MainStay, Port Inn Go Green

The greening of Gulf County continues.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently designated the Port Inn and MainStay Suites "Florida Green Lodges."

The Port St. Joe facilities, owned by David and Trish Warriner, join Indian Pass' Turtle Beach Inn in being recognized by the state for their environmentally friendly practices.

The DEP reports that 65 percent of all Gulf County transient lodging facilities are now green, an impressive statistic for a small county.

The Port Inn and MainStay Suites earned DEP's One Palm certification by demonstrating water conservation, energy efficiency, waste reduction and clean air practices.

Turtle Beach Inn's Stephanie Petrie mentored Port Inn manager Kaycee Krum and MainStay Suites manager Dave Ashbrook through the lengthy process, which began in February.

By mentoring other lodging facilities, Petrie will help Turtle Beach Inn earn its Three Palm certification.

The Inn earned its Second Palm this year by improving upon its environmental efforts from the previous year.

In making their facilities green, Krum and Ashbrook got a few lucky breaks.

Both the Port Inn and MainStay already had low flow shower heads and faucets, and MainStay has been using compact fluorescent lights since opening its doors.

The Port Inn switched 90 percent of its lights to compact fluorescents (identified by their spiral shape).

To purify the air, Krum and Ashbrook replaced existing air filters with those having a Minimum Efficiency Rating Value (MERV) of 8 or higher.

Two eco-friendly "green" cleaners, manufactured by Ecolab, replaced existing chemical cleaners.

Waste reduction proved one of the managers' trickier challenges.

Because the county lacks a recycling program, Krum and Ashbrook transport aluminum cans to Franklin County and Mexico Beach for recycling.

The Port Inn and MainStay also reuse previously discarded items like paper and stained washcloths and donate others, like old linens and newspapers, to the Humane Society. 

In earning the One Palm certification, Krum and Ashbrook were also tasked with communicating the new policies to their staff and customers.

Binders detailing the facilities' green practices were placed in all guest rooms and staff members began turning off lights in vacant rooms and eliminating waste.

"Consciously, you have to think about it everyday. You have to think green," said Ashbrook, who has even begun recycling cans at home.

DEP officials completed a final inspection of the facilities on Dec. 9, and awarded both sites certificates and One Palm flags.

"We both got our Palm within 30 minutes of each other," said Ashbrook, noting for the record, "I got mine first."

Ashbrook and Krum have already begun thinking about earning their Second Palm, possibly by converting the facilities' hot water heaters to solar.

Mentoring other area lodging facilities is also on the list.

The owners of Port St. Joe's Tiki Palm and 10th Street bed and breakfasts have expressed an interest in pursuing the Green Lodge certification.

With the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on its way to becoming a Green Lodge, Ashbrook predicts a domino effect.

"There's the possibility of us having six in Gulf County. We could possibly get that done by next year."

Despite the hard work involved in obtaining the certification, Krum and Ashbrook encouraged other lodging facilities to become Green Lodges.

"Where we live is so beautiful. Not to take care of it and keep it pristine is insane," said Krum.

And where there's pristine property, there are tourists looking for a place to spend the night.

"Ecotourism is growing every day. People are traveling to destinations that are green," said Ashbrook.

"Now we can promote we have a green county."