How We Vet a Hotel
THE PAREA RESEARCH PROTOCOL
Not a list, a system and the reason each property is on it.
The Parea Confidence System
Most hotels have no celiac reviews, no allergen page, and nothing on the record. There’s nothing to research.
So we ask them directly, and we ask every property the same things.
A property that names its limits has thought about them. The one that claims it can do everything usually hasn’t been asked.
What We Ask
- Do you regularly host guests with celiac disease?
- Walk us through how your kitchen handles a celiac guest.
- Separate space and separate equipment, or shared surfaces?
- Dedicated fryer, or shared oil?
- Dedicated toaster, grill, pots, utensils, boards?
- Where is gluten-free food prepped and stored?
- Who plates it, and how do they know which dish it is?
- Is the whole team trained, or is it one chef who knows?
- Can the chef speak with a guest directly?
- Is any part of the kitchen 100% gluten-free?
- Do you hold a certification? From which body?
- How do you handle breakfast and buffets?
- Every meal, or only with notice?
- A capable chef on every shift, or does it depend who’s working?
Two of those do most of the work.
Who plates it
A dish can be cooked perfectly and lost at the pass.
One chef, or the whole team
A system survives a shift change. A person doesn’t.
Buffet service is not celiac-safe. The answer we want isn’t a better buffet — it’s a plated breakfast.
The Tiers
The tier isn’t a rating. It’s a statement of why a property can be trusted.
Celiac-First
Someone in ownership, the family, or the kitchen has celiac disease. The lived stake is the credential.
Celiac-Safe
Safe by structure, not effort. A 100% gluten-free kitchen, a genuinely separate one, or a national certification confirmed on the issuing body’s own registry. The chef can leave and the kitchen is still safe.
Accommodating — Systematic
A standing system in a shared kitchen: trained team, written protocol. Where most excellent hotels sit.
Accommodating — Tailor-made
One chef cooking to order, with no system behind them. Often very good. Entirely dependent on who’s working.
Celiac-Aware
Willing, and nothing more. The intention is real. The capability isn’t.
Not Recommended
Can’t describe a protocol, treats gluten-free as a preference, or has documented incidents.
Then We Check It
Answers are the start of the file, not the end. Every claim is cross-checked against community reporting. Every certification is confirmed on the issuing body’s own registry.
Where a property’s account and its guests’ accounts diverge, that gap is the finding.
What This Doesn’t Do
It doesn’t eliminate risk. Chefs leave and protocols slip, and from the outside that’s invisible. Every property is re-verified annually.
The tier doesn’t say this hotel is safe. It says what we know, how we know it, and what to confirm on arrival.
Not a list. A system — and the reason each property is on it.