Delivery services plot takeover of traditional hotel room service

Now, with some hotels eliminating room service because of rising costs and flagging demand, as the New York Hilton announced this month, a range of companies are eager to serve those guests who are not ready to give it up just yet.

Delivery.com, GrubHub and Seamless have been catering to business travelers almost since their founding. They make a simple proposition: by connecting guests with outside restaurants and delis, they can offer a wider variety of food than hotels can, at less cost and with timely delivery. The days of the cold $20 cheeseburger, they argue, are over.