Gabi Kool
Senior Vice President / Managing Director
VOILA Hotel Rewards

As part of HMC's management team, Gabi is responsible for VOILA Hotel Rewards globally, a ground-breaking loyalty programme, bringing together a worldwide network of independent 4/5-star hotels of different brands under a single umbrella The company's mission is to provide these hotels with a global loyalty solution that allows them to compete effectively and profitably. VOILA's vision is to become the largest and most respected frequency guest program, worldwide.
The program is supported by a state of the art loyalty platform, specifically designed for the hotel industry, available only to VOILA members. The current number of participating hotels exceeds 200 and covers LATAM, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Continental Hotels is VOILA's Romanian partner and launched their program 'Continental Rewards' in May 2009.
Gabi brings to VOILA a wealth of experience in the loyalty space. Before joining HMC in 2008, he held the position of EVP with Carlson Marketing in Asia Pacific. During his tenure, Gabi led Carlson Marketing's entry into China and involvement in the Beijing 2008 Olympics, supporting many Olympic sponsors such as Kodak and UPS with their hospitality programs.
As Carlson's airline expert, he oversaw the agency's airline clients and their frequent flyer programs and was responsible in Asia Pacific for Carlson's Strategic Account Management team where he leveraged Carlson's global position in marketing (Carlson Marketing), travel (Carlson Wagonlit Travel), and hospitality (Regent hotels, Radisson hotels, Park Plaza) to the benefit of Carlson's client base.
Before 2002, Gabi was in charge of the development of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' frequent flyer programme, 'Flying Dutchman', while working for the Dutch airline in Amsterdam. During this period the program won many industry awards.
Gabi is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management Executive Leadership Program at the University of Minnesota, as well as an Alumnus from INSEAD University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He lives in Barcelona with his wife and four young children.