Fast Track to Financial Visibility: How Commonwealth Hotels Quickly Activated ProfitSword Across More Than 40 Hotels

When you’re managing hotels, data should work for you, not slow you down. And that’s even more true the more hotels you’re managing. For Commonwealth Hotels, the challenge was finding the best way to do that – and ensuring they could implement a solution quickly and accurately across their entire portfolio of more than 40 hotels. In this article, we share how they did that with Actabl and what they learned along the way.

The Challenge: Running Blind Without Reliable Financial Data

Commonwealth Hotels previously managed critical financial and operational data through a patchwork of tools and spreadsheets. Data was slow to arrive, difficult to reconcile, and often incomplete.

“The previous platform we used had a lot of roadblocks and a lot of issues,” said Debbie Farrell, Vice President of Analysis for the company. “We were running blind on a lot of information.”

At the heart of Debbie’s role is making sure all stakeholders—from managers at each property to the corporate office—have the insights they need to budget, plan, and act with confidence. The company needed a way to centralize reporting, eliminate delays, and forecast cash flow more accurately in an industry that demands real-time reflections and fast responses.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about cash flow,” Debbie said. “Whether it’s a capital project or something the brand expects us to act on—we need data we can trust to make those calls.”

The Solution: Going Live With A Reliable, Real-Time Platform Built for Hospitality

Commonwealth selected ProfitSword as its business intelligence platform because of its real-time capabilities, customizable reporting, and hotel-specific integrations. But that choice was only the beginning.

Implementing a tech platform like this—especially across more than 40 properties—required a deep dive into data structures and mapping, as well as team training, to get the most out of it.

“There’s a lot that goes into onboarding,” Debbie said. “We mapped all our P&L accounts, dealt with new codes from different properties… but the platform made it easy to spot issues. Seeing the whole portfolio and what’s changed in one view has been a game-changer.”

Andy Ashmore, Director of Analytics & Business Development at Commonwealth, led much of the implementation work alongside Actabl’s onboarding team. The strategy? Keeping everything organized and everyone aligned during the process. And that’s where Actabl’s implementation team and tools came into play. “All the moving pieces were in one spot—tasks, deadlines, resources. I could always go back and check what needed to be done or follow up with our team. Actabl provided the most helpful onboarding process I’ve used,” he said.

Despite the scale of its portfolio, Commonwealth’s onboarding was completed quickly, but the support hasn’t stopped now that the company is up and running. “We’re still on weekly calls with Actabl, which I love,” said Debbie. “They’re making sure we’re getting the most out of it and understand the platform, not just checking the box.” 

The Secret to Success: Customization, Visibility, and Speed

For Debbie, the real win wasn’t just going live—it was going live with a system built around Commonwealth’s unique structure.

“Actabl customized ProfitSword to match our exact P&L reports, which are probably different from what most companies use. They also surfaced flow-through and variance reports we didn’t even realize we needed. When something wasn’t there, they built it for us.”

Now, Commonwealth has a system that updates on the spot, provides accurate visibility to hotel and corporate teams, and helps them act with speed and precision.

“Before, we were halfway through the next month before we knew how the previous month closed,” said Andy. “Now, if revenue slips mid-month, we can immediately look at labor and start adjusting to protect margins.”

“You can see the month turn into what it's going to be in real time versus waiting until the end of the month and having surprises,” added Debbie. “You can see exactly what you can and cannot spend in order to maintain those margins that you're looking for.” 

A Lesson To Learn From

Choosing the right platform is an important first step. But implementing it successfully, especially at scale, is where most tech projects falter. Commonwealth Hotels avoided that pitfall by leaning into the onboarding process, collaborating closely with the Actabl team, and embracing the foundational efforts needed to get it right.

"Of all the platform implementations we’ve done over the years, this one with Actabl might have been the easiest." - Debbie Farrell

Coming Next: What Commonwealth Gained from Real-Time Financial Forecasting

Stay tuned for Part 2 in our series with Commonwealth Hotels, where we dive into how ProfitSword has changed the way the company tracks cash flow, plans labor, and keeps owners informed.

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your hotels’ efficiency, productivity, and accuracy is a game-changer for profitability. Want to see how ProfitSword could work for you? Let’s talk.