This issue brings together five articles in a critical discussion about the nature of hospitality work. The aim of this issue is to raise questions about hospitality and work, not just in business and managerial terms, but in terms that transgress a diversity of fields and perspectives. Specifically, the articles in this issue call attention to the employee voice and experience; issues of gender; performance, embodiment and emotional labour; to broader issues concerning labour mobilities and meaningful work. As earlier versions of these articles were presented at the Critical Tourism Studies Conference, University of Wales Cardiff in July 2011, this issue aims to link critical hospitality and critical tourism research and pedagogy. Aligned to the aims of this journal, we aim to further encourage a move in hospitality studies towards more critical paths of enquiry (Tribe 2005), to advocate a critical turn (Ateljevic et al. 2007), and to amass critical thinkers, studying a critical issue and engage critical theory (Wilson et al. 2008, 2012).