How ProfitSword is Powering Profitability at Commonwealth Hotels

For many hotel operators, the biggest challenge isn’t buying new technology. It’s putting it to work. As we explored in our last article, ProfitSword by Actabl is now active across the entire portfolio at Commonwealth Hotels, providing visibility into performance and supporting better decision-making. In this article, we explore what this has looked like and what it does for the teams there.

From Delayed Reporting to Real-Time Visibility

Timing is everything, especially in hotel operations today. Before using ProfitSword, financial and operational data at Commonwealth Hotels often arrived too late to inform decision-making. Now, everything can be seen in one place quickly and accurately.

“You can see the month turn into what it’s going to be in real-time,” said Debbie Farrell, Vice President of Analysis. “It’s just like balancing a checkbook. You see the money coming in, the days it comes in, and what you can or can’t spend.”

Daily updates to revenue, labor, and forecast data now give on-property managers and above-property executives a full picture of performance while there’s still time to act and pivot if necessary. 

A Smarter Way to Forecast and Adjust

One of the biggest benefits Commonwealth has seen is the ability to maintain margins proactively.

“When your revenue falls short or exceeds expectations, there are immediate decisions you need to make,” Debbie explained. “Can I cut labor? Should I hold off on a purchase? Or is now the time to spend while I have the revenue to support it?”

Instead of waiting until month-end to analyze what happened, hotel teams can now make adjustments daily with real-time expenses informing daily accounting. 

“That late reaction time we used to have—it’s gone,” said Andy Ashmore, Director of Analytics & Business Development. “Now we can see where we’re missing on the top line, compare it to labor, and help support hotels to minimize any loss on the bottom line.”

The Metrics That Matter Most

With so much data flowing through their platform, Commonwealth has become more dialed into the metrics that actually drive performance.

“It all rolls up to cash flow,” Debbie said. “That’s what owners and leaders are watching. Occupancy, ADR, labor—all of those are levers. But cash is the end result.”

ProfitSword doesn’t just consolidate data. It also helps surface trends and comparisons that were not easy to spot before, whether it’s benchmarking properties against the market or identifying labor cost anomalies early.

Enabling a Culture of Accountability

One of the more subtle but powerful outcomes of implementing ProfitSword is the cultural shift it’s enabling across the Commonwealth portfolio.

“This is your scorecard,” Debbie said. “It’s how you know you’re running a successful hotel. What are the owner's expectations? The company's expectations? Are you meeting them? You can’t manage what you can’t see.”

By making performance visible and actionable, Commonwealth is creating a more aligned, performance-driven culture at every level, from line-level managers to the executive team.

Supporting Business Development

Beyond hotel operations, ProfitSword is becoming a sales tool for the company’s development efforts.

“I had one of our team members tell me he loves that we have ProfitSword now. It’s a known name in the industry. Owners and investors see it and know we have real forecasting and reporting capabilities. It builds trust.” - Andy Ashmore

Scalable, Repeatable, Ready for Growth

One of the biggest surprises? How quickly Commonwealth was able to scale the solution—and how easy it now is to bring new hotels onto the platform.

“Now that we’ve built it, we can just keep adding hotels,” said Debbie. “It’s mapped to our reports, the data comes in cleanly and reliably, and the system is ready to grow with us. That’s what I’m most excited about—it’s easy.”

ProfitSword didn’t just meet expectations. It raised the bar. By providing accurate, real-time data, it enables a smarter, more agile way to manage operations and support ownership decisions.

“You see exactly where you are, and where you’re going,” Debbie said.

Coming Up Next:

In Part 3 of our series, we’ll explore how Commonwealth is using ProfitSword and Hotel Effectiveness together, and what’s possible when labor and finance data work together seamlessly.

Want to learn how real-time reporting can work in your hotels? Let’s talk.