About Us

The concierge industry was started about 25 years ago by a handful of pioneers here in the U.S.  "When I started in 1998, there were about 50 or so concierge around the U.S." says Katharine Giovanni, Chairman of the Board and ICLMA's founder. "Today, I suspect there are thousands around the world, and the number is continuing to grow."

Concierge services have been available for decades but were historically only found in hotel lobbies. Today, the concierge industry is growing rapidly and concierge are literally popping up all over the world. In fact, companies and individuals are not only starting to use concierges, but many are making them a part of their corporate benefit packages.  Concierge are now everywhere from shopping malls to universities, hospitals, churches, associations, small and large companies, country clubs, condominiums, office buildings and yacht clubs to name just a few.

Originally called ICEA, the association was formed in 2000 by a handful of independent concierge. The association transitioned in 2010 and reformed as the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association. The new association better reflects the trends in this growing industry.

Today ICLMA is an international association supporting hundreds of concierge and lifestyle managers from over 24 countries around the world. The association offers members networking opportunities, continuing education, resources and industry recognition. In 2002, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked concierge service businesses to be among the top ten start-ups in the United States. Since then, the concierge industry has continually grown to what is now estimated to be a $1 billion dollar industry, worldwide.

ICLMA is also proud to be ...