Kees Koolen co-founder and former CEO of Booking.com, the world's largest online room booking engine for two weeks a year lives and you sleep in a motorhome because it is the most comfortable way to participate in the Dakar.

And before I slept in a tent. What a value!

«It is the first year that I sleep in a motorhome, it is very comfortable. Normally, I slept like the rest of the drivers, in a tent on the ground or on top of the truck, but this year I'm aiming for a good result, so I want to be more comfortable to make sure I get a really good rest."

Koolen prefers the comfort, relief and luxuries of a hotel, but that is impossible in the Dakar. "Before running the Dakar he had never traveled in a motorhome." When he was young he had gone camping with a tent many times, as all young people do, but since I have been an adult I always go on vacation to hotels. Now I sleep in a motorhome because I want to be with the team.

The Dakar has changed a lot in this aspect. 10 or 15 years ago no one had a motorhome and now almost everyone has one. "Now the race is more fashionable than before," he jokes.

Many people think that sleeping in a motorhome is cheaper than staying in a hotel, but they are usually expensive vehicles, even if they are for rent. And if you add up the price of the caravan, the fuel it consumes, the maintenance costs, the insurance and circulation permits, the storage cost and the fees for the campsites or the service and overnight areas for motorhomes, the budget Holidays soar above the average for a hotel. On the Dakar it is still much more expensive.

«Before running the Dakar I had never traveled in a motorhome»

The Dutchman compares the creation of a company like Booking.com with the challenge of a rally-raid. «Creating a company like Booking, which was the first on the market in its sector, is as if you were alone in the desert, with no one to help you. You have to do everything yourself, you have to navigate very well and stay focused. If you are crossing the desert and you don't know where you are going, start by holding a meeting to inform and advise you as best as possible.

And if you choose an option and you make a mistake, you have to go back, not move forward. So building a company like Booking and having a career in the desert is very similar,” he explains.

As a good entrepreneur and successful businessman, Koolen is the only rider who has finished the Dakar in all categories (motorcycle, buggy, truck and quads). Now he has set himself a greater challenge, to get on the podium with his quad, although on Monday he lost more than an hour and fell from fourth to 12th place to recover later and climb to eighth.

«This year I want to get a good result with the quad and I would like to be on the podium. I know it is a great challenge, but in 14 days a lot can happen,” says the Dutchman, who has raced every edition of the Dakar in South America.

When he is in the Dakar he focuses only on the competition. «Now I don't think about business, I only think about career. "I don't check my email or phone for two weeks and I'm not available for my business."

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SOURCE: MARCA.COM