You might call it the social-media mobilization of the concierge staff.
The Four Seasons is trotting out some of its concierges on a monthly basis and conducting hour-long #bestofcity chats on Twitter to show off all the insider tips they can impart about their respective cities.
The maiden Twitter chat took place Sept. 1 and featured Liloo Alim, the head concierge at the Four Seasons Toronto.
The tweet-up was timed as a precursor to the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 8 to Sept. 18.
If you followed the Twitter sessions and Alim's advice, you may have learned that she recommends seeing the movie The Skin I Live In ("Sounds creepy but technically brill!"); trying Oliver & Bonacini's Canteen and Luma restaurants for pre-festival "movie bites;" sampling the "unique and romantic" Corner House restaurant for its "amazing chef and wife as host;" and visiting The Rex and Reservoir Lounge to catch some jazz tunes.
And, here are some additional recommendations:
It's difficult to gauge how useful the session might have been for real travelers, given the number of public relations and journalist types who were loitering around and pushing questions for Alim into the Twitter stream, but it was a start.
And, it's great to see luxury hotels embracing Twitter and trying to come up with ways to use social media as a customer service tool.