or more than 43 years, Messenger magazine has been the leading authority in the self-storage industry, providing the most comprehensive data, analysis, and expert insights in its monthly issues. Over the years we have had numerous requests for archived articles from our issue library. Finally! The archived editions are here!

We are proud to announce that MSM has unlocked our vault of archives! We now offer more than 43 years’ worth of self-storage articles for FREE! By visiting our website at www.modernstoragemedia.com, readers now have access to more than 40,000 pages of storage-specific content reaching all the way back to 1979. Searchable by keyword, you will find all our past content, which can be downloaded as high-resolution PDF files.

You asked! We listened! Now it’s time to enjoy a walk down memory lane to find the information you need! For more details about how you can browse our archives, see here.

o you have a Negative Nancy or Toxic Tim whom you’re keeping longer than you should? Would you let them go if you weren’t so short staffed? One Negative Nancy or Toxic Tim infiltrates the whole company and it spreads throughout, affecting everyone.

Think of it like this: You attend a meeting that Negative Nancy was in. When you leave, you approach Positive Polly and share with her, “It’s so frustrating dealing with Negative Nancy. Why is she still here? All we do is constantly listen to her babble about her unhappiness.”

Before you know it, you become a Negative Nancy, and Positive Polly sees the impact the original Negative Nancy has made on you and the team. It only takes one person thinking negatively to bring the whole environment, culture, and team down. In order to help you, Positive Polly shares the following:

You have 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80 percent of them are negative. These come in the form of doubt, worry, and stress and are linked to poor attitudes, declining engagement, and poor performance.

Most people think they are positive and optimistic, yet negativity shows and they don’t recognize it. In fact, 95 percent of your thoughts are repetitive. So, all of the negative thoughts keep getting repeated, impacting how you show up, speak out, lead, and live.

Your thoughts are the fundamental foundation of everything you do and everything you don’t do, yet oftentimes you don’t think about them. When was the last time you thought about what you thought about?

If you’re like most people, you think the same way you’ve always thought, resulting in the same behaviors, actions, and results. If you want to change relationships, communication, interactions, your confidence, you must first change how you think. Once you change that, then everything else will change as well.

Here is a five-step process to help you change your thoughts to invoke different actions, behaviors, and results and develop a positive work environment.

The more you work through this process, the more positive thoughts you have. You’ll soon recognize negative thoughts in others and can help them master their own mindset. You’ll become the Positive Polly and help develop a positive work environment that no one wants to leave.

ar too often, there is a lot of hope in operating self-storage sites. Hoping that the lease-up will go well. Hoping that the rates will be strong; and of course, hoping that you have the right team in place. You can get mad, anxious, or even pray through this process, but simply hoping for good won’t take you far.

After running and operating storage sites for over a decade, I’ve learned that operations require more planning and adaptation than most people realize. The best thought-out plan will change. The people or staff can change, and even market conditions will change. The real separator is your resourcefulness to adapt to these changes.

The advantage we have as small operators is the ability to focus on the things we can change or adjust, but we can also act quickly. Unlike giant organizations, our companies and teams are like a sports car weaving through the mountains rather than a tractor-trailer at a steady and certain pace. So, your resourcefulness as an owner, operator, or even a manager can be the most significant difference in the success of your operations.

As Jeff Bezos from Amazon has famously said, “Be stubborn about the vision but flexible about the details.”

This principle should be the cornerstone of our strategy, guiding us to embrace change with confidence and agility.

As a multi-site operator, it’s essential to manage the big picture and assess the whole portfolio first and then each individual site as it substantially impacts the collective group. If a basketball team is the collection of the players, then our sites are the collection of our portfolio. However, unlike a basketball team with some players on the bench and on some on the court, all our players are active all the time, and their contributions can either pull us up or down.

There are many ways to look at this, but like your GPA in school, adding As to your scores will most definitely make an impact. So, once you’ve zoomed out to see the big picture, it’s time to zoom back in on each and every store. To do this, we’ll start with the past of the PPF (past, present, future) method.

Today, my view is vastly different. The past is an incredible teacher, and learning from it can protect and propel you into a better future. So, when it comes to evaluating storage sites, I start here.

To do this, I take the time to really study the site. How have things been going? What has happened with the key stats of the site over the last few months or even years? How has the management team performed? Have we hit any goals, or were they even set in the past?

Understanding the past is the first step and will set you up for the next step: the present.

To learn from the present, ask questions like: How is the site doing today? What is working well? What needs to be fixed? Are there areas of concern or goals that need to be established?

Critical questions like these help determine your site’s current state and prepare you for what’s to come. This also is the opportune time to create goals, add structure, and redefine your current strategies.

Evaluating the current situation is critical and worth the investment, so don’t dismiss the value of help.

Whether you bring in an experienced consultant or even simply friends and family to check out your sites, it’s ideal to bring fresh eyes to your business. Let others experience your site, and ask them to share the good, the bad, and even the ugly. Embrace the feedback, and don’t feel it as criticism but as an opportunity to improve.

From here, it’s time to accept where you are, understand your new goals, and plan for what’s ahead: the future.

In self-storage operations, I’ve determined that the only way to look at the future of our storage sites is with optimism. Some won’t agree, but the mission of bringing a positive and engaging strategy to your operations will take you extremely far.

The truth is, there is always something to improve, and you must find it. If you don’t, keep looking, hold your head up, and keep going until you see the opportunities. Progress is greater than perfection; even small steps can build momentum to improve your success.

To ensure you’re not just dreaming about a brighter future but actively moving towards it, set tangible, measurable goals and follow a roadmap into the future. Whether boosting occupancy rates or improving customer satisfaction scores, having real targets provides direction and motivation for the team. Without these, you’ll be left to the rhythms of life and back to just hoping for good.

For each of the above, follow the pattern of the PPF method and ask key questions.

Sales

• Past: How have sales trends evolved in the past? What strategies yielded the best results?
• Present: What is the current performance like? Are we meeting our targets? Are they set?
• Future: What new sales strategies or opportunities can we explore? How can we innovate our sales approach to stay ahead?

Marketing

• Past: Which marketing campaigns were most effective? What can we learn from the feedback?
• Present: How are our current marketing efforts performing? Are we engaging our target audience effectively?
• Future: What emerging marketing trends should we adopt? How can we better align our marketing with customer needs?

Team

• Past: What strengths and weaknesses have we identified in our team dynamics?
• Present: How is the team performing? Are there any immediate areas for improvement or training needs?
• Future: How can we foster a culture of continuous improvement and professional development?

Quality Assurance

• Past: What have been our significant quality challenges, and how have we addressed them?
• Present: What is the current state of our quality assurance practices? Are we on a routine?
• Future: How can we raise the bar for quality and customer satisfaction? What would excellence look like?

Customer Service

• Past: What feedback have customers provided about their service experience?
• Present: How are we currently measuring up to customer expectations? Does our customer base think highly of us?
• Future: What innovative customer service strategies can we implement to enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction? What does winning in customer service look like?

In weaving these considerations throughout our operations, the PPF method becomes a strategy and a mindset guiding us toward excellence in a simple and accessible format.

Ultimately, hope is not a winning strategy. The diligent application of the PPF method will lead you to operational excellence and success. By learning from yesterday, taking action today, and planning for tomorrow, we will empower ourselves to achieve our goals and fulfill our vision for the future.

elf-storage rental agreements, as written, are month-to-month leases, subject to renewal. But built into these short-term occupancy agreements is the contractual right of the owner or landlord to increase the rental rate by giving the customer or occupant advance notice of the change. Pursuant to that change notice, the occupant is given the right to vacate prior to the effective date of the new rental rate, thereby avoiding the rental rate increase. If the occupant elects to stay on the premises, they consent to accepting the published higher rate. At least until the next rate increase comes down the pike.

This risk of rate increases is highlighted by the “CHANGES” clause of a month-to-month rental agreement which contains a clear notice to the occupant that their rental rate is subject to change after thirty (30) days’ notice. Remember again, these leases are month to month, not just for the benefit of the owner, but primarily for the occupant, who may consider their storage needs as only short term. A year-long lease, albeit one that would secure their rate for a longer period, limits a user’s flexibility to vacate when their short-term storage use is no longer needed. But that month-to-month flexibility creates a business opportunity for self-storage owners. Oftentimes, occupants end up needing their storage units for longer than they anticipated, which, by agreement, allows the owner to change the rental rates. Occupants who accept the advantages of a short-term occupancy subject themselves to the risk of periodic rate increases.

A typical “Changes” provision reads as follows:

CHANGES: All items of this Agreement, including but without limitation, the monthly rental rate, conditions of occupancy and other fees and charges, are subject to change at the option of the Operator upon thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to the Occupant. If so changed the Occupant may terminate this Agreement on the effective date of such change by giving the Operator ten (10) days’ prior written notice of termination after receiving notice of the change. If the Occupant does not give such notice of termination, the change shall become effective on the date stated in the Operator’s notice and shall thereafter apply to the occupancy hereunder, whether or not Occupant has agreed to the change in writing.

These rent adjustments are more likely to occur when an occupant initially leases their storage unit subject to a discounted rate, or under a “concession” agreement, where the owner accepts a move-in at a discounted rate for a finite time, after which the rental rate will revert to the standard “street rate” for the rental unit.

If facilities are offering discounted or concession deals to increase rentals, it is important that the prospective customer be provided with the clear terms for that deal, most notably the time period when the discount ends and the revised rental rate begins, as well as the fact that the revised rental rate itself is subject to change over time. In the case of short-term rentals, a customer must be prepared to accept that, in exchange for the ability to terminate and vacate whenever they want, should they choose to stay on the premises, they must pay the rate as offered by the owner.

All this talk of increasing rental rates and fluctuating prices has legislatures around the country considering the possible need for rent control in self-storage. Proposed legislation in Texas and New York all failed to move forward, likely due to the reality that self-storage pricing is simply a matter of choice and contract. Every prospective and current tenant is free to leave if they don’t like the price of their rental unit. The market dictates the price. It’s as simple as that. If the tenant chooses to stay and use the premises, they are obligated to pay the rent that is being charged. Self-storage is not a necessity. It is a discretionary purchase. Storing personal property in a rented space is a voluntary decision by a customer. Again, if they don’t like the price offered by their landlord, they can vacate and move to another location.

While there is certainly no illegality in offering discounted rates to incentivize customers to rent, these concession agreements, often phrased as “dollar move-in” specials, are often fraught with complications for businesses that do not clearly communicate the terms and conditions of these deals to their customers. The general recommendation is that a customer sign a rent discount addendum with explicit terms and conditions concerning the discounted prices and their eventual change. This type of transparency is an effective solution to resolve all the angst and noise about rent concessions and resulting rent adjustments.

ike it or not, when it comes to marketing, you are always competing with someone for your target market’s business. You may be blessed to have little or no direct competition, but what else are you competing against? Alternatively, you may be in a highly competitive area with your main competitor right across the street. At any rate, you still need to stand out above the crowd. There are various ways to do that in today’s digital marketing age, so I’ll highlight some examples of clients of mine with low, medium, and high competition.

If your website has been up for a while, where do you come up when someone searches for your main keywords or phrases? Your goal is to improve that position by bumping your competition down and putting yourself above them in the search results. Keep in mind that Google brings up the freshest, most relevant, and most useful content that matches the searcher’s query. If your website is brand new, you have some work to do.

First, I’ll tell you about one of my clients who opened the very first Rage Room in Tempe (and the whole state of Arizona). Being the original, he had no competition. He enjoyed being on the first page of Google search for “rage room Phoenix” and “anger room Tempe,” among other phrases. Even if the searcher didn’t know the name of the company, he was found by searching for what it is. That’s one of the first things to remember when it comes to search engine optimization: What is your target market going to enter into the search box to find what you are offering if they don’t know your name?

For almost two years my client enjoyed being the only one in the Phoenix Valley until another rage room opened nearby. At a networking event, I met someone who opened one in the North Valley. My client can’t afford to become complacent; he has to continue his marketing efforts or he’s going to lose the coveted top spot on Google.

He told me he liked working with older people, helping them with “healthy aging.” That gave me the idea for him to offer a “healthy aging screening” that would get folks into the office. Then, depending on their medical problem, he could offer various treatments. That helped him stand out and reach a specific target. We focused on sharing articles on healthy aging, and we built a following with that strategy.

• Find out how often they blog. With the free e-news reader Feedly.com, you can subscribe to their blogs without them knowing or having to receive their emails.
• Create a “private list” on X (formerly Twitter) and pin it to the top of your X app to monitor it. You can see how often they post and what they are posting. Copy (or improve upon) some of their ideas!
• From your LinkedIn Business Page, you can follow your competitors’ business pages. Go to Analytics in the left menu, then to the Competitors tab. Go to “Edit competitors” and search for your competition. If they don’t have a LinkedIn Business Page, then you’re ahead of them right there!

Now, you’re not just competing against your business competition. You’re up against everyone else that your target follows online and on social media, which includes but is not limited to:

• family
• friends
• celebrities
• entertainment
• major brands
• politics
• the latest news or trends

So, what’s an independent self-storage owner supposed to do?

1. First and foremost, clearly define your target market personas. You can have more than one. The free workbook at https://azsocialmediawiz.com/define-target-market-workbook/ is a good starting point.
2. Determine what sets you apart from the rest. What makes you different? What makes you unique? What’s your unique selling proposition (USP)?
3. Research the target(s). Get to know them. Which social media networks do they frequent the most? Do generations factor in? What are their pain points? What are their other interests? (That’s what you’ll be competing with for their attention online.)
4. What keywords are they going to enter into the search engine to find you? Use Google’s free keyword tool (https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/). The keyword list will tell you which phrases are most searched for each month. It will also give you variations of keywords and phrases. You can get a list by location and try several different phrases. This list will help you write the copy for your website and social media network profile pages and give you ideas for blog articles.
5. Who’s your direct competitor? Using an incognito window, do a Google search for your major keyword phrases and questions. Who comes up on the first page? Start with the top organic (non-paid) listings. Visit their websites.
   • If they have a blog, how often are they blogging?
   • Are they on social media? (which networks?)
   • How many followers do they have?
   • How often are they posting?
   • What are they posting?
   • If they’re not blogging weekly, then you need to blog weekly, if not daily, to bump them down and you up. Obviously, if they’re not active on the social networks, then you need to be. The more active you are, the faster you’ll grab their spot in the search results.
6. Set up your website and social media networks optimized for local search. Branding must be consistent throughout.
7. Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals. Based on your competitor research, choose metrics that make sense for you.
8. Plan your strategic efforts to get your target market’s attention and meet your goals. If competition is low to medium, then organic (non-paid) marketing should be sufficient until more competitors show up (and they will). Since location is a factor, you may also get away with just doing organic marketing. Local businesses with high competition will have to budget for paid advertising or get very creative and clever.
9. Then comes the tactical plan to implement the strategy. How many blog articles or videos will you do a week? How many posts to X, Facebook, Instagram, and/or LinkedIn per day?
10. Then, just do it. Yes, it takes time to build a following on social media and even to start getting traffic to your website. Clearly, you must put in more time upfront. Figure it will take at least two to three months (depending on how competitive your market is) to start seeing results.
11. Monitor and measure at the end of each month to see what worked and what didn’t work. Plan accordingly for the next month. Check your website analytics as well as your social media insights. Compare the results month to month. Do you see improvements? If you put in the effort, you should.

As you can see, it’s not as simple as putting up a website and doing a few posts or ads on Facebook. It’s complex, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you take it one step at a time.

ccording to McKinsey & Co’s “Women in the Workplace 2023” report, the number of women in C-suite positions has increased from 17 to 28 percent since 2015. The report also states that the representation of women at the vice president and senior vice president levels has improved, with both levels experiencing a five-year increase of four percentage points. While these upticks are positive, the fact that a gender imbalance at the executive level remains in 2024 is disheartening, even for the women who’ve managed to reach those ranks.

Sue Haviland, owner of Haviland Storage Services, a San Diego, Calif.-based company that specializes in offering clients solutions that fit their operational needs, whether its auditing, manager training, market studies, short-term consulting, or full third-party management, knows firsthand that women have “come a long way,” especially in the 35 years since she entered the self-storage industry. Unfortunately, like many female professionals, she endured a fair share of gender biases throughout her career and paid her dues before forging her own path. Despite having to overcome some obstacles, Haviland loves this industry and says she’s a stronger leader and mentor because of the people and experiences she has met during her career.

Besides working as customer service representative at Enterprise Rent-A-Car after attending Northern Michigan University, Haviland has only been employed in the self-storage industry. She left the car rental company in 1989 to manage a self-storage facility in Chicago, and she’s been a self-described “storage nerd” ever since.

“I cut my teeth at Extra Space,” says Haviland, who spent 10 years climbing the company’s corporate ladder one rung at a time. Through hard work and dedication, she first received managerial promotions, from site manager to area manager to regional manager, prior to attaining middle management status as the Western regional vice president. Her final title at Extra Space Storage, before leaving the company in 1999, was vice president of operations.

She also saw a need at that time for smaller operators who could benefit from her skill set without needing to have someone in her position on staff full time. She founded Haviland Storage Services in 2009 with the intention of auditing self-storage facilities for fraud on behalf of the properties’ owners and operators. Haviland says starting her own business was “stressful and scary,” but it was also the best move she ever made in her career.

Uncovering theft during facility audits led to new business opportunities. Haviland “fell into management contracts” when several owner-operators, pleased with her audit findings, asked her to manage their properties. Referrals and word-of-mouth marketing generated more business and enabled her company to grow. Haviland, who loves speaking at various industry-related conferences and all the storage friends she has made over the years, has also acquired clients from speaking at conferences.

“For years I never did my own website,” says Haviland, who finds it difficult to tout her strengths. “I always made sure all my clients were covered, but I didn’t promote myself.”

Haviland Storage Services currently has 28 employees and manages 10 facilities—many of which are long-time clients. “I still visit the sites regularly,” says Haviland, “even though I’m no longer a daily ‘road warrior.’ I have team members to do that now. It was hard for me to give that up, but I’m proud of my team and know it’s time to have help and not try to be a one-woman show. It is such a fantastic feeling to know I can trust my teams to help us grow.”

Although the company is mostly regional, primarily serving the Southern California area, it also has a couple sites in Northern California and manages several remote locations in New Jersey, New York, Arizona, and Texas. “They have boots on the ground folks,” she says, adding that Haviland Storage Services received those remote management contracts via referrals from a software company. “If we can make it work,” Haviland and her team are open to remotely managing locations anywhere in the U.S. “We determine if remote is possible on a site-by-site basis.” If the geographic location isn’t a good fit for the company, “I pass potential clients onto peers,” she says. Haviland loves the fact that they have been able to customize their consulting and management plans to fit their clients needs vs. fitting the client into a “mold.”

Moreover, Haviland has handled a wide array of unfortunate and unusual situations for her clients over the years. From fires, floods, corpses, drugs, and burglaries to a boa constrictor, there is one that still stands out for her. “I never knew there was such a thing as a cat catcher until I had to hire one to get 18 cats out of a resident manager’s apartment walls,” she says. “That apartment scene is one you don’t forget.”

In addition to the 10 facilities with on-site management, Haviland Storage Services will be adding two new builds to its portfolio as soon as they are fully constructed. Haviland enjoys the challenge of a new lease-up property or taking an older, mismanaged site and making it shine for her client. She also loves taking on short-term clients and helping those new owners learn how to run their new sites within three to six months.

“Many of the properties in the portfolio are large, thus helping Haviland Storage Services make the Top 100 Operators list for several years,” she adds. “We may only have a few sites, but we have a lot of square footage.”

And Haviland has been using her voice to benefit other women. Last year she was one of the six panelists on the WISE (women in storage education) discussion at ISS’s spring conference—an event attended by more than 140 women who were eager to share their experiences with inequality in the workforce and how they overcame gender discrimination. Haviland will serve as moderator for WISE’s follow-up conference this year.

Speaking of inequalities, Haviland acknowledges that she had been passed over for pay increases and promotions. “You don’t always get credit for the work you do,” she says about being a female professional, adding that being berated, bullied, and treated unfairly was not uncommon. “But challenges make you stronger,” and Haviland is grateful for how her experiences shaped her both personally and professionally.

One unnerving challenge that made her stronger was getting beat up by an angry female tenant. Haviland was in her early 20s when a tenant wrongfully accused her of having an affair with her husband because he had removed all his property from the unit they were renting. Obviously, she reported the incident, but she also requested that her supervisor be present the day the tenant arranged to return for her stored items. When he didn’t show up to protect her from possible harm, she got a German Shepard to accompany her throughout the property. “That experience made me aware of the world,” says Haviland, who eventually replaced her supervisor. “I liked to joke that I was promoted because I got beat up.”

What’s more, in her early years, Haviland says, “I was often one of few women at trade shows.” And most of the other women attending those events at the time were area managers or assistants who were working up the ladder. One woman Haviland admired and learned from was Nancy Gunning, president of Chesapeake Resources, Inc. “She always had time for me,” Haviland says, adding that Gunning’s success encouraged her to keep climbing.

Even though Haviland was active in the industry’s various groups and had plenty to contribute, she was “often invited to be the secretary and keep notes.” Haviland says, “I’d look around and be the only lady in the room!” Despite being discouraged by being pigeonholed into that subservient role, she took it in stride and “did it for a while to observe, learn, and network.” Ultimately, it became an experience of professional growth for Haviland. “It shaped who I wanted to be,” she says. “I always wanted to help others, but it was hard to say no.”

“I’m training others to do every aspect of management,” Haviland says, pointing out that the training will also enable the company to grow and take on new clients and projects.

However, she’s not quite ready to retire. A new granddaughter, Cleo, keeps her working in California, even though she recently built a second home in South Carolina. Until then, and after that time comes, she’ll continue appreciating the work/life balance she created for herself and her family by playing tennis, attending music cruises, and managing operations in the industry she has long loved.

“This has been a lot of hard work but a good ride,” says Haviland. “I’m glad I went from renting cars to renting storage!”

s an avid boater, and a former self-storage facility owner, R. Christian Sonne, CRE, MAI, FRICS, executive vice president and specialty practice co-leader – Self-Storage of Irvine, Calif.-based Newmark, likes to call self-storage a “safe harbor investment.”

Relative to real estate, safe harbor investments are considered low-risk investments because they are generally protected from significant declines in value, which makes them an ideal option for investors who are looking to preserve capital. Based solely on that definition, Sonne’s claim that self-storage is a safe harbor investment is substantiated. However, he points to the sector’s performance history to provide supporting evidence.

Indeed, its recession-resistant nature has attracted many investors to the asset class. And the COVID-19 pandemic only reinforced what The Great Recession revealed to outside investors: Both economic downturns and upturns generate demand for self-storage. During recessions, businesses may need to close or downsize, while individuals may face upheavals with their employment and/or living arrangements. Alternatively, economic growth can prompt people and companies to expand or upgrade. Either way, self-storage is often needed and used temporarily or long term to accommodate their space limitations.

“What a surprise during the pandemic, self-storage demand fundamentally increased as dining rooms became home offices or classrooms,” says Sonne. “While there have been some corrections, demand fundamentally increased as household use changed with so many work-at-home jobs.”

For this reason, self-storage has become one of the most attractive commercial real estate investments. It has also evolved into a core asset class for institutional investors thanks to its unmatched performance and potential for standardization.

As far as returns go, self-storage has been the top performing property type in the Nareit index for three decades with average annual returns of 18.83 percent from 1994 to 2021. What’s more, self-storage’s total returns surpassed 21 percent in 2023, according to Nareit data published in the 2024 Self-Storage Almanac’s Investment Performance by Property Sector and Subsector Table.

To be clear, self-storage has outperformed the office, industrial, retail, residential, diversified, health care, lodging/resorts, mortgage REIT, timber, infrastructure, data centers, and specialty sectors for 30 years. In and of itself, that’s an impressive accomplishment and long reign.

Although some may question whether the industry’s lead will last due to softening rental rates and declining occupancies in 2023 and the beginning of 2024, Sonne buoys his sentiment about the industry with his belief that “2023 was an economic correction, a reversion to the mean.” He also thinks 2024 will be more in line with pre-COVID norms, saying that the industry will be “returning to normal this year and next year.”

There has been speculation that higher interest rates and the ongoing shortage of affordable housing across the country are responsible for a dip in demand, but he doesn’t think “it’s that linear,” as there are plenty of other variables to consider in addition to whether people are moving. In other words, dislocation or downsizing are only two of the numerous demand drivers (and they don’t all begin with the letter D).

“There are lots of determinants,” says Sonne. A few examples include length of stay, household budgets, popularity of unit size/type, and location. Here are his insights on each of those.

• Length of stay: “Length of stay has increased since COVID,” Sonne says, which is positive for occupancy rates.
• Household budgets: Even though inflation has eroded Americans’ purchasing power, the monthly self-storage rent tends to be a mere 2.5 percent of a customer’s household budget. On this subject, Sonne remarks that most people spend more money on coffee or bar tabs than storage. Nevertheless, operators must be wary of what people are willing to spend each month to rent a unit. “There’s a ceiling,” he adds about increasing rates. “If it’s too much money, they pay attention.”
• Popularity of unit size/type: Your customer base and location should determine the unit mix. For instance, facilities located near apartment buildings may rent more smaller units to apartment dwellers without ample closet space, whereas a facility situated among businesses may rent more larger units to commercial clients that need to store surplus inventory and/or files. “Another example is climate control,” says Sonne. “It has terrific demand in some markets but not all markets.”
• Location: Obviously, demand and other details vary by market. Continuing with the boating comparison, Sonne, who has homes in both California and Florida, states that the Pacific Ocean is rough and cold, but the water of the Gulf Coast is warm and calm. Though often asked which home he prefers, he points out the pros and cons of each instead of choosing. Similarly, one must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the market in question before making a self-storage investment.

Instead of taking a general or national perspective on demand, Sonne reminds investors to focus on the local trade areas where they are considering developing self-storage. “Two-thirds of customers come from a three-miles radius of the facility,” he says. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate the supply and demand of a market on a micro level to determine whether the area is undersupplied, oversupplied, or at equilibrium.

Not all data is good data, however, and one must consider the source as well as the sample size, data collection methods, and margin for error before relying on the results. Free sources are readily available on the internet, but Sonne says that the data they present is “not gospel.” Within the self-storage industry, there are several reputable, established data providers that have been employed for countless successful investments.

To get a comprehensive assessment, Sonne looks at “as many [data points] as I can.” Just like watching multiple news channels to take in various angles and assemble a more complete account, he advises investors to do the same before making (or rejecting) an investment. “Before I go on my boat, I check the weather, the condition of my boat, the temperature, if it has been a historically good time to take a vacation, etc., to determine whether it’s safe to take the trip,” he says. Investing in self-storage requires that same level of preparatory diligence. Otherwise, you could end up sailing in rough seas.

he self-storage sector’s Q4 2023 results and full-year 2024 guidance were in line with expectations. Despite a competitive environment for new customers, the four publicly traded REITs reported positive same-store revenue growth of 0.50 percent (non-weighted) year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Occupancy levels remain strong but have moderated from 2022 to a quarter-end occupancy of 90.2 percent (non-weighted), as the sector returns to a more cyclical operating environment. NOI decreased by 0.25 percent (non-weighted) on a year-over-year basis due to continued upward pressure on non-controllable expenses, including property taxes and property insurance, as well as an increase in marketing spend.

In addition to this quarterly REIT summary, a weekly email from Newmark Group, Inc.’s Self Storage Practice delineates key benchmark rates for the capital markets, near-term expectations for transactions, and interpretive opinions of broader market questions.

The pages of this article summarize the information for the fourth quarter of 2023, reported by the four publicly traded self-storage REITs, along with comparisons between the industry and macro-market benchmarks.

nowing who is renting and what they want is critical to your success as a self-storage operator. Today, millennials rent more self-storage units than any other generation. Born between 1981 and 1996, currently about 28 to 43 years old, millennials comprise 38 percent of renters, according to the SSA’s 2023 Self Storage Demand Study.

A short 10 years ago, self-storage professionals were wondering if millennials would ever rent storage. They seemed to be a generation of vagabonds, who were not getting married or buying homes the way their baby boomer parents did at similar ages.

It seems that millennials are finally becoming their parents. They have steady employment while also starting their own businesses, are making more money, amassing wealth, buying homes, and having babies, like previous generations, even if they took a little longer.

Of course, today’s higher interest rates and sharp appreciation of home prices put a damper on home purchases by millennials and all generations, which is creating pent-up homebuying demand. When interest rates ease, home purchases are likely to rebound, especially among first-time homebuyers in the millennial generation.

Jeff Adler, vice president at Yardi Matrix, started pointing out over five years ago that millennials are a “positive force” for self-storage demand.

Confusing or not, it does chart a course for your response. First and foremost, focus on that age-old adage: location, location, location! Buy or build facilities where the demographics are favorable. Offer the features today’s young consumers want: convenience, technology, and value. If your local market has a significant segment of millennials, be sure to lead with technology and sustainability in your marketing.

• Millennials are more likely to live in apartments than older generations.
• They are more likely to live in urban areas.
• Apartments are getting smaller, especially in urban areas.
• Self-storage costs up to 30 percent less than apartments by square feet.

Millennials store their kayaks and snowboarding equipment, which they use often. This means they go to their units more often than baby boomers, who don’t tend to visit their stored memories.

Using storage units more like an extra closet, millennials visit more frequently to swap out clothing, furniture, holiday decorations, and other “season of life” items, such as baby furniture, car seats, and toys. All of this generates more traffic at self-storage facilities from millennials than older generations.

Younger renters tend to rent less costly, smaller units (10-by-10 or smaller), and they expect to be there for shorter periods of time. While these tendencies may generate less rental revenue for the facility, younger renters generate more ancillary revenue through purchases of items they need for storage, like boxes, tape, and packing supplies. They are also more likely to rent trucks than older renters.

They also want more flexibility in contract terms, pricing, and means of payment, including a wide variety of payment options, from autopay via debit or credit card, to Apple Pay and Google Pay. They want to be able to get in and out of contracts easily, and they want to be able to lock in pricing.

Millennials also place greater value on temperature and humidity control, as well as in-unit fire sprinklers and security features.

Finally, especially in dense urban areas, younger renters are more likely to walk, bike, or take public transit to their storage units. Not many boomers do that!

They want to be able to do every step of the rental process from their beds, on their phones, at any time. That means comparing facilities, reading reviews, selecting a facility, selecting their space, signing the lease, obtaining access to their space, buying merchandise, and renting a truck.

Even if they don’t do all those steps every time, they want to be able to do it all 24/7. Excellent digital presence and functionality, including online rentals, are critical for younger renters.

In terms of cities, regardless of generation, the biggest winners were Seattle, Wash.; Nashville, Tenn.; and San Antonio, Texas. Generally, the biggest losers were New York, N.Y.; Los Angeles, Calif.; and Portland, Ore. Of all U.S. cities, more people moved out of New York City than any other.

According to the data, cities people are moving to and from vary greatly by generation. For instance, Seattle returned to the top spot in 2022 for millennials, after falling to No. 115 in 2021, but not for Gen Z. Seattle wasn’t even in their top 10 cities.

Gen Z is the only generation that seems to be flocking to more well-known big cities, especially Washington, D.C. This leaves people wondering if DC is the new NYC for Gen Z. Also in Gen Z’s top 10: Chicago, Ill.; Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Eugene, Ore.; and Columbia, S.C.

Tracking with older generations, millennials left major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. In fact, while New York was the top spot for millennials to move to in 2012, it was the top spot for millennials to move out of a mere 10 years later in 2022, for the second year in a row.

Overall, in 2022 millennials tended to move to tech-hub cities with thriving arts communities. Seattle in the top spot, followed by Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Denver, Colo.

Summarizing migration data, younger renters are moving into Seattle, Austin, Nashville, Charlotte, and Denver (millennials), as well as D.C., Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Tucson, Eugene, and Columbia (Gen Z). That covers a lot of territory!

Facilities in these locations will find it especially important to remember that younger renters are more likely to be:

• Female
• Racially diverse, particularly Hispanic
• Living in rental properties
• Living in urban areas

These younger renters tend to:

• Use self-storage as an extension of their homes
• Rent smaller units that cost less
• Buy more merchandise and rent trucks more frequently
• Pay a premium for tech and sustainability
• Visit their units more frequently

Both millennials and Gen Z expect convenience, including short driving distances. They are willing to pay for technology and sustainability, and they are more demanding about the features and amenities they want.

In general, everything they want is likely to be in greater demand in the future, so making your facility attractive to younger renters positions you well for generations of the future. This way you can meet the market where it is going, as future renters will all increasingly rely on high-tech solutions for every aspect of daily life.

aving completed hundreds of site plans, this issue is definitely on the forefront of the industry now and occupying lots of energy to conclude with the correct answers. I hear arguments for maximizing density of units with no consideration to user experience or operations and see proposals for just duplicating what others have done or what the architect showed them from another project with no diversification of unit types and/or no layout or consideration of the office or retail area, even in ones that are remote managed in their set up. All of this leads to changes and issues down the line.

The goal is not to build the cheapest and fastest, most common plan. The goal is to arrive at a product that is easy to use, much sought after within its market, fills a void that existing competitors don’t or won’t supply, commands premium rates, and has the attributes the market wants, such as upscale, high-tech, retail, and solid or stable in its image.

There are lots of ways to layout a site and do a unit mix. Before you begin this critical process, a little background and research is necessary to provide the data you need to meet the goal.

First, we need to know the topography and buildable amount of the land; showing where the changes in elevation occur is critical to many parts of the plan like water run-off and retention. Can you have two-story buildings with access on two sides (called an over-under building with no elevators), or is there a portion that is unbuildable due to steep inclines, wetland restrictions, overlay districts restrictions, or easements? Once you have determined the buildable area, then the real work begins.

What are the setback requirements? This shows how close your buildings can be to the road or side yards. Some even require certain landscape buffer areas that can range from 10 to 50 feet depending on your zoning and neighbors.

Check for any easements running through or alongside the property, i.e., gas or utility lines, sewer easements, or other special easements shown on the survey.

Once you have confirmed the buildable area you can begin site planning. While completing the tasks above, you must also study your prospective market for information to assist you in compiling the correct unit mix for your site in your market. There is no such thing as a standard unit mix! I’ve seen most of my competitors’ feasibility studies, where there was no customized unit mix shown, only a hypothetical unit mix, which results in only hypothetical results. You need a unit mix and site plan customized for your piece of property in your location to forecast an accurate lease-up rate and accurate income per month with rental rates based on the current supply and/or lack of supply for each type.

We love to do a fortress style layout. This is using the backs of the buildings as the perimeter of the site; this cuts down on fencing needs and is perceived as a safer way to serve customers as there will be limited access to the site. This is especially good for long, rectangular sites. See Figure 1, a site plan for one of our clients in Florida. With units down both sides, and only one entry and exit point, it becomes easier to control on-site activity.

Perhaps you have wide building setbacks impeding your buildable area; in this case you may want to use the setbacks as driveways to increase use on the site. Figure 2 is a recent example of this use, where the driveways are on the exterior of the buildings and a one-way traffic pattern is used with two gates (one inbound and one exit).

Driveway widths are a critical component to having a good site plan and user experience. In general, we like 30-foot-wide drives on 40-foot end caps to accommodate all sizes of trucks on the site and make turning easier for each user. Where we will have angled spaces in RV parking, we use 45- to 50-foot-wide drives to accommodate those users. Most engineers can provide a truck turn overlay as is used and required for fire truck access. In the past we saw sites with drives as narrow as 15 feet, which makes access impossible for rental trucks and tractor trailers. We stay with 30-foot drives for the most part, but we’ve used as narrow as 24 feet in a few instances. The more restrictive the driveway widths, the more necessary a one-way traffic pattern becomes.

Unit mix for your site should, as previously mentioned, be customized to your site and market demand. We have shown that a diversified unit mix of product types tends to lease up more quickly than single product type properties (i.e., all climate-controlled or all non-climate-controlled properties). To me, this is logical, yet few utilize this process.

Common unit types we are using today include non-climate-controlled, climate-controlled, drive-up climate-controlled, contractor bays, incubator offices with storage backs, office suites, open parking, covered parking, enclosed parking, and shed type parking (three sides covered, open faces parking). We have seen from recent data the huge demand for RV and boat parking of all types and the need for contractor bays (600 to 1,000 square feet).

Using a study of all current and planned competitors will tell us which units the market is missing or needing more of that type. For example, almost every large unit we have is full across the portfolio; the same is true for all the contractor spaces and offices, both standalone office suites and incubator offices that come with a storage unit in the back, as well as covered and enclosed RV/boat spaces.

Contractor bays need exterior access with a large roll-up door approximately 12-by-12 and a 3-foot man door. These would include one outlet and lighting and may be a drive-thru unit, such as the one shown in Figure 3.

RV units are best angled in the building such that a 40-foot-deep building yields a 45-foot parking space. Many times, we do these as sawtooth buildings with a man door on the side and may be drive-thru units. In this configuration, a minimum 40-foot drive is required (see Figure 4).

You can have two door 10-by-30s, 10-by-10s backing up to 10-by-20s, and 10-by-15s back to back. To get smaller units, hallways are used and should be 5 feet wide with 4-foot man doors that are half glass leading inside. Additionally, we like to diamond plate those entry doors on both sides below the hardware to get longevity and reduce maintenance, as customers will be banging carts and dollies into those doors constantly.

Figure 5 is an example of a non-climate-controlled building with contractor bays on the exterior and traditional units on the interior. It illustrates how key it is to arrive at a custom unit mix perfect for your site in your market.

Climate-controlled buildings have different requirements and can be single-story or multistory (see Figure 6). Keep in mind that the largest units need to be close to the entry and on the ground floor. Typically, ground-floor units also bring in a premium price as the most desirable location.

oday’s high interest rates have put that all-so-necessary funding out of reach for many self-storage facility operators and developers. This situation is compounded by the reluctance of many traditional lenders to provide that all-important working capital required by every business.

Actions of the Federal Reserve have contributed to an increase in inflation and raised interest rates with no indication of substantial relief in sight. Combine those higher interest rates with leasing and purchase prices essentially doubling in the last few years and funding any business today is extremely difficult.

Even without a personal relationship with the banker, an existing bank often has a broader perspective of the operation’s debt, spending, and cash flow. While perhaps only a number in the bank’s system, the operation is already in the system. That puts the self-storage professional one step ahead in overcoming that reluctance.

Obviously, if a relationship with the operation’s current bank, as faint as it might be, isn’t sufficient to overcome the bank’s reluctance to provide the needed funds, or render advice, a new bank might be necessary. Since banks are often the source for the most economical financing, a community bank might be the answer.

Establishing relationships with community banks is often easy, with them considering the operation as a whole alongside the operation’s cash flow, credit, and collateral factors.

Every self-storage facility should already have a line of credit to help tide them over short term. A business’ line of credit provides access to funds up to a preset limit, with the business paying interest only on the funds withdrawn. Fees for having the funds readily available are usually competitive.

However, as finding capital becomes more difficult, it’s more important than ever to determine why the self-storage operation needs capital, how fast it is needed, and what it can afford to pay for that funding.

While banks, even community banks, typically have low interest rates and offer competitive terms, financing may be hard to qualify for. Thus, an incentive such as a guarantee by the Small Business Administration (SBA) might help obtain that needed funding.

SBA loans make it easier for businesses to get needed funding. The SBA offers lenders, mostly traditional lenders, a federal loan guarantee. This makes it less risky for banks to lend and often means more favorable interest rates and terms for the borrower.

Repayment periods for SBA loans are based on what the funds will be used for. They range from seven years for working capital to 10 years for equipment purchases and 25 years for real estate purchases. There are a number of SBA loan guarantee programs available, including:

• SBA 7(a) loans, the most popular, provide funds for many purposes and are available in amounts up to $5 million.
• SBA 504 loans offer long-term, fixed-rate financing to purchase or repair real estate, equipment, machinery, or other assets.
• SBA Microloans are the smallest loan program offered and provide $50,000 or less to help businesses expand.

When traditional sources, even with guarantees, fail to provide affordable needed financing, it might be time to explore a relatively new option: online funding.

Fintech, or financial technology, consists of two areas: interacting with a bank minus the human element and independent lenders working outside the traditional banks. Applying for an online business loan can be accomplished entirely online.

While online banking is best for those with bad credit with under-qualified borrowers paying extra, their fast funding and easy applications make them popular with many potential borrowers.

With an ESOP, the business issues new shares of stock and sells them to the ESOP. The ESOP then borrows funds to buy the stock. The self-storage operator or developer can then use the proceeds from the stock sale to benefit their operation’s growth or expansion.

The business repays the loan by making tax-deductible contributions to the ESOP. The interest and principal on the more easily obtained ESOP loans are tax deductible, which can reduce the number of pre-tax dollars needed to repay the principal by as much as 34 percent, depending on the operation’s tax bracket.

Unfortunately, the tax shield does not help with S corporations since they don’t pay corporate income taxes. Capital gains deferral, however, can make ESOPs attractive to these pass-through business entities.

The most basic, affordable funding strategy, called “bootstrapping,” means using personal or family funds to finance the business. On the downside, our tax laws make self-funding a touchy and complex situation. And, offsetting the convenience of bootstrapping often means giving up equity in the business.

What’s more, when a loan is made between related entities, or when a shareholder makes a loan to his or her incorporated business, our tax laws require a fair market rate of interest be included. If not, the IRS will step in and make adjustments to the below-market interest rate (BMIR) transaction in order to properly reflect “imputed” interest.

Some lenders want delayed payments made up in a single payment, some will modify and extend the loan with minimal paperwork with others treating it as refinancing, complete with the costs associated with refinancing.

And don’t forget loan forbearance. Every borrower should have a clear picture of when the forbearance will end and what the lender intends to do at the end of that period.

Speaking of loan terms, every borrower should generally match the term of a loan to the life of the item to be financed. If the financing is for a computer or security system, the loan shouldn’t be longer than their expected life.

On a similar note, a fixed interest rate stays the same through out the term of the loan while business loan rates often fluctuate, making them more expensive.

In the search for capital, the easiest options may be the most expensive:

• Credit card debt. Business credit cards often offer more flexible repayment terms but typically have higher interest rates than traditional financing. Designed to appeal to businesses whose cash flow might be irregular, the higher cost of business card debt results because the debt is usually unsecured, making it riskier for lenders.
• E-mail solicitations. Answering those “We Lend Money to Businesses” ads means leaving the banking sector with its various protections and borrowing from a private lender.

Obviously, the interest on the borrowed funds used for equipment, supplies, or other business expenses are deductible. The interest on the portion of those borrowed funds distributed as a loan or bonus is not tax deductible by the borrowing self-storage facility or business.

Every self-storage professional seeking to borrow money faces many challenges, such as where funding is available and at what interest rate. What is the total cost including fees? Is the funding good for an extended period of time, or can payment be demanded early? Guidance from a professional adviser may be necessary.

My Scottish ancestors would revolt if they thought I was throwing money away, but it’s true. We can look at professional sports for confirmation. The lowest payroll teams in the major leagues include:

• 2023 Oakland A’s: 50-112
• 2022 to 2023 Indiana Pacers: 35-47
• 2022 Chicago Bears: 3-14
• 2022 to 2023 Anaheim Ducks: 23-47-12

The lesson is that sometimes we have to spend some money to make some money. Taking the cheapest option often results in underperforming assets. Buy the better-quality security system instead of something cheap online. Hire the better management company instead of the cheapest one. Invest in performance, not in cheap.

Advertising is a specific expense. Every marketing company can help you budget for Google Ads or social media clicks. But marketing is adjustable. Deciding to buy doughnuts for local brokers or cookies for police departments is flexible. Sending a pizza to the manager of a local motorhome park is flexible. Do that with the hope that it leads to a referral.

Marketing storage units is hard. There’s no right answer. What works in one location may not in another. Don’t overthink it. Adjust and move on. Always move on. Because even if it works today, there is no guarantee that it will work tomorrow.

New owners to our industry almost always ask me about auctions, maintenance, and past dues, when those things shouldn’t matter to them. If you don’t prioritize and spend the time (and money) on marketing, nothing else matters. Nothing. Who cares if you have nobody past due if your occupancy is 40 percent? Not me. Fill the facility first, and then you can worry about secondary priorities. If you’re not full, then work on that and that alone.

s investors navigate the terrain of potential self-storage, they must decipher the complex interaction of self-storage supply, population dynamics, and pricing strategies to unlock the true potential of their ventures. In this comprehensive exploration, we dig into the pivotal role of square foot per capita (supply), population, and pricing in the quest for optimal self-storage site selection.

However, the reliance solely on square feet per capita has come under scrutiny in recent times. While undoubtedly important, this metric offers a somewhat limited perspective, failing to capture the intricate dynamics of the self-storage landscape. With advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of market intricacies, investors are now exploring more comprehensive evaluation methods. A market commanding higher rental rates and a strong population are becoming better indicators of self-storage success.

Gone are the days of lengthy manual calculations to determine square feet per capita. Innovative tools like StorTrack and Radius+ have revolutionized data acquisition, allowing investors to access crucial information on demand at their fingertips. Yet, while technology streamlines data collection, the art of site evaluation remains a multifaceted endeavor. I see a lot of experts use a range from 6 to 10 square feet per person. Until I look into details of a specific area, I use 8 square feet per person of the total square feet as equilibrium point.

Beyond the numerical confines of square foot per capita lies a range of qualitative assessments and comparative analyses. To truly gauge the potential of a location, investors must conduct comprehensive facility reviews, considering factors such as manager competency, facility location, class of facility, technology in use, overall appearance, and pricing strategies. It’s a universal approach that transcends numerical metrics, offering insights into the competitive landscape.

By deciphering population density, growth trends, and demographic profiles, investors gain invaluable insights into the underlying demand dynamics, laying the groundwork for strategic site selection. The higher the population is in any given three-mile radius, the faster you will lease up, as the absorption rate increases with a denser population.

However, population analysis alone provides but a fraction of the equation. To truly detect market viability, investors must dig even deeper into pricing dynamics where the details shape investment outcomes.

A significant shift emerges with the exploration of rental rates within a specified radius. Unlike square foot per capita, which provides a generalized overview, rental rates offer a better understanding of market demand. Savvy developers and franchise owners, recognizing this paradigm shift, base their decisions on tangible drivers of success within specific locales.

Web rates, often characterized as teaser rates, offer customers enticing initial offers that may not reflect the true cost of storage. Conversely, in-store rents provide a more accurate reflection of real-time market dynamics, guiding investors toward informed pricing decisions.

The evolution of innovative pricing models has further heightened the complexities of pricing dynamics, requiring a refined approach to revenue management. From unit occupancy to economic occupancy, investors must decipher a myriad of metrics to ascertain the financial health of a self-storage venture.

Yet, utilizing self-storage data websites requires a discerning eye. While undeniably beneficial, these platforms serve as a starting point rather than a definitive source of truth as web rates become a moving target to measure. The burden lies on investors to corroborate data insights with on-the-ground assessments, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics.

Effective site selection does not hinge on any single metric but on a combined blend of numbers and insights. The equilibrium of supply and demand exceeds numerical thresholds, representing the essence of market dynamics. Therefore, investors need to approach site selection with keen insight and persistent diligence.

In the perfect utopia, you would want to develop your self-storage facility in an area with high average rental rates of $1.50-plus per square foot, a population of 30,000 or more in a three-mile radius, and limited competition. As the self-storage industry continues to evolve, effective site selection becomes increasingly critical. In an era characterized by technological innovation and shifting market dynamics, investors must adapt their approach to remain competitive. Through the understanding of metrics such as square foot per capita, population, and rental rates, coupled with diligent on-the-ground assessments, investors can identify prime locations and unlock the full potential of their self-storage investments. It’s a journey defined by having instrumental development guidance, adaptability, insight, and unwavering determination to succeed in an ever-evolving market landscape.

ave you ever wondered how you can get more involved in your local community and be a part of giving back? Your self-storage facility is the perfect place to start!

Over my career in self-storage, I have worked with large and small operators on brainstorming ways to give back. One of my favorite and simpler ways to start is collecting donations at your facility. You can pick what you want to collect and who will receive it. How many times have you watched people move into your facility using blankets to cover some of their breakable items? Probably quite a few times. One great and easy option is to do a blanket drive that benefits your local animal shelter or homeless shelter as they are almost always in need. I would recommend doing a blanket drive in the late summer and early fall before the need for blankets is immediate; that gives you time to gather your donations.

Another popular option for gathering donations is a canned food drive at your location. Most of our leases clearly state that you are not to store food in your storage unit as this attracts rodents and insects. You can place a sign near your front desk that reminds tenants that food is not to be stored in their unit and can be placed in the donation box in your office. We see these donations come up a lot during the holidays, however people are in need of food all year long, so this is a wonderful way to give back and hopefully help prevent food from being stored in your storage units.

Not all acts of service need to be donation based though. Turn your volunteer activities into a team building experience and find a weekend to do a walk for your charity of choice. As humans, we are all a little competitive, so you can even challenge employees to a friendly competition. One of my favorite events to participate in every year is the Autism Speaks Walk. My youngest son is autistic, as am I, so this is a charity that is near and dear to our family. We participate in this walk every year and I have had many coworkers join in over the years. When we founded StorageGives.org, and our team was able to select a charity of our choosing to support, I knew right away I was going to pick Autism Speaks. According to the Autism Speaks website, “The Autism Speaks Walk is the world’s largest autism fundraising event dedicated to supporting the needs of people with autism and their families throughout their life’s journey. The Autism Speaks Walk brings together people with autism and the parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, relatives, and providers in a network of friendship and support. Funds raised help fuel innovative research, advocacy, and critical programs and services.”

Partnering with self-storage-specific charity organizations like StorageGives is also a wonderful way to give back on a broader scale. When self-storage operators are hosting their auctions on StorageAuctions.com, they have the option to participate with StorageGives. The operator is then able to select the percentage from each of their online auctions to go to charity. The majority of operators who are using StorageAuctions.com and donating to StorageGives are giving 10 percent of their winning bid to charity. We make this process as easy as possible for the operator from beginning to end. Once a unit is sold online, we charge the buyer’s credit card for the 10 percent StorageGives donation and 100 percent of what we collect goes directly to charity. The facility does not need to worry about cutting a check to the charity at the end of the auctions as it is all handled by the auction software. The operators can view their StorageGives dashboard to see how much each location was able to raise for charity that month and the impact they are making not only in their community but across the globe. When the StorageGives team was selecting charities to support, we looked into every single charity to make sure the majority of the money donated was going to the charity and not the administration of the charity as that was especially important to us.

In the past couple of years, I have seen more and more companies offering VTO (volunteer time off) to their employees on a yearly basis. An employee will get 8 hours of paid time off to go volunteer in their community during business hours. These 8 hours can be broken up in most cases so they can do volunteering in shifts if needed. The employee will have a form filled out by the charity where they volunteered to provide proof of their volunteer hours to their employer. By offering VTO, this allows your employees to pick the specific charity they want to volunteer with and get paid for doing it.

No matter how small or big your individual efforts are when it comes to giving back to your community, know that we can all make a significant impact when working together to give back.

ne of the reoccurring issues for self-storage owners is the persistent threat of states and municipalities enacting new taxes or increasing existing taxes on their operations. As part of our advocacy efforts, the SSA attempts to defeat or reduce those tax burdens where possible. The SSA is currently working to resolve issues in Illinois and Nebraska and succeeded in defeating a new tax in Virginia.

n the year 2000, a not so well-known revenue option came to the forefront of the self-storage industry: “tenant insurance.” Public Storage had been marketing to their tenants an insurance policy for the items stored within their units. This was met with skepticism by most of the industry as a “fad” that wouldn’t last, yet some visionaries saw the potential.

It took approximately 10 years before tenant insurance became an accepted enhancement benefiting both owners and tenants. Many operators were slow to adopt the program for fear of losing occupancy. Things began to change when accumulated data proved acceptance of the tenant insurance had not decreased occupancy. Tenant insurance was sold as a protection to the customer. With time and additional data, appraisers and banks began accepting tenant insurance as a revenue source that allowed it to be capitalized based on percentage of penetration. Today, tenant insurance is widely accepted and neglecting to provide tenant insurance is seen as a sign of an uninformed owner/operator.

Storage Express pioneered the “unmanned” facility years ago; their concept intrigued most of the industry, yet once again acceptance was suspect.

Approximately three-plus years ago, I received a phone call about an interesting company called StoreEase. It was recommended that I talk with Josh Boyd, CEO, and decide whether the concept had merit. I visited StoreEase’s Birmingham headquarters in 2020. When I first walked into the StoreEase facility, I was warmly greeted by a virtual manager. The experience changed the way I looked at the unmanned model.

While developing an 85,000-square-foot facility in the Salt Lake City area, we jumped all in and incorporated StoreEase from the beginning, including the office design, security, and operational functions. Even though this was a brand-new development and would be managed without a manager on site, having seen StoreEase’s operating facilities and the excellence of their virtual managers, we concluded it was worth the risk. Being a Janus loyalist and knowing that StoreEase had a relationship with Nokē, we confidently pressed forward.

We’ve been open for 14 months and are over 40 percent leased. I’ve spoken with over 40 tenants about their experience, and each was pleased with the simplicity and professionalism of the process. We have all five-star reviews for our property; tenants love the virtual “two-minute move-in.” I endorse this management format for these and additional reasons. Others might suggest concerns, including facility size or demographics, but I believe they’ll eventually see the benefits and this concept will continue to gain acceptance. I just hope it doesn’t take 10 years!