Aonang Princeville Villa Resort & Spa Achieves Accreditation through GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel Program

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand-based Aonang Princeville Villa Resort & Spa has now earned both GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, and Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA). This means the property is the first in the world to achieve GBAC STAR™ / GHA WellHotel® for Medical Travel and Well-being, which ensure hotels comply with cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention standards, as well as customer experience and safety protocols specific to the needs and expectation of medical travel and wellness guests.

"Travelers are increasingly considering the ways in which hotels are keeping guests safe ahead of booking their stays," said Patricia Olinger, executive director, GBAC. "Third-party verification of a property's health and safety protocols gives guests confidence that these businesses are prepared to manage biorisks."

According to the Wellness Tourism Association's 2021 Wellness Travel Consumer Survey, which polled 2,500 consumers from 52 countries and territories, the top offering respondents rated as extremely important was a "certified and safe hotel environment." The GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel® Program aligns GHA's WellHotel® program with GBAC STAR, the cleaning industry's only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation. The virtual accreditation is performance-based and requires documentation for 38 elements, including cleaning and disinfection chemicals; goals, objectives, and targets related to guest satisfaction for medical travel and wellness guests; audits and inspections; and emergency planning and response.

"We have seen travelers' expectations evolve during the pandemic," said Karen Timmons, CEO, GHA. "As we move past the pandemic, there is growing evidence that travelers will increasingly look for validation of safety, cleanliness and guest experience before booking a trip. The GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel Accreditation helps build guest trust in your brand by ensuring hotels comply with recognized industry-wide hotel cleaning and sanitation standards, as well as customer experience and safety protocols specific to the needs and expectations of medical travel and wellness guests. I would like to congratulate Aonang Princeville Villa Resort and Spa on achieving GBAC STAR Facility accreditation and becoming the first hotel in the world to achieve the joint GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel® Accreditation for Medical Travel and Well-being."

Aonang Princeville Villa Resort & Spa is a four-star boutique resort on the beachfront of Aonang, Thailand along the Andaman Sea. The resort provides several wellness activities and services designed to help guests achieve their mental and physical health goals. In addition to wellness, Aonang Princeville Villa focuses on sustainability and attracts environmentally-conscious tourists from around the world to take part in environmental restoration projects.

"Our resort is incredibly proud to offer an environment that helps guests maintain or improve their wellbeing and health," said Khun Kusuma Kinglek, CEO, Aonang Princeville VillaResort & Spa. "Because wellness is at the core of our business, it was only natural for us to pursue and achieve the requirements of the GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel® for Medical Travel and Well-being programs."

Learn more and apply for GBAC STAR Accreditation at gbac.org/star. Apply for joint GBAC STAR/ GHA WellHotel® Accreditation at wellhotel.org. 

Find accredited facilities and those pursuing accreditation via the GBAC STAR Facility Directory at gbac.org/directory.

About GBAC, a Division of ISSA
Composed of international leaders in the field of microbial-pathogenic threat analysis, mitigation, response, and recovery, the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, provides training, guidance, accreditation, certification, crisis management assistance and leadership to government, commercial, and private entities looking to mitigate, quickly address, and/or recover from biological threats and real-time crises. The organization's services include biorisk management program assessment and training, infectious disease and biological material response and remediation, the GBAC STAR™ Facility and Service Accreditation Programs, training and certification of individuals, and consulting for building owners and facility managers. For more information, visit www.gbac.org.

About ISSA
With more than 10,500 members—including distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, wholesalers, building service contractors, in-house service providers, residential cleaners, and associated service members—ISSA is the world's leading trade association for the cleaning industry. The association is committed to changing the way the world views cleaning by providing its members with the business tools they need to promote cleaning as an investment in human health, the environment, and an improved bottom line. Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., USA, the association has regional offices in Milan, Italy; Whitby, Canada; Parramatta, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China. For more information about ISSA, visit www.issa.com or call 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800.

About GHA
Global Healthcare Accreditation® (GHA) is an innovative accreditation body with specialized foci in medical and wellness travel, safety, and well-being. Founded in September of 2016, GHA's initial purpose as an independent accrediting body centered on improving the patient experience for medical travelers and supporting healthcare providers in validating quality, increasing visibility, and implementing a sustainable business model for medical travel. Since then, GHA has developed a variety of programs covering the entire spectrum of the care continuum and offers certification and accreditation for stakeholders in all aspects of health and wellbeing. For more information about GHA, visit www.ghaccreditation.com or contact Bill Cook at [email protected].

SOURCE Global Healthcare Accreditation