People come to hospitality work from a range of social origins and vastly different levels of opportunity, and this often shapes the trajectories taken by hospitality workers. While this can fragment class unity in economic terms, it can also produce novel political alliances cutting across many other social issues, which feeds back into the economic struggle. It is clear, therefore, that the stakes of organising in this sector are extremely high, not just for the industry itself, but for the broader workers’ movement. As many contributions in this issue conclude, an organised hospitality sector could play a crucial role in rebuilding a culture of workplace militancy. When we enter a workplace for the first time, we encounter an existing set of informal and formal norms. These are the historic outcomes of managerial directives, social and professional hierarchies, interpersonal relations and worker resistance. The self-organisation of a workforce around a fundamental antagonism between workers and bosses can radically transform this structure of norms. The initial phase of this struggle may be embittered as opposing interests, typically manifesting in more subtle forms, are brought to the fore and sharpened. However, this open conflict can ultimately recast workplace divisions in the long term, setting a new standard for incoming workers as they acclimate to the professional environment. This is the challenge currently facing hospitality workers. Winning over this sector to organised militancy could lead to dramatic and far-reaching changes, particularly given the demographic features of this workforce.