Website Content Strategy for Hotels to Prepare for Corona Rebound

Nichole Thiel has worked in a wide range of positions in the corporate retail, sales, and education fields. Searching for new opportunities, Nichole Thiel has refocused her career into the hospitality industry with an emphasis on strategic planning and leadership.

The hospitality industry has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the downturn won’t last forever. It’s important for hotels to prepare for the eventual rebound of travel activity. One of the areas that hotels should prioritize is updating their website content.

A hotel’s website is the primary source of information for many people about a company, so it should be updated often about any changes in reservations, working hours, or cancellation policies.

The website should reassure guests and underscore all the safety precautions that the hotel is taking to support their safety. Also, the website should highlight special offers that are tailored to meet demand right now, and promote future offers to anticipate the inevitable rise in demand. And website content personalization can be used whenever possible to cater to international customers. There’s a good chance that international travel will significantly increase when restrictions and attitudes about air travel change.

Best Western Initiates Cleaning Program in Response to COVID-19

A member of Alpha Chi Omega, Nichole Thiel is a former career and technical education teacher at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Nichole Thiel has experience scheduling and managing educational programs and currently works in the hospitality industry.

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is launching its We Care Clean Program (a substantial modification of its former I Care Clean Program). The new We Care Clean Program consists of enhanced cleaning protocols and increased breakfast standards. The program addresses operations in all departments, including food and beverage service, front desk services, and housekeeping as well as public amenities cleaning (swimming pools, fitness centers, and meeting rooms), and hotel employee and staff safety.

Irrelevant items, such as bed scarves, paper notepads, pens, and decorative pillows will be removed from guestrooms. During multi-night stays, full cleaning room services will not be performed unless specifically requested by guests. After check-out, each room will receive a thorough sanitation and cleaning. This includes disinfection of door handles, faucets, light switches, clocks, thermostats, and hangers with chemicals aimed at destroying the new coronavirus.

Distinguished Young Women – Generations of Opening New Opportunities

Illustration of education concept

Nichole Thiel has built up a range of project management and strategic planning skills throughout her career. One early experience that changed her life in this respect was her participation in the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, then called Junior Miss. Nichole Thiel benefited from this scholarship and leadership development series when she was in high school and recently gave back by serving as a judge in the mock interview portion of a local competition.

DYW hosts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, offering more than $1 billion in scholarships annually. Entry is free for high school juniors and seniors. As part of the competition, DYW evaluates participants largely on their success in the interview portion and in their academic accomplishment, with each of these categories weighted at 25 percent of the overall evaluation. Performance in the talent portion counts for 20 percent of the total, and self-expression and physical fitness at 15 percent each. Every winner at the state level goes on to a nationwide finals event, held in Mobile, Alabama.

DYW participants also receive extensive support through a Life Skills program that consists of workshops designed to refine skills in self-confidence, presentation, and public speaking.

Since the program’s beginning in 1958, DYW national winners have gone on to study at Harvard, Columbia, and other major universities, and to pursue a wide range of careers in fields that include economics, medicine, communications, and theater.

Textile Archeologists Study Fabrics to Learn About History

While working as a high school career and technical education teacher, Nichole Thiel received a Fulbright Hays Scholarship. Under this program, Nichole Thiel traveled to India with several of her colleagues to understand the country’s culture, traditions, and history through its fabrics.

As the importance of textiles as a marker of civilizations becomes more recognized, more archaeologists are studying the uses and manufacturing processes of ancient fabrics. Textile archeologists attempt to recreate the conditions that ancient fabrics, usually found on excavation sites or graves, were first spun. Existing knowledge of the types of industries that once occurred in an area provides a starting point for theorizing the type of textiles that originated from that location.

For example, cities on extensive trade routes most likely made in-demand industrial-strength cloths for sailors and long-distance travelers. Likewise, textile archeologists examine the remnants of weaving tools to estimate the thickness of the threads used by fabric makers. This information can also give insight into the types of textiles and cloths produced in the area.

Requirements for Adopting Rescued Pets

Idaho resident Nichole Thiel worked as a caregiver before working with the US postal office. Outside of her professional responsibilities, Nichole Thiel cares for animals and supports pet rescue.

The mission of pet rescue organizations is to protect, nurture, find caring homes for animals that have suffered abuse. However, many who seek to adopt pets are finding that the adoption application requirements are difficult to scale.

Most pet rescue operations require prospective dog owners to fill out an application, sometimes seven to eight pages long. The applications ask a range of questions related to the condition of the home to the time the owner can devote to caring for the pet. Unfortunately, not all applications get approved.

The reasons for denying applications run the gamut, but the following are the most common. Time is a big factor with many animal rescue operations preferring applicants who are either stay-at-home workers or spend more time at home than work. Other disqualifiers may also include the lack of backyard space among homeowners. Finally, the house might not meet safety standards, i.e. homes with pools and no safety protections.

However, those who have been rejected have other options. Prospective pet owners should consider looking at shelters whose applications are conversation-based. Conversation-based applications tend to be a bit forgiving because the interviewer gets the whole picture, not just the black and white of what is reported on the application.

USPS Offers New Priority Mail and Priority Express Stamp Designs

After more than a decade as a secondary school administrator and leadership trainer, Nichole Thiel took a brief hiatus to care for her ailing mother. In 2019, Nichole Thiel returned to the workforce as a federal employee with the United States Postal Service.

The USPS raises all its operating costs from postage and specialty stamp sales. Recently, the USPS announced the release of a new line of priority mail postage featuring two natural landmarks.

Available in January 2020, the priority mail express stamp will celebrate the Grand Island Ice Cave of Lake Superior. During the winter, snow runoff develops into beautiful ice formations at the mouth of the Grand Cave. When the lake is frozen over, visitors can reach the spectacular display by snowmobile.

The 2020 Priority Mail stamps will showcase a portion of the Rio Grande flowing through Big Bend National Park in Texas. Both stamps feature the work of Chicago-based illustrator Dan Cosgrove. While there will be no official first day of issue ceremony, the USPS will release information regarding the purchase of first-day postmarks on its website and upcoming newsletter.

Tips for Growing Peonies

A graduate of the Idaho Leadership Institute, former career/technical education teacher Nichole Thiel spent several years as a caregiver before she pivoted to a position as a federal employee. In her personal life, Nichole Thiel enjoys gardening and cultivating peonies.

Peonies are known for their full blooms and fragrance. Most peonies reach their peak bloom by midsummer. However, late-season varieties thrive in areas with cooler fall temperatures and continue to provide lovely blooms a few weeks after peak season.

While peony plants produce short-lived flowers, there are ways to encourage longer and faster-blooming periods. First, gardeners should plant a mix of early, midseason, and late-season peony varieties.

To encourage buds, gardeners should clip off some of the leaves and stems just before cold weather sets in. Since peonies require nutritious soil to produce blooms, gardeners should add fertilizer or compost to the plant’s base. In warmer climates, peonies should be planted in areas that offer shade from the harsh afternoon sun.