Liloo Alim at work in the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto

Liloo Alim is leaving the building: Four Seasons Concierge departs

Liloo Alim is leaving the Four Seasons Hotel.

This is big news in Toronto where Alim was annointed “the most powerful woman” in the city. according to the National Post newspaper back in 2002.

But the top concierge at the prestigious hotel, started at the bottom, literally, in the garage as the parking attendant.

That was in 1978, as a young mother eager to find a job, just three years after arriving in Toronto from Bombay, India.

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She left with one suitcase and twenty-five dollars in her pocket.

“Nobody can do this all alone”

It was the experience in the garage the prompted the promotion.

“I got to meet all the regulars, you know, and not only meet them and see them but actually develop a rapport and you’d think how can you do that, but it’s really doable”

The Four Seasons Hotel in the heart of Toronto

Certainly the joy in Liloo Alim’s voice and the contagious laugh are hard to resist.

And in all the comings and goings, Liloo Alim charmed her way upstairs.

Within her first year, the woman who had been trying to get hired in spite of a lack of “Canadian experience”, was made the Junior Concierge.

She trailblazed as the first woman to be head concierge at a major Canadian hotel.

And then Alim was the first Canadian woman welcomed into the esteemed ‘Clef D’Or’, the international concierge association.

Alim explains the organization’s motto is “Service through Friendship”.

The motto could also describe an experience she lived in one of her fondest memories on the job, when the Canadian-based hotel chain opened in Mumbai.

“For me to go back and bring the Four Seasons, the first Four Seasons in India, was such an honour and a priviledge, I can’t tell you.” she says.

“It was also wonderful to be somebody that could inspire the younger generation of Mumbaikars and tell them, you know, you can do it: if I could do it with $25 in my pocket, believe you me, you can do it!”

When asked if the skills of a great concierge can be taught, Alim is quick with a yes. From sightseeing advice, to securing coveted tickets, or restaurant reservations, it’s all part of the job, but Liloo Alim managed to even find the 2 million dollar Toronto condo of a guest’s dreams.

“A lot of it is very instinctive and it needs to come from intuition and your ability to read people, to connect the dots I say, to be able to build a network, a network that you can draw upon when you’re faced with a challenging request.”

“Nobody can do this all alone.” she says.

As a major fan of TIFF Liloo Alim says her plans are to “work her last TIFF”, while attending all the screenings she scheduled for herself, then take a month off, return for a week, and enjoy the retirement party.

“Part of me feels so confused, as in did I make the right decision?” she admits.

But after more than six months of weighing the pros and cons, and a three-and- half year-old granddaughter, growing into her life, Liloo Alim says it came down to a simple insight:

“Why not go when you’re on top of your game.”

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