othing good happens after midnight, as the saying goes. But self-storage access may be an exception. While most storage operators with gated facilities offer limited access hours, many companies allow their customers to come and go around the clock. Offering 24-hour access can attract customers with non-traditional schedules, boosting revenue and making a facility more competitive, but operators should think carefully about whether it’s worth the potential headaches.

Melissa Huff, COO and co-owner of consulting firm Lighthouse Storage Solutions, cautions that 24-hour access isn’t always a good idea due to the risk of theft, loitering, and habitation at night. However, if local competitors are offering anytime access, operators should think about following suit, provided they can do so in a secure manner.

“There are perfectly valid reasons for needing extended hours of access,” Huff says. “See if you have the technology and security available to offer it to certain tenants as needed, and that usually should come with some kind of price tag.”

The average customer doesn’t need to visit their storage unit at 3 a.m., but some customers have legitimate access requirements that differ from those of the general population. Common examples include renters with unusual schedules, such as nurses and first responders who work night shifts. Another key category are business storage customers that might need flexible access to their products or equipment, such as contractors, lawn care and snow removal companies, event rental companies, and even DJs that get off work after 10 p.m.

“We see Amazon and Etsy operators that have individual stores online that are occasionally coming in early to manage their inventory and take things out,” says Neil Kadakia, managing principal of Greens Global, whose storage arm Greens Storage operates five facilities in California.

Operators that offer unlimited access typically charge a small fee in the range of $5 to $15 per month, which generates additional recurring revenue while also limiting the number of people that will be on the property after hours. Many companies prefer not to advertise the option publicly and offer it only upon request.

The market for always-accessible storage is deep enough that some major operators, such as Extra Space Storage and Public Storage, advertise that they provide 24-hour access at certain locations. Other brands offer the option more selectively. NSA Storage notes on its website that “in some instances, 24-hour access can be granted for business use, but it is at the discretion of the property manager to maintain a level of security for all tenants.” StorageMart’s website advises interested customers to contact the facility manager.

Extra Space Storage, the largest self-storage operator in the U.S. with over 4,000 stores, offers “some sort of 24-hour access” at over 3,000 properties, according to McKall Morris, the REIT’s director of corporate communications. “We always try to innovate to offer services our customers are looking for, and 24-hour access properties is one example of how we do that. We evaluate properties before having them become 24-hour access locations,” she says. “There are things like municipality restrictions that impact when a property can be open, so that’s one factor that can limit if a property can be open 24 hours. Generally, a property that would be a great 24-hour access facility has high-security systems, is very well lit, and is in a great neighborhood that has demand for the product.”

Maintaining a safe and secure environment for tenants and their stored goods is the biggest challenge with round-the-clock access. Facilities are more vulnerable to illegal activity such as theft and unauthorized occupancy in the middle of the night when staff and other tenants aren’t around. Strong security protocols, including high-resolution surveillance cameras, state-of-the-art access controls and background checks on customers requesting 24-hour access, can go a long way towards mitigating mischief.

Even if an operator can afford enhanced security measures, the lowest-risk approach is to limit a facility’s access hours. Break-ins can still happen at night, but closing down the property after 10 or 11 p.m. makes it a harder target for wrongdoers, including sophisticated criminals that might want to case the facility during off hours.

“The middle of the night is prime time for theft,” says Jason Koonin, CEO of Bluebird Self Storage in Canada and Sunbird Storage in the United States. “Since we removed 24-hour access several years ago, we’ve seen dramatically fewer thefts.”

Another concern is homeless individuals coming and going at all hours of the night or sleeping at the site and leaving early in the morning.

“I would say there are relatively few legitimate needs to be in there in the middle of the night,” Koonin adds.

Kadakia says that Greens Storage offers 24-hour access as an option, but only after verifying that a customer, typically a business, has a legitimate reason for needing it, and after conducting a full criminal background check on each employee that will receive an access code. In principle, that could mean checking up on multiple employees, but businesses rarely need more than one or two access codes per property.

Huff suggests that operators view 24-hour access as a privilege that’s offered on a case-by-case basis and can easily be revoked. “If it is discovered that you’re staying on site longer than you need to, or you’re abusing it in some way, you lose that access just as quickly as it’s granted,” she says.

Storage companies that offer 24-hour access generally have staff on site during normal operating hours and then use a call center for extended hours, creating a window of opportunity for criminals to avoid detection more easily. Good lighting and security cameras are a partial solution, but in most cases nobody is watching the footage in real time.

Eric Blum, president of self-storage consulting company BMSGRP, notes that some operators have started to offer real-time monitoring via a centralized hub. “That seems to be picking up steam in our industry, which I 100 percent recommend for anyone that’s going to do after-hours access,” he says. “Typically, nobody’s looking at those cameras until somebody says something happened and the manager goes back and looks.”

Greens Storage maintains hundreds of cameras at each property, as well as a license plate reader for cars coming in and going out. “We kind of go a little bit over the top on security, but I think our customers really like it,” Kadakia says.

Proper lighting is a key enabler for secure and convenient overnight access, with many operators preferring motion-activated or phased lighting. Kadakia says that Greens Storage’s properties are fully illuminated between dusk and around 10:00 p.m., after which roughly half the lights turn off, leaving only pole lighting. This cutback is designed to save energy but still provides enough illumination for security cameras to see everything.

Cameras at the properties record continuously. “I don’t agree with a motion-activated camera,” says Kadakia. “I think that’s silly, and that is not commercial grade at all. We’re talking about the cost of a few hard drives and proper wiring.”

All footage is stored to local devices via a network video recorder (NVR) system, Kadakia adds, but the company also has a centralized camera management platform that allows staff to access footage from different locations through the corporate office and via connected phones and tablets. Keeping the footage centralized offers redundancy in the event that a local NVR is disconnected or stolen.

Security measures offered by Extra Space Storage include individually alarmed storage units and security access to the customer’s floor only at some facilities, according to the company’s website. “We have a range of security products to match the store and the store’s specific needs,” says McKall. “But no matter the property and the hours, having a well-lit property is key.”

While robust security protocols can cut down on the incidence of crime, the added risks of allowing people onto a property 24/7 can outweigh the business benefits. The decision largely comes down to the safety of the neighborhood and the degree of customer demand.

“If you’re having break-ins through the night, then you just don’t want to have any kind of 24/7 access,” says Huff.