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The co-founder of Booking.com you sleep in a motorhome

By: Areas Motorhomes - Published: 12 January, 2018

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 have set out to get a good result, so I want to be more comfortable to make sure that I rest really well.

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

The co-founder of Booking.com you sleep in a motorhomeThe Dakar has changed a lot in this regard. 10 or 15 years ago nobody had a motorhome and now almost everyone has one. Now the race is more fashion 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 to the challenge of a rally-raid. “Creating a company like Booking, which was the first in 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 do not know where you are going, start by making a meeting to inform yourself and advise you as best as possible.

And if you choose an option and make a mistake, you have to go back, not move on. 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 all editions 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 the mail or the phone for two weeks and I'm not available for my business. "

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SOURCE: MARCA.COM

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