Austrian Hotel Plan

A new offer by 130 Viennese hotels and pensions will give you a third night free, if you pay for two.

Your first night has to be on a Thursday or Friday. The three nights have to be consecutive.

If the cost of the room includes breakfast, you also get this meal free with the third night’s stay. The program is good to March 10; the only blackout period is Thursday through Jan. 2.

A copy of the establishments participating in the program is available from the Austrian National Tourist Office, 11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2480, Los Angeles 90025, (213) 477-3332. Bookings can be made through travel agents.

Also check into the country’s rail passes. A nine-day, first-class pass will cost about $180 U.S. in 1989, a second-class pass about $120. A 16-day pass will cost about $245 first-class and $164 second-class, while a monthlong pass costs about $387 first-class and $258 second-class.

All passes allow unlimited use. These passes, which also offer a 50% discount on some Danube River cruise boats, must be bought in Austria. If you’re coming into Austria by rail (Austria is part of the Eurailpass program), you can buy the passes at the train stations in Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Welcome Chic hotels have a Chic Cheque voucher program at 65 properties in 40 cities. Most of the hotels have fewer than 100 rooms.

You can buy vouchers in the United States for $89 per night for a double room, $59 single. At least four vouchers must be purchased, with a maximum of two nights at each property. There is no maximum on how many vouchers you can buy. The vouchers include continental breakfast, service charges and taxes.

Each hotel will make reservations for you at the next property, but these bookings can’t be made more than 48 hours in advance. Some properties won’t accept the vouchers during the high season, which lasts until April 30.

You can get a 75% refund for unused vouchers, but lost or stolen vouchers cannot be replaced.

Contact travel agents or Welcome Chic’s U.S. representative at (707) 557-2763.