challenge is not only weathering the storm of defamation, but maintaining stability within the team. Because the last thing needed after a dismissal is for remaining staff to fall into paranoia or uncertainty about the hotel’s future. The key is to act quickly, be clear and reinforce trust.

The first thing a manager should do after a dismissal is communicate without creating more drama than necessary. This is not about providing detailed explanations or justifying the decision with a banner in the lobby, but about conveying reassurance. Something as simple as a brief meeting with the team can prevent rumours from spiralling out of control. “We know this decision may have surprised some of you, but we want the team to remain strong and united” is far more effective than letting staff hear the news through the corridor grapevine.

But talking is not enough: action is required. A dismissal can leave remaining employees feeling fearful or uncertain, so the manager must reinforce team motivation. Reassure them that the hotel remains on course, that there is no witch hunt under way and that those who do their job well have nothing to worry about. Because the best way to extinguish an internal crisis is not with inspiring speeches, but with actions, consistency and firm leadership.

The reality is that a dismissal will never be well received, and the manager will always be the villain in the dismissed employee’s story. It is part of the job. No one is dismissed without a reason, but it is easier to point the finger at someone else than to acknowledge one’s own mistakes or understand the complexity of the business.

What matters is that those who truly matter—the team, the owners and the guests—know the truth. Hospitality is a demanding sector, and a good manager must know how to make difficult decisions without being affected by those seeking to tarnish their name.

Ultimately, the reason behind these smear campaigns is simple: the dismissed employee cannot accept that the hotel will continue operating without them. In their mind, they were a key part of the operation, and their departure is an injustice that must be punished. The manager becomes the perfect target for channelling their frustration.

However, a good manager must not play the game. With transparent leadership, a good relationship with the owners and a firm attitude, attempts at defamation will sooner or later fade away. Because the truth is that, no matter how much noise they make, the hotel always moves forward, even if some refuse to accept it.