SCOTTSDALE, AZ— Sometimes it pays to be good to your neighbors. Just ask Danny Chao, gm of the Best Western Scottsdale Airpark Suites, who was able to offer his business clientele an innovative technology amenity as a result of being located across the street from Zeosoft Technology Group’s sales, marketing and development operations. Because many of Zeosoft’s visitors stay at the Best Western, including its President and Chief Technology Officer Mike Huestis when he is in town, Chao decided to have his property pilot Zeosoft’s new On Demand Mobile Conferencing (ODMC) software. “We already had Wifi installed in the hotel and Zeosoft happens to be our neighbor and they stay with us. I was talking to their CEO one day and he mentioned this piece of peer-to-peer software technology,” Chao said. Because approximately 70% of the hotel’s guests are business travelers and the property was already offering free wireless high-speed Internet access (HSIA) in its guestrooms and public spaces, Chao figured the added technology capability would be a valued amenity. “It’s just another benefit to our guests,” he said. The way the software works is that guests can access ODMC in the lobby or download the software to their PDA or laptop for free. The software facilitates the interaction and sharing of information in real-time between users over a secure network of PDAs, laptops and desktop PCs. Multiple Applications Guests staying at the Best Western using the application cannot only exchange text messages, but share files, conduct group discussions through voice conferencing, and create drawings using a shared white board function, Chao said. “We wanted to add to our already existing wireless service,” Chao said. “This software is really designed for business use. It can show pictures of Powerpoint files and is more like a telecommunications solution without video,” he said. Current guest usage for the hotel’s wireless HSIA runs about 15%, according to Chao. However, he does not know what the usage is for ODMC yet, he said. “I am not sure if there is a revenue stream with this, but we are bundling it with our wireless offering,” Chao said. “We do know that our wireless service brings in business. People do stay here because of our wireless Internet access,” he said. Currently the Best Western is the only hotel property piloting the P2P software, according to Zeosoft, however the vendor is targeting other lodging companies. While its sales, marketing and development functions are based here, the company’s corporate headquarters is in Tampa, FL.