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The purpose of this paper is to present some of the fundamental barriers and challenges in the use of Six Sigma as a business improvement methodology in the hospitality industry.

The approach taken was to collate data through observations made by the third author during the execution of the research project within the case study company as well as collating data from company story boards and interviewing relevant and appropriate staff members in the case study company.

The challenges of “data collection”, “defining projects” and “getting group consensus” can be considered to be somewhat very challenging in the context of hospitality industry.

Due to limited time constraints, the number of people participated in the study was relatively small. Perhaps a simple survey questionnaire could also be distributed to a number of people at the top management level, middle management level and front‐line staff personnel in the case study company.

The paper provides an excellent resource for many researchers and practitioners equally who are engaged in research and applications of Six Sigma in the hospitality industry. Moreover there is a dearth of literature on the use of Six Sigma in the hospitality sector.

The purpose of this paper is to address the growing importance of migrant workers to the hospitality industry of peripheral locations in the UK.

The paper draws on data collected through in‐depth surveys of and focus group discussions with migrant workers in hotels in three peripheral locations in the UK.

Findings point to varied experiences for international workers in terms of recruitment and selection of international workers; their work‐related and social integration within the workforce and the wider community; aspirations for training and development among international employees; insights into the futures that migrant workers see for themselves; and their overall experience of living and working in the UK.

The study is located in three regions of the UK and each study is of relatively small scale. This is a potential limitation but compensation is afforded by the depth of information collected in each location.

The study suggests that employers are unwilling to invest in the development of international staff who have high levels of general education and training that is not sector specific. Promotion opportunities are seen to be limited. The paper points to the need for hospitality management to make more effective use of this source of labour.

This paper is the first to undertake a study of the migrant worker experience in peripheral areas of the UK and to focus on a diverse skills sector such as hospitality.