xtreme weather is no longer an occasional stress test for self-storage facilities, it is a recurring operational challenge. Inland hurricane-force winds, hailstorms, and flooding are affecting markets that historically faced little exposure to these risks. As weather patterns become more unpredictable, the ability of a facility to remain operational increasingly depends not just on how it was built but on how well it is maintained.

In many severe weather events, buildings do not fail catastrophically at once. Instead, damage often begins at vulnerable points along the building envelope, allowing wind, water, or debris to enter and amplify the impact. For self-storage operators, roofs and roll-up doors are among the most critical and most exposed components. When one element fails, multiple units can be affected, increasing tenant disruption and recovery costs.

Roof systems serve as the primary barrier against wind uplift and water intrusion, making regular inspection essential. Even durable roofing materials often rely on fasteners, seams, and sealants that can degrade over time. Loose fasteners, aging sealants, or minor seam separation may appear inconsequential during routine operations, but these small issues can quickly escalate under sustained wind pressure. Preventive maintenance helps ensure that roofing systems perform closer to their tested capabilities when extreme conditions arise.

Things to look for include:

• Fastener wear – All metal roof fasteners experience wearing over time, but those facing the elements on a daily basis, as is the case in exposed fastener systems, are especially prone to degradation. Look for wear on washers as well as the screws and replace them before they fail.
• Scratches or wear on paint or coatings – Paints, primers, and coatings, like zinc or aluminum, can help protect the metal underneath and extend its life, but scratches or excessive wearing of those protective coatings can leave the metal underneath vulnerable. Specific scratches can be covered with touch-up paint, and if a significant portion of the roof is showing wear, a full roof coating can be applied to extend the roof’s life.
• Areas of exposure – Look for penetration or gaps in coverage in areas where panels connect or accessory products have been added, like valleys, ridges, edges, around ventilation or skylights, etc. Additional cements, sealants, butyl tape, or closures may be needed to close these penetrations.

Roll-up doors present a different but equally important challenge. These doors experience significant pressure differentials during high-wind events, particularly when wind enters a partially compromised structure. Doors that bind during operation, show curtain deformation, or have worn hardware may be signaling underlying alignment or fatigue issues. Regular inspection of door curtains, guides, brackets, and bottom bars helps identify weaknesses before they are exposed to extreme loads. Doors that function smoothly under normal conditions are more likely to remain intact and operable after a storm.

Beyond visible components, structural connections deserve close attention. Severe weather damage is frequently traced to failures in fasteners, brackets, and other connecting hardware rather than primary structural members. Corrosion, metal fatigue, or minor loosening can reduce a component’s ability to transfer loads safely into the structure. This is particularly important in regions with high humidity or salt exposure, where corrosion can accelerate deterioration. Routine monitoring of these small but critical parts can significantly reduce the likelihood of unwanted damage.

Here are things to look for during maintenance and inspections:

• Damage to door curtain – Look for individual slats or the seam between slats with creasing. This can be the result of a tenant hitting the door with a vehicle, dolly, or forklift and could impact the long-term performance of the door. Many manufacturers offer replacement door options to consider.
• Rust or corrosion around bottom bar – The bottom bar is an important defense against wind and driving rain, but some non-aluminum versions can be susceptible to issues when water pools at the base of the door or there is significant exposure to humidity, rain, or snow. Look for surface rust (orange or brown discoloration), flaking metal, soft spots, or thinning metal. Replace bottom bars or full door assembly as needed.
• Bent or damaged guides – Look for gaps between curtain edges and the guide, scrape marks, or tracks that are visibly bowed, pinched, or twisted. In high-wind areas, make sure to inspect extra clips for integrity. These issues could lead to premature wear of the curtain or hardware, increase strain on springs, or even result in the door jumping the track. Replace components or full door assembly as needed.
• Worn fasteners – Look for loose bolts or screws, missing hardware, stripped threads, rusty or corroded fasteners, and any wall anchors that are pulling out of masonry or metal walls. Repair or replace components as needed before extreme weather strikes.

Facilities that prioritize preventive maintenance tend to recover faster after severe weather events. Doors remain operable, roofs stay watertight, and damage is often limited to localized repairs rather than widespread replacement. Faster recovery not only reduces repair costs but also minimizes tenant disruption—a critical factor in maintaining customer trust following a storm. Well-documented maintenance programs can also support smoother insurance claims by demonstrating proactive asset management.

As insurers and regulators respond to rising weather-related losses, operators may face increased scrutiny of facility conditions and preparedness. Maintenance records, inspection schedules, and documented repairs are becoming more than operational best practices—they are part of broader risk management strategies.

Ultimately, extreme weather resilience is not achieved through a single upgrade or product choice. It is built through consistent attention to detail, informed inspection practices, and an understanding of how individual components interact under stress. For self-storage operators, maintenance is not just about extending asset life. It is about protecting tenants, preserving operations, and ensuring that facilities remain dependable when conditions are at their worst.

ndustry experts share their secrets to selecting the right self-storage management software. From integrations to product roadmaps to user-friendly systems, discover how to pick a true technology partner.

With so many options, features, and all-in-one promises, finding the facility management software that meets your needs can be daunting. Happily, your software doesn’t need to do everything. Instead of focusing on capacity or cost alone, prioritize the features that matter most to your business and those with whom you do business.

Software is the backbone of your business, shares Tommy Nguyen, co-founder of Storage Pug, an online learning academy for all things self-storage. Determine how you want your business to function, what your non-negotiables are, and then seek out the top vendors for the job. He recommends a “best-in-breed” approach. “I’ll want the best gate vendor, auctions vendor, lien management vendor—don’t limit yourself to one system,” he says. “It’s about the tentacles, not just the backbone.”

And yet, everything connects to that backbone. Shannon Charbonneau of XPS Solutions, a third-party vendor who works with multiple platforms, mentions the importance of system integrations. “First thing I tell people is to really consider your FMS. Just like an octopus, all the arms need to connect back to the head,” she says. Before you sign a contract, says Charbonneau, be sure your “octopus” plays well with others. “If you change software, it can be a problem to transfer X, Y, and Z.” Consider arrangements with other suppliers, and be sure your new system communicates with theirs. “If it’s the first time you’ve heard of the product,” says Charbonneau, “they likely aren’t integrated with all your systems.”

Kat Shenoy, CEO at Self-Storage Manager, highlights the importance of a connected system. From lead capture to rentals, billing, communication, and long-term account management, your platform should support the full customer lifecycle. “Key considerations include system stability, reporting and analytics, integration with industry partners, and the ability to automate everyday tasks,” he says.

As well, Sarah Beth DeFazio, vice president of sales and development at Universal Service Group, underscores the importance of investing in a well-rounded system. “Don’t overlook integrations. Your software should talk to your website, call center, gate access, revenue management tools, and online rental platform seamlessly. A system that lives in isolation creates manual work and gaps in the customer experience.”

“What’s on their six-month roadmap?” Nguyen asks. Be sure they have one. “That means they’ll continue to innovate, listen to customers, and build things they don’t have today. You don’t want to work with someone—or a system—that’s stagnant.”

When vendors get lofty with their promises, Nguyen observes, it may indicate what the software currently lacks. “If you hear, ‘we’re working on that’ more than three or four times,” he says, “that’s a generic answer for what they can’t do now.”

A company that listens to operator feedback and invests in innovation is one worth building a relationship with. “Think long term,” adds DeFazio. “You’re not just buying software for today—you’re choosing a technology partner that will support your growth. Ask where their product roadmap is heading.”

Even so, Donovan Wong, senior marketing manager of Tenant Inc., recommends owners really assess their current state of affairs, as well as any goals for growth. A key question: How does this fit the way your operation actually runs today? “Not how it fits the ideal version of your operation … the real one,” says Wong. “The best software for your business meets you where you are and grows with you, rather than requiring you to reorganize around it.”

Carol Mixon of SkilCheck Services has been in the industry since the mid-80s. She emphasizes the importance of looking beyond cost to dynamic options for your facility, especially those equipped with good support. Return on investment is higher with software that grows with your business. “You’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have good software,” she says. Facilities rely heavily on software, Mixon explains, from late notices and audits to rent concession tracking, so software innovations necessitate evolving support. “Be sure the whole system’s good enough. When owners say they don’t want to spend so much money on software—they just want to buy it—they forget it’s not a one-and-done situation. When they make improvements to it, you’ll need that support.”

While there’s the temptation to buy something off the shelf or focus solely on cost, these tactics usually cost more down the line. “I recommend highly that cost is not the only priority,” says Charbonneau. “There’s a bit of a race to the bottom with that. Cheap and cheerful may be fantastic now, but down the road, you may spend more money transitioning.”

No one likes sifting through an automated system to get a live human, especially when instant support is needed. “The cheapest option may look appealing on a spreadsheet,” says DeFazio, “but if it leaves you waiting days for support, it will cost you far more in the long run. Find a company that will invest in training your team properly at implementation and ongoing and has a support team that actually picks up the phone. That relationship matters as much as the product.”

And while Wong points out the importance of gauging your current business needs, it’s also good to look ahead. Shenoy recommends choosing a software partner that embraces growth; as your business evolves, so should your software. “Operators should start by evaluating whether the platform is designed to support their long-term operational strategy, too,” says Shenoy. “Equally important to that strategy is the quality of onboarding, training, and ongoing support provided by the software company. A strong operational partnership with the vendor can often make as much of a difference as the software itself.”

Mixon agrees. “Don’t let a slick sales presentation fool you,” she says. “Ask for what you need, and then say, ‘Show me or tell me what it looks like when so and so happens.’ You want an operational expert, not just a nice visual.”

Wong also stresses choosing a technology partner, not just a provider. Storage operators get the most from their software when they have strong support, dedicated contacts, and ongoing training. “What does the relationship look like after you go live?” he asks. “A great demo is easy. Find out what it’s actually like to call them many months in. The selection process is really a question of fit. Operators should ask the questions that reveal it.”

Across the panel, an important consideration when selecting software is universal ease of use, from managers to operators to customers. To ascertain a true user experience, speak to other operators and their staff—those who use it daily. DeFazio recommends heading to trade shows hosted by self-storage associations, ISS, and MSM (THE Show) for live demos and exposure to top technologies side by side. “There’s no better way to compare your options in context,” she says. “As well, loop in the people on your team who will actually use it day to day. Their buy-in matters for adoption. The best software in the world doesn’t deliver ROI if your staff resists it.”

Software that finesses the customer experience is crucial. “It should be invisible to your tenants,” says Charbonneau. “Like they don’t even think about it. If after five months, you’re even thinking about anything related to self-storage–as a customer–it’s never a good thing.”

Mixon recommends speaking with other operators about what they use. Owners need more than payment processing; they also need strong backend auditing and visibility into rent concessions and occupancy data. “Talk to managers who are using it to see if it’s accessible,” she says. “You need input from people besides the sales staff.” Likewise, Nguyen stresses the importance of an easily navigated system for all involved in your business. “You want software that’s built for the people who use it most—your manager, your customer service agents, whoever’s logging into that portal each day. It needs to work for your team. You want software that converts users and builds trust.”

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.

By Giselle Aguiar

n an increasingly competitive and digitally driven market, the self-storage industry must evolve to meet the changing demands of customers and stakeholders. From small, family-owned facilities to large corporate chains, and from real estate consultants to investment groups, every segment of the industry stands to benefit from cutting-edge technology. Gemini’s suite of generative AI tools offers powerful solutions, enabling businesses to save time and resources while creating compelling content and driving strategic growth. This guide explores how these tools can be leveraged to transform operations and achieve sustainable success in the self-storage landscape.

For facility owners and managers, operational efficiency is paramount. In this regard, the Gemini Agent is a game-changer. It provides a sophisticated layer of 24/7 customer service automation. Imagine an intelligent agent that can handle initial inquiries about unit sizes, current rates, and availability across various platforms. For independent facilities, this means never missing a potential lead due to being short-staffed or having limited hours. Larger corporations can use the Gemini Agent to streamline communication and ensure consistent, high-quality responses, freeing up human staff to focus on more complex issues and tenant relations. This round-the-clock availability significantly enhances customer experience, a key differentiator in any market.

Beyond direct customer interaction, everyday productivity is vital. The integration of Gemini in Chrome (https://gemini.google/overview/gemini-in-chrome) provides a boost to a manager’s daily workflow. Its auto-browse feature can automate repetitive online tasks, such as finding and purchasing office supplies and merchandise. Furthermore, the ability to quickly summarize lengthy industry news, municipal code updates, or competitor web pages keeps managers informed and agile, thus saving time. These small time-savers compound, allowing more focus on strategic priorities.

Personally, when I come across a very long article, I simply click on “Ask Gemini” at the top of the Chrome Browser and tell it to please give me the TL; DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read), and it will give me a summary in seconds.

Images
Gemini’s Image Generation/ImageFX/Flow (https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation) tool, with its Nano Banana capabilities, empowers facilities of all sizes to create high-quality, professional visual content with ease. Real estate consultants can generate stunning architectural visualizations of proposed facility designs to attract investors. Marketing departments can create eye-catching social media graphics, website banners, and promotional posters. The unique Nano Banana features, which allow users to circle, draw, or type right onto an image, enable marketing teams to easily edit existing facility photos.

Have you tried creating graphics with other AI platforms and got illegible text and people with more than five fingers? That’s not the case with Nano Banana. I recently had to create a blog header graphic for a wellness clinic. Instead of wasting time looking through dozens of stock images, I went to Nano Banana and I had a perfect image in less than 10 seconds. My client loved it.

See Nano Banana image.

Note: On April 30, 2026, ImageFX officially graduated into “Flow.” ImageFX launched back in 2024 as “an experiment to push the boundaries of visual creation.” Now, Google Gemini is taking what they’ve learned to provide a robust, long-term home for your creativity in Flow.

Videos
In an era dominated by video, the Video Generation (https://gemini.google/overview/video-generation) tool, powered by Veo, provides a substantial competitive advantage. Creating sharp, virtual tours of various unit sizes, facility common areas, and detailed overviews of security features can now be done by giving it a descriptive prompt. This allows potential tenants to explore a facility from the comfort of their home, building trust and accelerating the rental process. With its template gallery, marketing professionals can quickly generate engaging social media ads and promotional content that stands out in a crowded digital space. Furthermore, the ability to convert simple facility photos into dynamic, eye-catching videos with rich storytelling enables even smaller facilities to produce compelling content without a huge production budget. It levels the playing field.

For consultants, investors, and large-scale operators, well-informed decisions are the foundation of success. Deep Research (https://gemini.google/overview/deep-research) is an invaluable asset for conducting thorough market analysis. It can synthesize data on potential new locations, analyze competitor pricing and amenity sets, and provide a clear picture of local demographic shifts and trends.

Real estate and marketing consultants can deliver comprehensive, data-rich reports with ease. The visual reports feature, which embeds interactive visuals within the research findings, makes it simpler for all stakeholders to understand complex information and align strategic directions. The ability to request citations from specific sources, such as scientific papers or detailed industry reports, ensures that all analysis is grounded in verifiable evidence, a critical requirement for investment decisions. Note: Always double-check the cited sources to avoid outdated or redundant information. In fact, when giving the AI tool a prompt, be specific by providing a time frame.

Central to strategic and operational analysis is the ability to leverage existing data. NotebookLM (https://notebooklm.google.com) allows businesses to upload their own documents, as well as industry reports, into the Gemini ecosystem for deeper analysis. A large multi-facility operator can upload its complete set of operational manuals, standardized lease templates, insurance policies, and local zoning laws. Management can then interact with this knowledge base using natural language, quickly finding answers to specific compliance questions or comparing operational processes across locations. This creates a centralized hub of information, ensuring consistency, enhancing compliance, and streamlining decision-making for complex issues.

In my article in the March 2026 issue of Messenger, “Clarity Is Crucial,” I explained how I took 44 resources, including ebooks, videos, and article links, and had Notebook LM produce a 1200-word article. (https://digital.modernstoragemedia.com/messenger/issue/march-2026sb/clarity-is-crucial)

The self-storage customer base is culturally diverse. Gemini now speaks over 65 languages, so businesses can communicate with potential and existing tenants, investors, or buyers on a global scale. For facilities in linguistically diverse areas, as well as outside of the U.S., this is a useful feature.

Managers can instantly translate rental agreements, facility rules and guidelines, emails, and marketing materials, ensuring clarity and transparency for all customers. If you use Google Workspace/Gmail (https://workspace.google.com), which now includes Gemini, you can translate emails in mere seconds.

For those looking to build a unique brand and strong
community connection, Gemini offers creative tools like Storybook (https://gemini.google/overview/storybook) that can be used by small facility owners to create engaging narrative content about their business, its history, or its unique values. This is a powerful way to build trust and a distinct community presence. Furthermore, Storybook could be used to create engaging “stories” for children of customers who have to visit, turning a mundane trip into a more pleasant experience for everyone. This type of creative, high-touch marketing is invaluable in building a loyal and engaged customer base.

Finally, for unique operational needs, GEMs (https://gemini.google/overview/gems) provides a way to create experimental, mini-apps (AI agents) for specific tasks. While experimental, this feature holds tremendous potential. A facility could build a custom GEM for calculating unit sizing needs, a simple calculator to analyze rental data, or even a basic CRM tool. This empowers self-storage facilities to address very specific pain points without needing a team of developers.

The self-storage industry is on the cusp of a significant technological transformation, and Gemini tools can help you be at the forefront of this shift.

No matter your size or function, the time to leverage the power of Gemini is now. Nevertheless, keep in mind that all these tools are constantly evolving into faster, more in-depth functions. However, remember that they are machines and do not possess wisdom, common sense, or empathy. Moreover, even Gemini admitted that it is AI and it makes mistakes. [Base source: https://gemini.google/gemini-drops]

By Alejandra Zilak

e live in the future now. Everything’s online: Swipe right to find a date, scan a QR code at restaurants to read the menu, and order laundry detergent to get delivered to your front door. To remain competitive, industries across the board need to have a compelling online presence.

Within the self-storage industry, you may be able to get away with a simple website, but when it comes to offering tenants digital leasing contracts, it’s crucial to implement multiple safeguards.

That may sound like common sense, yet it may also be overwhelming to keep track of all the pieces of the puzzle. What should you be looking for to ensure you’re implementing digital leasing effectively? Fortunately, there are plenty of industry veterans willing to offer guidance.*

Tim Hall, senior vice president of sales at Tenant, Inc., provider of self-storage software, points out that the online rental flows of some storage websites enable customers to choose a unit and pay for it from their mobile devices without actually executing a rental agreement while taking the payment. “This causes a level of exposure to the operator who is relying on staff to ensure the agreement is executed. Without a completed rental agreement, it becomes difficult to initiate the lien process or proceed to auction.” When evaluating software, he advises that it’s critical to choose a provider that builds all the necessary capabilities to ensure statutory compliance.

“The biggest gaps I ever see come from owners who have a DIY mindset on this,” says Shannon Charbonneau, vice president of client solutions at XPS Solutions. “I know it can seem tempting to think that you’re going to build your own lease agreement, or your own website, or run everything on QuickBooks. All of these can be done; but if you’re looking for accurate, complete documentation that is stored properly, is available when needed, and protected around the clock, I would argue that it isn’t about whether it can be done, but rather whether it should be done.”

Hall takes it a step further. “We work directly with storage attorneys Scott Zucker and Carlos Kaslow from Self Storage Legal Network to ensure we have all the relevant statutory information needed to design the right functionalities. We also provide a library of leases to our customers that are state compliant to reduce legal cost for our customers. You can significantly reduce the billable legal hours required to write a lease agreement by starting with a quality compliant template written for the states where you operate.”

This is the most fundamental step. “I recommend that you partner with a reputable Facility Management Software (FMS) and website provider, especially ones that specialize in self-storage,” says Charbonneau. “When you combine those two elements, you will have a document process that properly records IP addresses and timestamps for validation of the document.” She also advises requiring information specific to the tenant, including driver’s license number, cell phone, and home address. “These are all verifiable points of data for you to ensure you’re accepting leases from real people.”

Ashley Oblinger, partner at Weissman Zucker Euster + Oblinger P.C., stresses the importance of recording IP addresses and timestamps as well. “And there are additional alternatives to verify tenant identity, including email verification links and one-time authorization codes sent via SMS, along with the customer sending a selfie so that the facility has a picture of the tenant without any personal data attached to it. “Some operators also move to software that allows tenants to upload a picture of their government ID, as we have seen in other industries.”

Chuck Gordon, CEO of Storable, advises taking additional action when verifying customers. “In addition to building a step into the digital lease where customers upload a photo of their government-issued ID, staff should also visually compare that ID to the lease information and, where available, to a selfie or in-person visit.”

This is one of those safeguards that not only ensures you get paid, but it also becomes part of your administrative record should you later need it down the road. “Requiring a credit card or bank account at signing helps confirm the person has control of a legitimate payment method,” says Gordon. “The payment token, the last four digits, and the transaction record become part of your evidentiary trail.”

As with many Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings, there are multiple facility management software (FMS) options, and choosing the right one is crucial. Oblinger recommends looking for one that makes it easy to view documents, extrapolate all necessary information from the rental agreement that is needed for the operation of the facility (name, unit number, rent amount, rent due date, etc.), and incorporate that information with lien enforcement.

Charbonneau strongly advises joining your local self-storage association. “Please join the state where your business is headquartered, or where the bulk of your facilities are located, if those are different. I also recommend using the state lease for your SSA.” Factors to pay close attention to include lien laws, insurance, and fees. “You want a lease that protects you in all locations and requires the least administrative burden. However, you may be forced into a higher level of burden, depending on where you’re located.”

For his part, Oblinger points out that operators are required to comply with their state’s Self-Storage Act, which governs what terms are required to be in the rental agreement. “Other than that, the Electronic Signatures and Global and National Commerce Act, along with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, allow the enforcement of electronic signatures,” he says. “It can help an operator to also have an internal date/timestamp of when the rental agreement was electronically signed along with the IP address of the customer who signed the lease.”

Gordon offers additional practical advice, such as using a modifiable master lease, then enabling your software to enforce the right version. “Once you have a core lease, also prepare state/province-specific addenda for lien laws, notices, disclosures, surcharging, and consumer protections,” he says. “Then configure your leasing platform so that staff can only send the jurisdiction-appropriate template, with taxes, fees, and required clauses automatically driven by the facility’s location and, where needed, the tenant’s address.”

That said, he cautions that this isn’t a matter of setting it once and going on about your day. “Assign ownership—whether it’s internal or outside counsel—to track tenant, lien, privacy, and surcharging rules by jurisdiction, then update lease language and configuration on a defined schedule. Include staff training into that timeline before a clear go-live date.”

Once that process is in place, Gordon recommends validating it with periodic compliance reviews. “Regularly sample executed digital leases across locations to confirm the right template, addenda, disclosures, and signatures are in use and that retention and access policies support audits, disputes, and litigation.”

Protecting customer data should always be a priority. “Operators should ensure that all documents are stored with a sufficient level of encryption,” says Oblinger. “Make sure that it complies with industry standards (Advanced Encryption Standard or AES), and that access to those documents is restricted to necessary personnel only.”

Gordon gets even more specific with his recommended types of encryption. “Data that’s at rest should be encrypted using modern standards such as AES-256; and when it’s in transit, all communications should be secured using TLS 1.2 or higher to prevent interception of sensitive information.” In addition, he recommends ensuring that vendors and any third-party security you engage are also meeting the appropriate cybersecurity standards.

Charbonneau keeps bringing up the importance of finding an FMS platform that works well for you. “I sound a little bit like an FMS salesperson, but the answer is once again to ensure that you’re working with a reputable company. Your leases should be going through your software system, and you want to look for an FMS that provides digital protection for the lease information.”

Hall agrees. “We have a new product called SuperLease, which uses one-click signing and cryptographic data capture, including who signed, the signer’s location, and the signature timestamp. It also simplifies the document management process because you can manage the entire lifecycle for that customer within a single document regardless of unit transfers, added spaces, or protection policy adjustments.” He adds that your software should adapt to legislative changes. Take SB709, the California rent disclosure law that passed in January 2026. “We’ve enabled a state-compliant module that verifies each lease, has the disclosures required by law, and automatically adds the required information into each individual rental agreement. How many software solutions on the market have solved this problem?”

Once you have all the necessary precautions in place, be mindful that they will only be effective if all hands are on deck. “Staff should be trained to review and audit all newly executed rental agreements to ensure all information was entered and that tenants have provided confirmation of their identity,” says Oblinger. “If something is missing, there should be a procedure set up for the staff to follow to obtain that information.” He also advises that staff should be trained to look for certain indicators that may suggest fraud on the part of the customer. “This is one area where artificial intelligence may help operators in the near future, as these tasks may be handled solely by AI software.”

As with any type of relationship, the better the communication, the fewer issues arise later, especially when you need a signature or require a new lease. “Any communication to the tenant should include the dates of the changes, new ownership information, assurance that they will still be receiving the services, etc. Do this at the same time you’re asking for a new signature,” says Charbonneau.

Moreover, Oblinger recommends including crucial information on your site. “The operator’s website should contain a privacy policy that discloses data collection and usage, and tenants should also be allowed to access their executed rental agreement through a tenant portal.”

Another essential practice is to know what to do with all those leasing agreements once a tenant is no longer a customer. Oblinger advises having a document retention protocol. “All tenant-related documents should be kept for four to 10 years, depending on the state’s statute of limitations on breach of contract matters, after the expiration of the customer’s tenancy. This allows the operator to have access to records if a tenant claim arises during the applicable limitation period.”

Gordon highlights additional best practices, such as having secure archival systems for historical lease documentation, encrypted backups and exports when operators retrieve historical data, and secure destruction methods when data reaches the end of its retention period. “This limits exposure of sensitive information over time.”

Remember to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. “With regards to audit readiness, I would look again to the FMS,” says Charbonneau. “They will have specific requirements, so follow those thoroughly. Some are standard to all systems, such as making sure that each individual person who accesses the software has a unique and dedicated user ID, as well as a password that is changed at appropriate times and adheres to safety requirements.”

She points out that while the FMS will send the leases, it is up to the operator to require and follow up for signed leases for all tenants. It is up to the owner to ensure that all information is documented correctly: names, addresses, ID information, and any forms submitted by the tenant, such as auto pay or address changes.

As for Oblinger, he warns that all tenant-related documents should be easily available for authorized personnel to access and produce. “This includes rental agreements, addendums, rent increases, ledgers, file notes, lien notices, etc. Operators should also have all vendor contracts readily accessible.”

Any time a question arises, only trust the advice of industry professionals, whether it’s from your local SSA, attorneys with experience in the industry, third-party management companies, or any other relevant source. “Please, for the love, if you have a question about running your facility or about your leases, do not ask it in a crowd-sourcing method like a Facebook group,” says Charbonneau. “Attend your SSA and state self-storage events, and get to know other operators, management companies, or even vendors. This industry is exceptional in that you will almost always be able to find someone knowledgeable who is willing to help if you ask!”

She also emphasizes that there are people and companies that provide consulting services to operators on these and many other topics. “If you genuinely don’t know the answer to business-critical items, reach out and hire someone for a short time to ensure you’re getting proper information. Whatever you post on a Facebook group can just as likely get you sued. Save your time and hire someone for an hour to discuss your exact need and get a real, knowledgeable, and accurate assessment.”

*Guidance within this article is for informational purposes only; it should not be construed as legal advice.

ew Braunfels is the Texas town everyone’s talking about. Nestled between San Antonio and Austin, it’s garnering attention for its rapid growth and is ranked the second most moved-to U.S. ZIP code. Opened in 2025, New Braunfels Executive Storage correctly hedged its bets on this Lone Star State gem.

Developed by entrepreneur Jorden Mahler, the nine-acre facility prioritizes convenience, security, and customer experience. Located along busy Highway 46, the Class-A property spans 122,709 rentable square feet and boasts 575 units plus RV and boat storage. Design was thoughtful, with buildings arranged fortress-style to improve security, minimize fencing, and optimize traffic flow. Amenities include an air station, ice kiosk, food truck zone, and customer lounge with vintage juke box. It all reflects Mahler’s philosophy of “making storage sexy again.” And based on demand, which even required a tenant waitlist, the approach is clearly turning heads.

To watch drone footage of New Braunfels Executive Storage taken by Lighthouse Storage Solutions, click the button below.

By Jonathon Stevens

or decades, enterprise technology leaders have been told that modernization is the safest path forward. Refactor legacy systems. Incrementally improve what exists, and avoid the perceived risk of starting over. In theory, this approach minimizes disruption and protects prior investment. In practice, many organizations find themselves investing significant time, capital, and talent into systems that were never designed for today’s security expectations, integration demands, or automation requirements. What starts as a practical approach can gradually evolve into something far less effective. There comes a point where modernization no longer drives progress and instead begins to restrict it.

In many organizations, modernization efforts focus heavily on upgrading technology assets while leaving delivery models, ownership boundaries, and decision latency unchanged. When the operating model remains static, even well‑executed technical upgrades fail to deliver meaningful agility. Many legacy applications aren’t slow or fragile simply because they’re old. They struggle because they were architected for a world that no longer exists. A decade ago, most enterprise systems were built around fundamentally different assumptions. Workloads were relatively stable, architectures were tightly coupled, and human intervention was expected at nearly every stage of the process. The need for real-time integration, dynamic scaling, and automated decision-making was limited compared to today’s standards. Cloud elasticity, API ecosystems, event-driven automation, and AI-assisted operations were not yet foundational expectations. As a result, design decisions that were logical and even optimal at the time now quietly cap what organizations can automate and how far they can scale.

This is where many modernization efforts begin to falter. Teams attempt to layer new capabilities on top of systems that were never designed to support them. Tools are added, integrations expand, and automation is introduced, but instead of unlocking agility, these efforts expose the limits of the underlying architecture. The result is not transformation but accumulation. Automation, in particular, exposes architectural friction faster than any other requirement. Systems built for human-paced workflows and manual exception handling struggle when processes must run continuously, consistently, and without intervention. What once worked through flexibility and oversight begins to break under the demands of scale and speed, revealing brittle dependencies and structural limitations. Layers of technology build up around a core that remains fundamentally unchanged, increasing complexity without delivering meaningful progress. This becomes especially visible as organizations attempt to introduce AI‑assisted capabilities. Predictive insights, intelligent sourcing, and decision support may be technically achievable but operationally fragile when layered onto platforms that were never designed to expose clean data or support continuous execution. What should simplify operations instead adds another layer of complexity.

Architectural decisions made years ago continue to shape what is possible today. Many legacy platforms were built as monoliths with embedded business logic, rigid data models, and custom integrations. These systems often continue to function reliably, which reinforces the instinct to preserve and extend them. However, reliability alone does not equate to adaptability. As organizations attempt to modernize these systems, they often encounter friction at every layer. Automating workflows requires additional abstraction, which introduces fragility. Scaling demands disproportionate effort because systems were not designed to distribute load dynamically. Integrations become increasingly complex, creating dependencies that are difficult to manage and even harder to unwind. In tightly coupled systems, feedback loops lengthen. The time between change, validation, and correction increases, making experimentation expensive and slowing learning across the organization. Over time, incremental modernization begins to deliver diminishing returns. Each improvement becomes harder to implement and less impactful than the last. Cloud migration is frequently positioned as a turning point, but it rarely resolves these challenges on its own. Moving a legacy system into a cloud environment can improve uptime, resilience, or cost efficiency, but it does not fundamentally change how that system operates. Cloud-hosted is not the same as cloud-native. Without rethinking the architecture itself, organizations often find themselves running yesterday’s systems on today’s infrastructure, with many of the same limitations still intact.

One of the most common misconceptions in enterprise technology is that infrastructure modernization will unlock agility on its own. In reality, many legacy systems resist meaningful change because their core design remains intact. Tightly coupled components make independent updates risky. Embedded business logic limits adaptability. Rigid data models slow down iteration and complicate integration with modern tools. Even small changes can introduce unintended consequences. A minor update in one part of the system can trigger disruption elsewhere, leading teams to proceed cautiously or avoid change altogether. Over time, this creates an environment where stability is preserved but progress is constrained. Organizations begin to prioritize stability over progress, not by choice but by necessity. And teams become highly skilled at working around limitations rather than eliminating them.

When organizations choose to modernize around foundational limitations rather than address them directly, hidden costs begin to accumulate, often in ways that are difficult to quantify. Operationally, teams spend increasing time maintaining workarounds, troubleshooting brittle automations, and coordinating manual processes that automation was meant to replace. What should be streamlined becomes layered and complex, increasing both effort and risk. From a security perspective, each additional integration, dependency, and workaround expands the attack surface. Inconsistent access models and legacy components make governance more difficult to enforce, introducing risk that is often underestimated. As complexity grows, visibility decreases, creating blind spots that can be difficult to detect and even harder to remediate. Culturally, the impact can be even more significant. Teams begin to normalize constraints by lowering expectations, avoiding change, and accepting slow delivery as normal. Innovation becomes incremental by default rather than intentional by design. Constrained platforms also affect talent. High‑performing engineers gravitate toward environments where progress is possible. Legacy constraints make hiring harder, onboarding slower, and retention more fragile. Over time, these costs compound, turning modernization into an exercise in complexity management rather than a path to agility. It quietly erodes both velocity and trust in the platform.

In addition, leaders must consider technical debt. Technical debt is often framed as something that can be managed over time. Something that can be incrementally improved without major disruption. But in many cases, technical debt provides a false sense of control. As systems age, the cost of maintaining them becomes less visible and more distributed. It shows up in slower delivery cycles, increased coordination overhead, and reduced ability to respond quickly to change. These costs rarely appear in a single line item, but they compound across the organization. At a certain threshold, continuing to invest in a constrained system is not the conservative choice. It is simply the familiar one.

Rebuilding a platform from first principles is often perceived as the highest-
risk path. It involves upfront investment, organizational alignment, and a willingness to move away from systems that teams understand and have spent years supporting. But in certain scenarios, it is the most conservative option available. The decision is not about replacing what exists for the sake of novelty. It is about recognizing when the underlying architecture is no longer aligned with the organization’s future needs. Leaders evaluating this decision can look for a few consistent signals, such as:

• Automation requires significant customization or fails under scale,
• Integration efforts consistently introduce fragility,
• Small changes carry outsized operational risk,
• Delivery velocity continues to decline despite ongoing investment, and/or
• Teams rely on workarounds to achieve basic functionality.

When these patterns emerge, they often indicate that the constraint is not at the surface but at the foundation. In practice, successful rebuilds are rarely big‑bang replacements. They are staged, parallel efforts that allow new capabilities to emerge while risk is systematically reduced.

There is no universal answer to whether an organization should modernize or rebuild. Both paths can be valid depending on the context, the system, and the business objectives. However, the decision should be grounded in long-term outcomes rather than short-term comfort. Incremental modernization may be appropriate when the underlying architecture can support future requirements with reasonable adaptation. Rebuilding becomes the stronger option when foundational limitations prevent meaningful progress, regardless of how much investment is applied on top. When the architecture itself constrains automation, integration, and scalability, incremental change will only go so far. The key is to evaluate not just the cost of change but also sthe cost of standing still.

Enterprise technology decisions are rarely made in ideal conditions. They are shaped by timelines, budgets, and the pressure to deliver immediate results. Modernization has long been positioned as the safer path because it appears to reduce disruption and preserve continuity. But safety, in this context, is often defined too narrowly. The rise of AI makes this tension more acute. As organizations look to embed intelligence deeper into workflows, the limitations of legacy architectures become harder to ignore. Platforms that cannot support reliable automation, clean data access, and adaptive behavior will struggle to translate AI investment into real advantage. True risk is not just the possibility of failure during change. It is the gradual loss of flexibility, speed, and competitiveness over time. In an environment where automation, integration, and adaptability are no longer differentiators but requirements, the most conservative decision is not always the least disruptive one. Sometimes, it is the one that rebuilds the foundation entirely.

By Ryan Gibson

he tax code rewards commercial real estate investors in meaningful ways. Depreciation, cost segregation, retirement account structures, and strategic income classification all work in favor of those who plan ahead.

After over a decade of investing in and operating self-storage properties, I have found that the investors who build the most durable wealth are those who treat tax planning as a continuous process rather than a seasonal obligation.

The strategies that follow are not novel, but they are underused. The real value lies in closing the gap between knowing and applying them.

The contribution limits for 2026 are generous, and too few investors take full advantage. The IRS allows up to $24,500 in 401(k) deferrals, with an 8,000 catch-up for those 50 and older. IRA limits sit at $7,500, or $8,600 for the 50-plus group.

For self-storage investors, the self-directed IRA, or SDIRA, permits retirement capital to flow into syndications, private debt, and other alternative vehicles that conventional brokerage accounts will not accommodate. Depending on whether the account is structured as traditional or Roth, returns grow tax-deferred or tax-free.

There is a wrinkle, though. When an SDIRA invests in a leveraged real estate partnership, earnings can trigger unrelated debt-financed income rules, commonly referred to as UDFI, which erode the tax shelter.

One way to manage this is to direct SDIRA capital toward unleveraged deals or private lending, where UDFI exposure drops, and reserve personal cash for leveraged equity positions. Broader, unrelated business taxable income rules can still surface depending on how the lending arrangement is structured, which makes it worth reviewing any private debt commitment with your CPA before putting SDIRA dollars to work.

Employer plan contributions must be made by December 31, but IRA contributions for a given tax year remain open until the filing deadline. If you came up short last year, automate those deposits now and take the decision off the table entirely.

A well-constructed self-storage portfolio typically includes both equity and debt positions, and the two receive very different treatment under the tax code.

Equity investments in syndications generate passive income and losses. Depreciation and cost segregation from one deal can offset taxable distributions from another, reducing your aggregate passive tax liability. Losses you cannot use in a given year carry forward indefinitely, which gives them a compounding quality over a multi-year hold period. Investors with positions in several syndications should model their expected income and loss profiles together rather than evaluating each deal in isolation.

Debt positions follow a separate track. Interest earned from private lending is classified as ordinary income, and passive losses from your equity investments cannot offset it. This distinction catches investors off guard every year, and the resulting tax bill is always unwelcome.

All of this operates within the passive activity loss rules. As a limited partner, your real estate income and losses are classified as passive, meaning they generally cannot offset W-2 wages or portfolio income. The exception is the real estate professional designation, which requires clearing more than 750 hours of material participation in real property trades or businesses during the year, and more than half of your total working hours devoted to those activities.

Few passive investors will satisfy both conditions, but those who work in the industry full time owe it to themselves to explore the designation with their CPA.

In a Roth conversion, you move funds from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA and pay taxes on the converted amount in the current year. In return, the money grows tax-free on qualified withdrawals, with no required minimum distributions during your lifetime.

Depreciation makes this strategy especially relevant to self-storage investors, but your tax status determines how the math works. Investors who qualify as real estate professionals can apply substantial first-year cost segregation losses against their overall taxable income, which opens a window to convert traditional IRA funds at a lower effective rate.

For purely passive investors, those depreciation losses generally won’t offset the ordinary income a conversion creates. The conversion can still pencil out in years when your other income sources run below their normal baseline, but the savings won’t flow from passive real estate losses alone.

The margin between a smart conversion and an unwelcome tax bill is narrow enough that this warrants a detailed conversation with your CPA before committing any dollars. Once the funds land inside the Roth, they compound free of further tax obligations.

A practical move for those who do find the math favorable is to map your depreciation schedule across your portfolio and identify the years where large cost segregation events are expected. Taking advantage of those windows, particularly when overall taxable income is running lower than usual, can deliver meaningful savings over a 20- or 30-year horizon.

For investors holding real estate inside an SDIRA, the assets must be appraised at fair market value before any conversion. The Internal Revenue Service expects that valuation to withstand examination, so engaging a qualified appraiser is not optional.

K-1 delivery is one of the most predictable sources of stress in a passive investor’s tax season, though it does not need to be. As a limited partner in a syndication structured as a partnership or multi-member LLC, your Schedule K-1 reports your share of income, losses, and deductions. Operators commonly deliver these forms in March, and complex fund structures can push delivery even later.

Filing a personal return before all K-1s are in hand creates a cascade of amended filings and unnecessary accounting costs. A federal extension to October 15 is available to every taxpayer, carries no additional cost in most cases, and does not elevate audit risk. As a wise accountant once told me, it is better to extend than amend.

When your K-1 arrives, review it before passing it to your CPA. Confirm your taxpayer identification number, entity name, and state-source allocations. Investors in funds that own properties across multiple states may find income allocations that trigger nonresident filing obligations. The dollar amounts can be modest, but unaddressed state notices create headaches that far outweigh the effort of filing.

With this year’s filing behind you, take an honest inventory of the process. Were K-1 delivery timelines communicated clearly by your operators? Did your CPA have everything needed to file accurately? One proactive conversation with each party now lays the foundation for a far smoother cycle next year.

Depreciation has long been the most consequential tax benefit in commercial real estate, and the rules governing it changed materially last July. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently restored 100 percent bonus depreciation for qualifying property both acquired and placed in service after Jan. 19, 2025.

Timing matters for deals that closed in early 2025. Property acquired under a binding written contract dated on or before January 19 falls under the prior phase-down schedule, regardless of when it was placed in service, a nuance that could affect the depreciation investors received on their most recent K-1s.

The mechanics work like this: When an operator acquires a facility, a cost segregation study disaggregates the property into components based on useful life. Lighting, paving, cabinetry, and certain site improvements are reclassified from the standard 39-year commercial building schedule onto five- or 15-year recovery periods. With 100 percent bonus depreciation in effect, the full value of those reclassified components can be deducted in year one.

Depending on the property’s age, construction type, and land-to-building ratio, the reclassified portion typically falls within 20 to 40 percent of the depreciable basis, though some assets land above/below that band. Those first-year paper losses flow through to investors and can be applied against passive income from other holdings.

Investors in deals that closed before Jan. 20, 2025, remain subject to the prior phase-down schedule, which capped bonus depreciation at 40 percent for the 2025 tax year. If you filed this spring, confirm with your operator which rules applied to your position.

Going forward, the permanent reinstatement reshapes the economics of new acquisitions. If you are evaluating self-storage opportunities this year, ask whether the operator plans to conduct a cost segregation study and what first-year depreciation allocation they project for investors. That variable will have a direct and measurable effect on your after-tax return.

The tax code offers meaningful incentives to commercial real estate investors willing to plan for them. The difference between capturing those benefits and leaving them unrealized comes down to discipline. Stay in regular contact with your CPA, review K-1s with care and treat tax strategy as something that runs parallel to your investment decisions rather than trailing behind them.

If this past season went well, build on it. If it revealed shortcomings, you have 12 months to address them before the next filing deadline arrives.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Tax laws and IRS guidance are subject to change; information reflects the law as of the date of publication. Tax rules vary by jurisdiction; consult an advisor familiar with the laws of your specific state(s). Nothing in this article should be construed as a recommendation to invest in any specific offering or security. Always consult a qualified CPA, tax attorney, or financial advisor before making any tax, legal, or investment decisions.

By Ben Vestal

any of you have seen the latest reports on increasing inflation in today’s economy. Inflation is the scourge of savers, diminishing the value of nest eggs and retirement accounts. Among other things, inflation is the result of a “cheap money” policy (very low interest rates), and after decades of low interest rates and four years after a $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill, inflation is proving to be more stubborn than we all anticipated. Whatever the causes of inflation, the results are devastating for most Americans, and we are starting to see the trickle-down effects in self-storage. The last time the U.S. Men’s hockey team won Olympic gold (1980), inflation was persistently high, interest rates were volatile, and real estate investors were operating in a fundamentally different market than today. With the U.S. Men’s hockey team winning gold earlier this year, are we on the verge of seeing history repeat itself?

But wait a minute; is self-storage inflation proof? Or should we say inflation resistant? Perhaps we are in good shape in our corner of the real estate business. Let’s spend a few minutes exploring self-storage as a hedge against inflation and analyze the positives and negatives to see how self-storage stacks up against other real estate investments.

The general way to protect your investments from inflation is to have your revenues increase along with the inflation rate and to have your expenses remain stable. At first glance, it might seem that this would be an achievable task within the self-storage industry. However, self-storage facilities have seen a falloff in revenue growth due to oversupply, consumer belt tightening, and a slow housing market. Meanwhile, operating expenses seem to be stabilizing but still growing due to inflationary pressures. The month-to-month business model that has always set the self-storage sector apart from other commercial real estate is being tested for the first time. We know from experience that small rental increases do not cause a mass exodus of tenants. However, the amount of oversupply, from a double development cycle (2014 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023) and the hangover from the aggressive COVID pricing models have put extreme pressure on self-storage fundamentals, causing most operators to experience negative roll down during these inflationary periods.

During inflationary times, value must come from income growth and not cap rate compression. Historically, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, income growth was strong and higher replacement costs pushed rents higher to justify new development when exit cap rates were elevated. While rising cap rates reduced the amount of value creation, they did not eliminate value creation altogether. What changed is how returns were generated. With value expansion no longer generated by compressed cap rates, income growth became the primary driver of long-term performance. Today the self-storage sector is working its way through the excess supply and whiplash from the COVID pricing models.

Controlling expenses is another matter, but self-storage starts off with a great advantage over many other real estate types because the gross margins (say 60 percent) are better, with expenses equaling only roughly one-third of the revenue. As a result, self-storage profits are higher and there are fewer expenses per dollar of revenue. When you look at the nature of self-storage expenses, you’ll find additional advantages. First, energy use is well below the average of most businesses, which has been a high-inflation expense item currently, with single-story properties with limited climate-control outpacing multistory projects built in the last several years. Secondly, real estate tax, typically the largest self-storage expense, only has a very rough correlation to inflation, and thus may not automatically adjust to inflation. In fact, with declining real estate values, you might even see your relative share of the taxes go down. Thirdly, self-storage labor is usually not as highly paid, as many of the workers under union contracts and in highly skilled professions that are closely linked to inflation. Not to mention, technology is improving quickly and will likely allow owners to limit office hours moving forward. While it is hard to precisely quantify these distinctions, they are real and will tend to mitigate the impact of inflation on the self-storage investment market.

After looking at the “cash flow” aspects of inflation, self-storage owners should feel that they are better off than most commercial real estate businesses when it comes to mitigating the impact of inflation. Simply stated, value in self-storage facilities is created by discounting the net operating income (NOI) at the prevailing market cap rate. If an owner can keep the revenues up and control the expenses, they will have protection on the NOI part of the equation, but inflation generally causes the cap rates to increase, which in turn discounts the value. While this is not a good thing from a value standpoint, it is also true that cap rates fluctuate dramatically over a period of years. Thus, if you have kept up with inflation and have some flexibility as to when you sell or refinance your property, you can preserve the value by waiting for a low cap rate or interest rate period. Beware: These real estate cycles always go further and last longer than anyone thinks. But the real advantage is that the loan amount you have to pay back was fixed on the day you took the loan out, so you get all the “benefits” of the value created by growth in the revenue!

What about other real estate as inflation hedges? The results are less dramatic because office buildings, industrial, and retail often have long-term leases that inadequately compensate for inflation. A little inflation that is not compensated for in the lease over a 10- or 15-year period will compound into a healthy diminution in the value of the cash flow and of the inflation-adjusted property. For example, a 5 percent increase in inflation that is uncompensated for in the lease for 10 years will decrease the value of the cash flow and capital value by 40 percent. Hotel revenues would seem to be protected from inflation, but their relatively high expense ratio tends to defeat a lot of the benefit of being able to set the rent every night.

All in all, self-storage, while not perfect at stopping inflation’s ravages, is certainly a lot better than other types of real estate and certainly better than bonds or the volatility in the greater equity markets. Because it isn’t my expertise, I will let you decide on the relative effectiveness of the stock market in beating inflation. We always make this inflation protection argument when we talk to buyers, and we find it is very effective in helping them choose a self-storage investment if they are looking for a stable long-term investment.

Product:

Operator and Tenant Visibility Tools

SecureInventory and SecureSCOPE by SecureLease

By Brad Hadfield

ecureLease, part of the On The Move Insurance platform, is always on the lookout for ways to make life easier for operators and tenants. Like many platforms today, that means integrating AI, but SecureLease is taking a more measured approach, focusing on where it actually fits into the day-to-day operations of a facility.

The company has added two new tools to its toolbox: SecureSCOPE and SecureInventory. One gives operators more visibility into performance. The other gives tenants more visibility into what’s in their units and packed boxes.

For operators, one of the biggest challenges isn’t just running a tenant protection program—it’s understanding how it’s performing. SecureSCOPE helps close that gap. “Our new reporting and analytics platform integrates with most facility management software systems, giving operators a clearer view into participation, trends, and overall program performance,” says Stacie Maxwell, director of insurance.

Instead of relying on scattered data or gut feel, operators can see what’s working, what isn’t, and where there may be opportunities to improve results across locations. It’s a shift from reactive management to something more informed and, ideally, more predictable. “It will also support healthier revenue performance over time,” adds Maxwell.

Director of Insurance: Stacie Maxwell

It’s a line most of us recognize from the movie “Seven,” but it’s also a very real problem for renters. So, while SecureSCOPE focuses on the operator side, SecureInventory brings something new to the tenant experience.

Powered by InstaBoxx, the AI-assisted tool allows renters to create a digital inventory of the items they place in storage. But it’s more sophisticated than that. The digital inventory is created simply by taking a photo of the items being placed in a box. The app instantly categorizes those items with photos, descriptions, and estimated values.

Now, instead of guessing what’s in a unit or tearing through boxes months later looking for one specific item, tenants have a live, organized, and searchable record of their belongings. If they remove or add an item from a box or unit, they simply change it on the app, keeping the inventory constantly up to date. The inventory remains accessible throughout the rental period and can be downloaded after move-out, giving renters a level of visibility they typically don’t have.

“We are very excited to partner with SecureLease,” said Larry Balaban, CEO of InstaBoxx, which was featured in the August 2025 edition of this column; at the time, highlighting this AI feature was off the record. “With SecureInventory, our companies are breaking new ground in tenant protection and insurance in this industry by bringing real-time inventory, visibility, and value tracking to the storage experience.”

For operators, it also adds another layer of value to the offering—one that can help differentiate their facility in a competitive market. “It’s a notable shift,” says Maxwell, pointing to a long-standing gap in the storage experience. “Inventory has always been the tenant’s responsibility—or more accurately, their problem. Tools like this provide a solution in a way that benefits both sides.”

For Maxwell, the continued expansion of SecureLease offerings reflects a broader shift in what operators actually need from their vendors. “Tenants may never see the names behind the services and tools a facility uses, but they absolutely feel the results,” she says. “When something works well, the operator earns the praise. When it doesn’t, the operator absorbs the frustration.”

That reality, she adds, is what continues to drive the company’s approach. “Operators need solutions that do more than simply check a box,” Maxwell says. “They need tools that help them protect tenants, support staff, improve documentation, and create a more professional, value-driven rental experience, while also reducing expenses and increasing revenue.”

AI has become a buzzword across every industry, but in self-storage its value is starting to take a more practical shape. Tools like SecureInventory don’t replace the fundamentals, rather they support them. They make it easier for tenants to stay organized and for operators to deliver a smoother, more transparent experience.

And paired with stronger reporting through platforms like SecureSCOPE, they give operators a clearer understanding of how their programs are performing behind the scenes.

Concludes Maxwell, “These features take time to develop, but they feel obvious once you see them in action.”

At the recent ISS conference in Las Vegas, that reaction was apparent. Operators weren’t asking what the products do—they were asking how quickly they could roll them out.