For Concierge Desks and Card Programmes: A Cartagena Ground Operator Built for the Way You Work
Updated: 23 September 2026 · Written by Marta Fernández, founder of CABÚ Viajes, ground operator in Cartagena de Indias (RNT 215668). Before CABÚ, our founder spent years operating card-programme reward trips in Colombia for banks and their concierge partners; this page is written for the desk that has to deliver one.
In short: if you are a concierge desk, a card programme or a lifestyle-management service with a member who wants Cartagena, we are the ground operator you call. Itemised quote within 24 hours, net or gross as you prefer, one named contact who answers at night, company invoice, RNT 215668, and every line — house, boat, chef, host, transfers — priced separately so it fits your member's statement or your programme's terms.
What a concierge desk needs from a Cartagena operator
| What the desk needs | What we provide |
|---|---|
| A quote the member can read | Itemised, line by line, in USD, within 24 hours of a standard request. No per-person nightly bundles. |
| Verifiable legitimacy before money moves | RNT 215668 on the public Colombian registry; company invoices only; deposit and balance, never 100% upfront, never a personal account. |
| Confirmed inventory, not a marketplace listing | Houses contracted directly with their owners; boats with papers, passenger liability cover and a named captain; restaurant and club tables at menu price. |
| One point of contact | A named person on WhatsApp and email, before, during and after the trip, who answers at eleven at night on the 31st. |
| Discretion | We are not a security company and do not sell bodyguards. We remove the informal-market risk — known drivers, documented boats, reservations that exist — which is the actual risk in Cartagena. |
| Fit with programme terms | Net rates on request so you apply your own margin, or gross with commission; white-label proposals in your template; each traveller can settle her own share with her own receipt when the programme requires it. |
| Something a member cannot book alone | Private appointments at jewelers and designer stores, a chef in a colonial house, a boat on the bay at midnight on 31 December, a table on the night the city is full. |
What we typically build for a card or concierge member
- A long weekend inside the walls — colonial house from about 600 USD a night sleeping sixteen (billed per house), a local host at 200–300 USD a day, a private boat day to the Rosario Islands from 850 USD per boat, dinners booked at the price on the menu. The arithmetic and the zones are in a long weekend in Cartagena and where to stay.
- A boutique hotel stay with the days run for the member — the properties we book by name are in luxury hotels in Cartagena; the host is a separate line, so a couple can take it for one day and not five.
- A purchase with accompaniment — certified emeralds and Colombian designer fashion with private appointments, a trusted driver and the 19% VAT paperwork handled; see Colombian emeralds and luxury shopping.
- The December weeks — house with a chef on the 24th, boat at midnight on the 31st; what sells out and when is in Christmas and New Year's Eve 2026 in Cartagena.
- A wedding weekend or a milestone birthday — the guests inside the walls, the celebration where the venue is; see the wedding weekend guide and the milestone birthday trip.
How a request moves
- You send dates, head count, what the member has said she wants, and whether you need net or gross. One email or one WhatsApp.
- Within 24 hours you have an itemised proposal, in your template if you use one, with what we verified on each line.
- Nothing is booked until you confirm. On confirmation: deposit against a company invoice, balance before travel.
- During the trip the member and your desk have the same named contact. After it, you have every invoice on one document.
What we will tell you honestly
We are a Cartagena and Medellín operator, not a Colombia-wide DMC; for the coffee region or the Amazon we will say so and not improvise. We work with fewer houses than the largest agencies in the city, because we have been inside each of them. And our December quotes sit above our published base — we would rather quote the actual house in writing than print a number we cannot hold. What other operators in the city publish, next to ours, is in Cartagena luxury operators compared; the advisor-facing version of this page is Cartagena DMC for travel advisors.
If your client is a company — executive retreat, incentive trip, team offsite — the format with company invoicing and one expense document is in corporate retreats and offsites in Cartagena.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with concierge desks and card programmes?
Yes. We quote net or gross, itemised, within 24 hours, with a company invoice and one named contact for the desk and the member. Our founder operated card-programme reward trips in Colombia for years before CABÚ, so the format is familiar.
Can you deliver in your own template or ours?
Either. White-label proposals in your template are standard; our own itemised format if you prefer. Every line carries what we verified for it.
How fast can you turn a request around?
An itemised proposal within 24 hours on a standard group or couple request. Complex December requests may take longer because we confirm the actual house and boat before we quote them.
Do you provide security or close protection for members?
No. We are not a security company. Cartagena's real risk is the informal tourism market, and what we remove is that: known drivers, documented boats, reservations at the price on the menu, and a host who answers the phone.
Can the member pay separately from the programme?
Yes. Deposit and balance can be split across payers, and each traveller can settle her own share with her own receipt. Company invoices only.
How do we verify you?
Look up RNT 215668 in the public Colombian National Tourism Registry, and ask us for the same check on any supplier we put into your quote. The boats we contract carry passenger liability cover and a named captain.
