TEN OF THE NATION’S 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR OFFER COMMUTER CHECK BENEFIT SOLUTIONS

01 Mar 2007

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Wellesley Hills, MA, March 1, 2007 – Accor Services North America, a leader in innovative employee benefits solutions and premier provider of national commuter benefit programs, today announced that ten of the “2006 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For” offer Commuter Check® Benefit Solutions as part of overall compensation packages. Notably, nine of those ten companies are among the top 50. They include Adobe Systems, Amgen, Boston Consulting Group, Cisco Systems, The Container Store, Intuit, Microsoft, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Whole Foods Market.

Many believe that the Fortune list is an incentive and guide for change amongst American companies. According to a Wall Street Journal article (http://www.careerjournal.com/hrcenter/articles/20070110-coombes.html), Milton Moskowitz, a New York-based writer and co-author of the list, said “...some companies who don’t make the list use it as a springboard for changing policies. Companies learn from this list.” With HR managers paying attention to the benefits and programs offered by the companies on the list, especially those in their industry, often times they will adopt new programs in an effort to stay competitive.

Commuter Check Benefit Solutions is a transit and parking voucher program that allows companies to take advantage of the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit, a federal tax incentive for employees and employers alike. Also known as IRS Code Section 132(f), the incentive allows employees to set aside up to $110 per month pre-tax for transit benefits
and $215 per month pre-tax for parking benefits. In effect, employees can pay commuting and parking expenses with tax-free dollars without increasing overall compensation costs for employers. In fact, employers actually save on payroll taxes with every participating employee. For employees, this could equate to more than $1,500 in annual tax savings and employers can save eight to ten percent on payroll taxes.

According to several customers, employee response to Commuter Check Benefit Solutions has been tremendous. They recognize and appreciate the employers’ effort to reduce their commuting expense. Many also feel good about using public transportation as it is one of their contributions to improving the environment and they like being a part of a company that supports that agenda.
Commuter Check often increases employee awareness of transit options and builds public transportation ridership and participation in vanpooling. As a result, traffic congestion is reduced and air quality is improved. Many also report the employees arrive on-time more often, are less stressed because they are not driving, and therefore more productive
throughout the work day.

According to Christina Soderman, vice president of Communications, Accor Services North America, employees and employers each have good reason to adopt the benefit. “Employees appreciate the savings on their commuting expense and the ability to aid the environment by taking public transportation. At the same time, executive management enjoys the savings on payroll taxes and the opportunity to demonstrate the company’s commitment to protecting the environment without adding administrative burden or cost. Plus, it serves as an additional recruitment and retention tool within the benefits and compensation package.”

About Accor Services North America
Accor Services North America is a leading transportation benefits organization in the United States and provider of Commuter Check Benefit Solutions, a nationwide transit and parking voucher program. Its mission is to provide, on a national basis, administration and program development services supporting public and private efforts to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote use of public transportation. For more information about Commuter Check Benefit Solutions visit www.commmutercheck.com.

About Accor
Accor, European leader in hotels and tourism, global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 160,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients nearly 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:

• Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands: over 4,000 hotels and 475,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;
• Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 21 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products – meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.