Hotel & Boss advice needed?

[TRish]

How do you get someone like this to let you do their idea? Realistically, you probably don't.

I think you can reduce your stress level by doing both of these things:

First, realize and TRY (I know it's hard, but really try) to accept the fact that the owners' hearts are not in "building" or "growing" this business. Perhaps the hotel was their pride and joy for a good chunk of their lives, but they, and therefore the business, are now in the process of winding down. At the ages of 73 and 75, the majority of people in their generation are retired; many are dead. Basically, the hotel is now their hobby to keep them from getting bored in retirement. They would probably reduce their own stress levels if they would admit this to themselves, but they apparently haven't. That doesn't mean YOU can't admit it to yourself: You are employed to keep an elderly couple's hobby going. Maybe increasing occupancy isn't so very important, when you look on it that way. As long as you keep working in your current position, I believe you should focus on keeping things the way the old folks like them.

The other thing I would suggest is that you look on this as an opportunity to learn how NOT to run a hotel, knowledge which will probably serve you better in your next job than it ever will in this one. Start a notebook, and every time a boneheaded decision by the boss drives you up the wall, instead of getting into an argument, put your energy into writing down what the decision was, why you think it was wrong, and what you would have done instead if it had been up to you.

Let me make a third suggestion, too: Consider whether there is any possibility of your purchasing this hotel from the owners, or eventually going off and starting your own. I know that's not cheap, and it's not easy, but at least think about it. It sounds as if your heart is in the future of this hotel. The owners' hearts are in its past. And realistically, the hotel is probably not going to outlive them, if things continue as they are.