Case Study

Why Daily Frustrations and Gaps in Former Accounting Solutions Drove Southwest Hospitality to Adopt Inn-Flow

Cynthia Ferguson

Inn-Flow · דֵצֶמבֶּר 03, 2025

Departing from the household name in hotel accounting is a hard choice, but it's one that can have a tremendous payoff. Daily frustrations and gaps in their former solution's software capabilities drove one hotel management company to switch to Inn-Flow.

Why it matters: Southwest takes an extremely personalize approach to hotel management, but their accounting software was impeding their work and making it difficult to manage additional properties. Even while being hotel-specific, their platform was a barrier to efficiency and the source of daily accounting pains.

"The other software was frustrating us to the point where we just didn't want to do the things we needed to do. For example, it was tedious to set up a new general ledger account, and then have to program your reports to include it. The reports wouldn't automatically flow through, and that alone was frustrating."

Top 3 Core Objectives: Patel's approach to implementing a new system was slow and strategic. When Southwest acquired a new property, they used that opportunity to test the waters with Inn-Flow and get a sense of the platform. Then it was quickly adopted into the rest of their portfolio because of 3 distinct advantages: Inn-Flow is Better, Faster and Cost-Effective.

Simplify and Streamline: Users benefit from unlimited document storage, simple journal entry corrections, easy-build budgets, customizable COA's, report automation that is compliant with the USALI 11th edition and more.
Speed Up Core Workflows: After the switch, they noticed how quickly they could complete their accounting duties. Every single day, Patel saves 30 minutes, his Controller saves 1 hour and his Senior Accountant saves 1 hour.
Cost Reduction: Patel was paying approximately $350 per month per hotel before. Plus, they charged extra fees for PMS integrations, additional users, and training. Inn-Flow's fees are lower and all-inclusive.

"We saved a hundred dollars a month per hotel immediately. That's $1,200 per hotel each year. And we're not even talking about the extra fees we would pay."

Ajit Patel3

CFO

👍 CFO Ajit Patel3 said that Inn-Flow is a lot more cost effective.:

"We saved a hundred dollars a month per hotel immediately. That's $1,200 per hotel each year. And we're not even talking about the extra fees we would pay."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Ajit Patel3 evaluated Inn-Flow's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that Inn-Flow was the best fit solution:

CFO Ajit Patel3 said, about their decision: "The ease of use in Inn-Flow compared to other software is a thousand times better for me. We can do things so much faster, and our Controller is super happy because we can correct miscodings on the spot when we review our monthly transactions."

📈 The results: Patel has one piece of advice for anyone who is looking at switching their software. "Don't hesitate, just do it. Switch as soon as you can, and you will be happy."

The weeklong rapid training from their previous software hadn't been effective, but Inn-Flow's implementation process teaches bits and pieces over time.
They had access to a team of hotel experts who supported them throughout their entire move and continue to provide ongoing support.
Southwest's journey with Inn-Flow helped them remove their barriers to productivity and also see a significant ROI.