For US Travelers, Euro Makes Choosing Hotel Rooms Easier, PricewaterhouseCoopers Lodging Consultants Say.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--

Single Currency Also to Boost Cross-Border Travel

in Europe, Firm Reports

Europe's conversion to a single currency will benefit US travelers and European hoteliers alike by facilitating travelers' comparisons of room rates -- and fueling cross-border travel within the continent, according to the hospitality and leisure consulting group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest professional services organization. But the firm says other factors will be at least as important as the Euro in greater intra-European travel, including new, inexpensive, short-haul airlines in Europe, enhanced road and rail infrastructure and mergers and acquisitions among European tour and travel operators.

"If a U.S. business traveler has meetings in two or more European countries during one trip, the single currency makes it easier than ever to compare hotel room rates across borders to choose the best deal," notes Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D., New York-based global hospitality and leisure consulting group leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Financial Advisory Services (FAS) practice.

"For example, comparing hypothetical room rates of 3,820.50 Belgian Francs for a room in Brussels, 1022.40 French Francs for a room in Paris, 22,500 Spanish Pesetas for a room in Madrid and 300,060 Italian lire for accommodations in Rome requires time and calculation. But a single currency reveals that -- in this example and as of 9:00 a.m. EST on January 4 -- the best rate among these is in Brussels at 94.71 Euros, followed by Madrid at 135.22 Euros, Rome at 154.97 Euros and Paris at 155.85 Euros," Dr. Hanson observes. Such rate comparisons are especially attractive to the travelers in the leisure and meetings segments of the lodging business, he notes.

The single currency is likely to be a boon to cross-border travel in Europe, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"The single currency adds significant momentum to the economic relationships that have been building among European nations for decades," Dr. Hanson says. "Whereas traditional currencies emphasized and reinforced national identities and histories, the Euro provides a modern, uniform medium of exchange free of national association, identification and idiosyncrasy. The Euro's very existence facilitates cross-border interchange and movement."

But other factors -- at least as important as the Euro-- will fuel cross-border travel in Europe, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

These factors include

-- new, inexpensive short-haul airlines such as Easy Jet, Ryan Air

and Go;

-- greatly enhanced road and rail infrastructure across the

continent;

-- wider acceptance of electronic booking by hotels;

-- globalization of hotel and airline customer loyalty programs;

-- rapid mergers and acquisitions among European travel and tour

operators with major deals in Germany, the UK and Italy in the

last two weeks alone, and another anticipated in France.

With a worldwide network of 6000 professionals, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Financial Advisory Services (FAS) practice provides creative solutions and ideas that increase value to clients during critical periods and when they are making important decisions that define their future. The FAS business is organized along five product lines. The Business Recovery Services, Dispute Analysis & Investigations, and Valuations & Shareholder Value product lines are the largest in the world. The Project Finance & Privatization product line was rated second in Privatisation International's global league table by number of privatization financial advisory assignments and second in Project Finance International's global ranking by number of project finance advisory mandates. The Mergers & Acquisitions product line was second in the world in number of deals completed, according to Securities Data Company. PricewaterhouseCoopers advised on 341 deals with a total worth of $33.2 billion.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com), the world's largest professional services organization, helps its clients build value, manage risk and improve their performance. Drawing on the talents of more than 144,000 people in 152 countries, the organization provides a full range of business advisory services to leading global, national and local companies and to public institutions.

PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the US firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and other members of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization.