The Waldorf Astoria New York claims to have been the first hotel to offer room service, sometime in the early 1930s, but is understandably vague about how and when this actually occurred. By 1937, however, there was already a play called Room Service showing a few blocks away, on Broadway, and that was made into a film of the same name starring the Marx Brothers the following year. Nowadays, of course, what was once a privilege for guests at a select few upmarket properties is taken for granted at even the dingiest of third-world airport hotels. And despite the disheartening prices contained within that sticky, laminated "in-room dining" menu, who wouldn't welcome a service that can reveal a nasi goreng from beneath a silver-plated cloche at 3am, or provide a good excuse for ordering eggs benedict 24/7? So it comes as some surprise that the New York Hilton Midtown (this year celebrating its 50th anniversary) has just announced that, from August, it will no longer be providing room service of any kind to its 2,000 rooms. In what seems to be a world first, the hotel cites declining demand, and with its room-service burger selling for US$28.50 plus 15 per cent service charge and an in-room dining charge of US$5.50 per person, is there any wonder? Hilton Worldwide, incidentally, also owns the Waldorf Astoria.