When the Hotel Manager Becomes the Villain: Dismissals and the Search for Someone to Blame

For any hotel manager, leading 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 repeats itself time and again. The hotel will never be the same without them—at least in their own perception—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 bosses 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 when they receive news of their dismissal is a mixture of surprise and indignation. “How dare they fire me? I am essential here”. It does not matter whether their performance was mediocre, whether complaints had piled up, or whether the business 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 well, becomes a clear objective: discrediting the manager at all costs.

The smear campaign: tactics and strategies

When a dismissed employee feels their departure was 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 the colleagues who remain

• • Phrases such as “You’ll see, everything will go downhill now”, “That guy has no idea what he is doing”, or “He fired me because he did not like me, but you will probably be next” begin to circulate through the hotel corridors.
  • Objective: sow doubt and mistrust, getting the rest of the team to turn against the manager.

• • 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 a ruthless person.

What comes next? Claiming the manager received a suitcase full of cash to replace them? That the dismissal was part of a secret ritual run 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...

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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 Midnight Avenger’s grand masterstroke: writing a vindictive review worthy of a telenovela script. With almost heroic seriousness, they write something on Tripadvisor, Google or Facebook such as: "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." Of course, they post it from a fake profile, but with all the subtlety of an elephant in a tutu: dramatic phrases, chaotic punctuation, and an 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, oblivious to the digital epic of the embittered former employee.

1. Seeking allies among former employees

   • Contacting former colleagues who were dismissed in order 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 squadron of resentful former employees to launch an offensive of recycled complaints. It is almost endearing to picture the scene: the dismissed employee, phone in hand, tracking down everyone who fell in battle before them. "Brother, do you remember how 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 comments on social media, the next step is to go directly to the hotel owners. And they do so in the most cowardly way possible: through anonymous notes or manipulative messages.

Although in many cases owners 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 hotel 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 cut-outs, 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 claims of alleged financial irregularities or workplace mistreatment.
  • Objective: generate mistrust 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 show reaches its peak: the dismissed employee, now turned into a vigilante in the shadows, opens an email account with an anonymous name worthy of a spy novel (concernedemployee123@mail.com or hiddenhoteltruth@serious.com). Picture the scene: in the dim light of their room, with a conspiratorial expression on their face, they type with trembling fingers: “Dear owners, I fear for the hotel’s future”. What they probably do not know is that the owners have seen this trick more times than they have changed uniforms, and their message ends up in the spam folder faster than their last complaint at the front desk.

• • • Content:
      • "Many employees are unhappy, but they are afraid to speak up."
      • "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 true 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 transformed into the conductor of an orchestra of complaints, hands out sheet music to former colleagues, hoping they will repeat their melody of victimhood. The funniest part is that they do it with all 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 is 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 trapped in a corridor conspiracy they never asked for. And the supplier, who can barely tell the manager from an ordinary guest, is now receiving hints about how the "new management" is driving the hotel into ruin.

• • • • Persuading employees still at the hotel to be the ones who approach the owners with subtle complaints.
      • Contacting influential guests or suppliers so that they are the ones to convey the 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 great revelation. They sit down at their computer, with an intense gaze and furrowed brow, and convince themselves that their mission in life is to expose the manager’s supposed tyranny. It does not matter that nobody else shares their indignation; 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 enter the manager’s office as if in a police-film scene, remove them on the spot and replace them with... yes, of course, themselves: the misunderstood martyr.

But reality is far sadder and more predictable. Instead of the revolution they expect, all they achieve is the team’s general weariness, the owners’ suppressed laughter and the hotel’s complete indifference, as it continues operating as usual, without noticing their absence. In the end, their campaign for poetic justice only reinforces 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 whole 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 merely reveals their lack of professionalism and absolute inability to accept reality. They see themselves as a master strategist, a hero of the people fighting oppression, but from the outside what we see is a former employee in crisis making a fool of themselves, throwing a tantrum because the world does not revolve around them. While they continue plotting their “revenge”, the hotel keeps running, the manager remains in post and life goes on... except for them, trapped in their own 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 respond to every accusation without compromising the hotel’s image.

• If they remain silent, it appears they accept the 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 them right, and discerning people know how to distinguish between an upset employee and the reality of the hotel.

However, there comes a point at which defamation stops being a simple tantrum and becomes an offence. When anonymous messages turn into threats, false accusations seriously damage the manager’s or hotel’s reputation, or identity theft is used to deceive third parties, it is time to set patience aside and take legal action. In such cases, documenting every act of defamation and going to the police or consulting 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 vigilante’s obsession to cross the boundaries of legality.

Although it is inevitable that some former employees will try to damage the manager’s reputation after being dismissed, there are ways to prevent and minimise the impact of these attacks:

1. Handle dismissals with complete transparency

   • Ensure 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 address any questions 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 will make sure everyone speaks badly about you”.
   • A manager must not be intimidated and must stand their ground firmly.

4. Build a strong reputation before conflict arises

   • If the manager already has 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 real challenge for the manager is not merely weathering the storm of defamation, but maintaining stability within the team. Because the last thing needed after a dismissal is for the remaining staff to fall into paranoia or uncertainty about the hotel’s future. The key lies in acting quickly, being clear and reinforcing trust.

The first thing a manager should do after a dismissal is communicate without creating more drama than necessary. It 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 running out of control. “We know this decision may have surprised some people, but we want the team to remain strong and united” is far more effective than allowing staff to hear the news through corridor gossip.

But talking is not enough: action is required. A dismissal can make the employees who remain feel 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 jobs well have nothing to worry about. Because the best way to defuse an internal crisis is not through inspiring speeches, but through 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. Nobody 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 industry, and a good manager must know how to make difficult decisions without being affected by those who seek 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 piece, 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 management, a good relationship with the owners and a firm attitude, attempts at defamation will sooner or later fade away. Because the truth is that, however much noise they make, the hotel always moves forward, even if some people refuse to accept it.