guest service agent

housekeeper

server

cook

night auditor

Commonwealth Hotels

I was employed by a company that sold my location, and a sister property to Commonwealth. First off, every manager we had was gone within a week. They were all replaced by the "task force" team. While most members of this team seemed as though they were effective at their normal roles, none of them seemed very invested in our locations. 
Shortly after Commonwealth took over, our rooms started being sold for a fraction of the price they usually go for. Often times I would see rates comparable to the low end hotels in the area. I understand adjusting prices to attract more business, however, there has been no change in the volume of guests as we sold out much of the time before CW graced us with their presence. 
"A head in every bed" is a saying they use. It is an incentive for the front desk to encourage perfect sell nights. Any sold out night with zero no shows or walks meant everyone working the front desk that day gets a bonus of the ADR split amongst them. Well.. that was the plan anyway. I have yet to see any such bonus paid out.
We are now 2 months in with CW. Before they took over they posted positions available for GM of both properties, as well as a few other positions since then. They haven't filled any. Most of the task force has gone back to their normal properties, leaving 1 Front Office Manager as the acting GM over both properties, which is clearly too much responsibility for him. We were told that they planned on looking within the current employees to fill these positions before looking elsewhere. Yet, no current employees that have applied have been contacted regarding the open positions. 
I have never seen my property run so poorly before. There is virtually no management, no communication, no accountability, and no end in sight for the chaos that CW has brought. It's like a slap in the face to see what we have worked so hard to accomplish disappear under the "leadership" we have now.
Maybe it will get better, but the task force model of aquiring new properties is deeply flawed.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing. They offer no real training or support for management roles. Concerns and complaints go unaddressed. Ideas to better the environment are ignored or someone else takes credit for your ideas. Raises are promised but never given. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They offer absolutely no guidance or support. If you aren’t sure how to do something and ask for assistance you are met with silence or “we don’t have time to train you, you have to figure it out on your own” and then get reprimanded when it’s not done when they want or not done correctly. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Stressful, full of drama, backstabbing, manipulative, liars, they like to tear you down mentally, emotionally, and physically. You get nothing for your hard work and dedication to the company. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I spent a lot of time crying in the bathroom because I was never properly trained for my position and had absolutely no support or guidance from anyone.

I have been with Commonwealth Hotels for 20+ years. I started as an hourly associate and worked my way up. Commonwealth provides an environment of Open Communication through their Open Door Policy. Our culture is one that is unmatched in the industry. We offer great benefits at a low cost to the associate. We provide an opportunity for associates to develop and grow within our organization through our internal portal Commonwealth University, where in the first year we saw half of the graduates become GM's, FOM's, Supervisors and Task Force Members. We take great pride in our associates, hotels and owners. I know that not everyday is a perfect day, but I also know that we have pride in our company and our positions and it shows each and everyday through our Associate of the Month/Quarter program and Associate of the Year Program. Most of all it is the pride that our associates have when they take care of our guest. I know everyone is not going to like Commonwealth, but after 20+ years I think it is the best company I have ever worked for.

I was hired on to be a guest services agent, with the expectations of moving up within the company in 18 months.  After 6 months, and no job promotions or lateral moves in the company, I left.  I accepted a higher position at another company, without benefits, and no appreciation of my job.  It was a horrible decision.  I almost would go back and take the pay cut, to go back and be appreciated more and have benefits.  
Typical day at work, is serving others constantly.  Answering phones, speaking with guests, I learned a higher standard of corporate work.  My co-workers weren't the best, due to the fact that their standards weren't as high as mine, but the hardest part of the job was having knowledge and capability to be a manager(of any sort), and feeling like no one appreciated those skills, and taking note of that. 
The most enjoyable part of the job were the people working in the other departments, who were not my direct co-workers, who were full of life, personality, and we all got along very well-professionally, and personally.

I would not recommend seeking employment with this hotel management company or the property in Portland Maine. 
It is not meant for those who are seeking a professional work environment and focused on their economic and careers growth. 

It would be disrespectful to list every issue this hotel has without allowing them the chance to answer with their corporate approved answers. The issues you can imagine of a mismanaged hotel are just the tip of the iceberg in relation to the errors that plague the Hyatt Place. I would strongly advise seeking employment elsewhere if you're focused on providing the positive aspects of the tourism industry. This place, and in reflection Commonwealth, will in no way be a beneficial endeavour for anyone serious about their careers.

I have been working here since before the doors were opened to the public for the very first time and the people I started with became my second family over the first 2 years. But as more people left, things changed. But my position and job remained the same regardless and I appreciated that. However, the last day I worked was 3/20/2020 due to COVID-19. They were keeping us updated weekly on what’s going on and such. But I haven’t heard a word since June. I can’t lie, I’m pretty mad about it because I later found out that they selected a handful of people to continue working during the pandemic and none but maybe 2 that I know of, were those of us who have been there since literally day one. So that itself is definitely something I had hoped they did differently, but overall, depending on how committed to your job you are, this is a fairly nice place to work, when we’re NOT in the middle of a pandemic. Best wishes to all!

The pay is okay, 15$ per hour. The job itself is fine too, typical housekeeping job. My issue was with management. How are we expected to clean 8-13 rooms, but there isn't enough clean linen for even half of those rooms? Then they expect you to stay way after your shift is done to finish. Ironically, on multiple occasions when there weren't enough rooms, our shifts were canceled. On 2 occasions, they didn't even bother to text us before we came in. Complete disrespect, many of us had no car.

To top it all off, it was 4 of us hired at the same time. No exaggeration, I was the only one that made it a month. The rest left or where fired. I was also eventually fired for pointing out the various mismanagement issues that made it impossible to work properly. Their oldest housekeeper had only been there for, wait for it... 3 months. If that's not a red flag, I don't know what is.

I work with a great group of managers who are always willing to help even when it's not their department.  Every manager is willing to roll up their sleeves and help in operations if/when needed.   The biggest challenge "post pandemic" is hiring and keeping hourly employees.  This leaves the management having to help with operations on a regular basis.  This has gotten better recently with our new GM and executive housekeeper.  I typically work a normal 40 hour week which is amazing for this industry.
The advice I would have for Commonwealth is to come up with a plan for employee retention for the hourly associates.
The benefit package is one of the best I've ever had.  Medical, Dental, Vision and Short Term Disability are all very affordable and great coverage.  401K match is almost unheard of in the industry, but we have it.
Overall it's a great place to work.

Management at the specific Commonwealth Hotels that I work at are all great, from the front end manager to the executive housekeeper all the way to our GM. The team we have going right now meshes together pretty well for the most part, we may have little disagreements every now and again, but they've always been easy fixes so far. Time goes by pretty quickly because you stay busy from the moment you walk in in the morning right up until you leave and this is the first job I've ever had that I actually don't dread having to get up in the morning to go to. 

Our company culture can be described as a "Do Whatever It Takes" attitude evident in our hard-working, service-oriented, and passionate team. Commonwealth provides associates the opportunity to grow in their position and with new and innovative information needed to succeed. In addition, Commonwealth recognizes the importance of being able to give associates (and families) quality benefits & perks and delivers.

A typical day for HR? Productive. We transform challenges into opportunities for growth. Helping people is our passion. Luckily, I have been fortunate to have amazing mentors and have worked with the BEST-of-the-BEST throughout my career at Commonwealth Hotels.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Guest service agent 46 salaries reported	$18.21 per hour
Housekeeper 4 salaries reported	$14.56 per hour
Server 5 salaries reported	$15.26 per hour
Cook 13 salaries reported	$20.58 per hour
Night auditor 15 salaries reported	$18.05 per hour

Working at Commonwealth Hotels: Company Overview and Reviews

Commonwealth Hotels

Commonwealth Hotels Ratings

Popular jobs at Commonwealth Hotels

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected