Luxury Lifestyle Awards: Congratulations on being selected as one of the TOP 100 Real Estate Brokers & Developers of the World in 2022. What does this mean to you personally and to the company as a whole?

Wetag Consulting: I am very happy for our collaborators. Positive customer feedback is the most beautiful feedback we can receive, but it remains individual. An award is a kind of a public applause, a tag of excellence, very helpful for the image.

LLA: As the leading agency in the Ticino region of Switzerland, what makes you stand out from the competition?

WC: The level of satisfaction amongst our clients is very high, see our „provenexpert“ feedback We are focused one our work for the long term, and we nurture a worldwide network of relations. I am owner and running the company for more than 25 years, both of my partners are with me for many many years, and our international connections born with our affiliations with Christie’s, LeadingRe, Luxury Portfolio, EREN and more, are extraordinary and quite impossible to copy today, I guess.

LLA: You have worked in the area since the company was established in 1973? Can you tell us what changes you have seen in nearly five decades?

WC: We bought the company in 1997, a smallish outfit which had seen its glorious heydays in the 80’s, and we restarted it nearly from scratch.

LLA: How has Wetag Consulting dealt with these changes?

WC: Our most important single step was when 3 years after we took over, Sotheby’s invited us to become their affiliate, having heard that we were building up an excellent reputation. After this is was like building a brick wall, laying stone on stone.

LLA: The region is an extraordinary one of exceptional beauty and offers homeowners a wide choice of homes and settings. Why do you believe the area is so remarkable, and why did the company set up here?

WC: Ticino is a „best of two worlds“: a unique combination of Swiss precision and safety, with a relaxed subtropical mediterranean Italianate lifestyle which most people would never expect in Switzer- land. Wetag was set here by our forerunners who were big in construction of hotels and condominiums, and when this business was over after the 89/90 crisis, we bought an ailing company, not intending torun it but just to fix and resell...

LLA: You pride yourself on your exclusive marketing capabilities. What can clients expect from you when they are buying or selling aproperty that will make the experience a smooth and pleasant one for them.

WC: We do our PR material completely in-house, to highest technical standards, videos included. We offer a bespoke marketing, we can define and target specific clients’ groups all over the world, and we can proceed completely private, if desired.

LLA: The highest standard of customer service is always crucial in the luxury real estate market. How do you ensure that your clients always receive the best possible treatment while going through the somewhat stressful process of buying or selling a home?

WC: We take the stress from them. Our staff is very professional, is multilingual and highly educated, and probably most important, they are all paid on full payroll with possible bonuses, but not with the usual share on their individual sales success. This makes a huge difference in terms of quality. More, we keep enough staff to be able to cover even stress periods.

LLA: Employing and retaining a skilled, professional team is crucial to the success of any business. How do you go about ensuring you attract the best of the best?

WC: We see who fits. As a principle we do not employ people who have worked in real estate before. Our company is legendary for its high work quality, so we always have enough candidates.

LLA: How have you found business during 2022 as the world emerges from the global pandemic? What challenges, if any, have you faced, and how has the company coped with them?

WC: As in many places in the world, the demand for luxury property was very high in Ticino as well, and it became more and more difficult for us to offer enough products.

LLA: Wetag Consulting has a commanding presence internationally regarding real estate. How do you ensure the company always keeps up with trends and understands the constantly changing market- place to the best of its ability?

WC: With our many affiliations, we regularly participate in 3 to five real estate conferences somewhere in the world, every year. There we are often speaking or panelists. Within our company, the origin our customers is extremely international, since 2000 we served clients from more than 75 nations...

LLA: What significant, interesting, or unexpected trends have you noticed this year?

WC: Well, COVID enhanced the ability to work from home, so even younger clients can afford to live away from their usual workplace.

LLA: What are your predictions for 2023? For the Ticino market and real estate generally?

WC: Most likely Switzerland will remain an attractive place to live and stay.

LLA: What plans do you have for company’s the future? Do you have any expansion plans both within Ticino or elsewhere?

WC: „the top is a small place“ they say, and we do not favor dilution but remain focused. Our clients are very happy. We’ll only change this winning horse when we are pretty sure to get a better one.

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