By Sascha Zugar

hile maintenance is an important part of running a self-storage facility at any time, certain seasonal considerations need to be addressed to offer quality service for customers.

Creating a safe and secure site starts with making good decisions from the start. “Building design plays a crucial role in reducing seasonal maintenance needs and ensuring the durability of self-storage facilities throughout the year,” says Shannon Dodge, senior vice president of construction at Devon Self Storage. “Proper insulation, ventilation, and drainage systems are essential to regulate temperature and humidity, minimizing the risk of mold and mildew during wet seasons and maintaining energy efficiency during hot and cold months.”

Even the building’s orientation, roof pitch, and overhang can make a difference in managing snow and rain runoff, preventing water damage, and reducing the need for frequent repairs. Incorporating appropriate materials in the design can further protect the facility and reduce the burden of seasonal maintenance.

“Using durable, weather-resistant materials is key to protecting from extreme weather,” says Dodge. “Steel and reinforced concrete are excellent for withstanding high winds and heavy snow loads, while impact-resistant windows and doors can help protect against flying debris during storms. Fire-resistant materials, such as metal roofing and non-combustible siding, are essential in areas prone to wildfires.”

Most insurance policies will cover events like windstorms, hail, tornados, and hurricanes. Flooding, however, is usually not covered. “For flood-prone regions, elevated foundations and the use of water-resistant materials like treated wood or composite decking can reduce the risk of water damage,” says Dodge. “The use of sealants and weatherproof coatings can further protect the structure from moisture infiltration.”

Regionality plays a part in maintenance. Along with design and materials, early decisions regarding location add up to success. “Each specific region of our country has it’s own weather challenges,” says Ann Parham, CEO of Joshua Management, a Parham Group Company. “A good design/construction developer will take that into account. Many jurisdictions will have building code requirements to prevent major damage and destruction due to natural disasters such as hurricanes or blizzards.”

“Areas at high risk of hurricanes might have specific building wind load requirements that need to be met for a project to be permitted,” says Jason Farlee, director of facilities at Argus Professional Storage Management, a third-party management company that manages more than 250 self-storage facilities. “The same can be true for areas at risk of earthquakes, wildfires, tornados, etc. Building authorities might also require facilities to be designed with a specific look to match the community. Examples of this could be seen in landscaping plans or requiring certain building materials be used for public-facing building façades.”

Accessibility plays a part in best outcomes for weather situations. “The proximity to reliable maintenance services and emergency response teams is critical for quick action in case of weather-related damage,” says Dodge. “Additionally, accessibility during all seasons should be ensured, considering how snow, ice, or heavy rains might affect roadways and facility access for both customers and maintenance personnel.”

As in most industries, the latest developments in technology are improving outcomes for both extreme weather events and natural seasonal changes in self-storage. Incorporating smart tech into facilities can greatly enhance maintenance efficiency throughout the year.

“Automated climate-control systems can adjust heating, cooling, and humidity levels based on real-time weather conditions, ensuring optimal storage conditions year-round,” says Dodge. “Sensors can be installed to monitor for leaks, temperature fluctuations, or fire hazards, providing early warnings and allowing for swift action to prevent damage. Additionally, smart lighting systems with motion sensors can improve energy efficiency and security, while automated gates and surveillance systems can enhance overall site management.”

This can be particularly helpful during extreme weather events when manual oversight might be challenging or unsafe.

“Proper regular maintenance of the property is key,” says Parham. “Where there is danger of wind and severe storms, trees need to be trimmed away from buildings. Roofs need to be inspected for soundness, and gutters need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Continual property maintenance is the key to maintaining a facility in all types of seasons and weather conditions.”

Clear communication with customers about how to prepare their units for seasonal changes can also help minimize damage to stored items. “Regular inspections before the onset of each season can help identify and address potential issues, such as clearing gutters before the rainy season or winterizing plumbing to prevent freezing,” says Dodge. “Having a well-defined emergency response plan is crucial for handling unexpected weather events, ensuring the safety of the facility and its contents.

“In some cases, when natural disaster risk is forecasted, steps can be taken to try and prevent damage to buildings and belongings,” says Farlee. “In situations where a natural disaster was not forecasted, i.e., tornado, operators should communicate with tenants as soon as possible after the disaster event and allow tenants to survey potential damage to their property when the property is safe to access.”

Making sure lines of communication are open for concerned tenants can help alleviate stress.

“Ensure the site is being maintained regularly to avoid leaks through the roof, and doors have bottom seals to prevent water through the bottom,” says Alex Gordon, field operations manager at Copper Storage Management, which offers remote and hybrid self-storage management services nationwide. “Gutters must be maintained yearly to avoid clogs that can lead to leaks. Have landscapers in place to maintain the site with grass, limbs, and weeds in spring and summer, and a vendor in place so snow is removed during fall and winter and the site is salted as needed to prevent injury.”

Funds set aside for seasonal prep can reap big rewards in preventing pricy issues. “Owners need to make sure items that are required, such as extra tree trimming, etc., are budgeted annually,” says Parham. “In a hurricane area, the cost of storm shutters may seem steep at first but will be highly beneficial in the long run.”

What is needed varies throughout the year. Operators in snow areas will need to budget additionally for snow removal and for laying down salt. “If we look at a property along the front range in Denver, they will typically have an increased spend for landscaping from spring through fall, but little to no landscaping spend for late fall through spring,” says Farlee. “In the wintertime, this same property will need to budget for snow removal. I do anticipate these costs will rise with changing seasonal weather patterns, and we’re seeing that to some degree already. The increases are not necessarily budgeted, because what we’re seeing is more storm-related damage that would not have occurred under normal seasonal weather patterns.”

Vetting vendors takes time, but it’s key to budget-friendly prep. “Operators need to seek a reputable company to perform regular lawn care during the growing season,” says Gordon. “This would include mowing, weed control, leaf removal, and further landscaping if there are mulch beds, flower beds, etc. The costs can potentially rise during storm events, as high winds can cause trees to blow down or limbs to fall over the property, which would mean additional costs to remove these items.”

By staying ahead of the challenges each season presents, facilities can maintain high standards of operation and customer satisfaction all year round.

torage doors are among the most frequently utilized components in any self-storage facility. Their extensive use, combined with various environmental factors, including extreme temperatures, mean it’s crucial that they be maintained to ensure a long, productive life.

One of the first things potential customers see when they enter your facility are your unit doors. That first impression could be the difference between that person signing a contract at your facility or going with one of your competitors. This means that the doors you have installed at your site are more than an operational necessity; they are a major element in the presentation and perception of your facility as one of the first points of contact for any customer.

Let’s take an in-depth look at storage doors: why it’s so important to take care of them, how to maximize their lifecycle, and what to do when they eventually need to be replaced. To do this, Janus International posed some questions to David Alexander, who leads the Facilitate® division at Janus International. He brings over three decades of experience in the overhead door industry, offering extensive expertise in door maintenance. His insights will underscore the importance of proper door care and provide comprehensive guidance on keeping them in optimal condition.

Then there can be damage due to attempted break-ins. Owner-operators are turning to smart solutions to improve safety and improve tenant satisfaction. Doors built with enhanced security in mind, like the NS series, offer peace of mind. Smart locks and access control systems make opening unit doors as easy as tapping a button on your phone and add an extra layer of security.

Motor vehicle incidents are another issue. Accidents happen, and sometimes those trucks end up backing into your doors. These mishaps are unavoidable but can cause a lot of damage.

Another issue is when the curtain comes out of the guides. Some facilities use door curtains to help with energy efficiency. The guides are the tracks the door curtain runs along. If not used correctly, the curtain can come out of the guides, which affects the door’s functionality. And if it’s positioned wrong, it could even injure someone.

Broken springs are something you will have to deal with sooner or later. No matter how strong your door is, at some point, broken springs become an issue. When springs break, opening the door becomes incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

Lastly, there’s general wear and tear. Like we talked about earlier, doors are one of the most used parts of any self-storage facility, so wear and tear will happen. But with regular maintenance you can help minimize this problem.

Even with regular maintenance, every door will eventually need to be replaced. Sometimes it’s obvious when it’s time for new doors, but that’s not always the case. If the curtain is damaged and can’t be fixed, then it’s definitely time to replace the door.

Now, if you’re dealing with broken springs, that alone may not mean you need a new door. However, if your door is over 10 years old and the springs are breaking, it can be a good idea to just replace the entire door.

There’s one situation that often gets overlooked when considering replacements, and that’s when your doors are significantly faded or just need an update. A lot of people think that a fresh coat of paint will make faded doors look new again. While paint can improve the appearance, it can actually do more harm than good and might even shorten the lifespan of your door.

Painting a roll-up door can void any manufacturer warranties. These doors are built to a specific weight, and adding anything extra, even just a few coats of paint, can change that weight since they weren’t designed to handle alterations. This could put extra stress on the springs and other components, potentially leading to failure and even injury.

It always feels good to fix an issue yourself and save some money. However, when it comes to door repairs, it’s usually best to call in a professional. For things like adjusting or replacing springs or completely replacing doors, you should definitely hire a pro. When it comes to changing latches, some property managers are comfortable handling it themselves, while others prefer to let the experts take care of it.

Cleaning and maintenance around the facility can often be done without professional help. But walking your property regularly and fixing issues as they come up can be very time consuming. It takes you away from more productive tasks that could help grow your business. In these cases, getting help from a facility maintenance program can be incredibly beneficial.

Facilitate by Janus International is a comprehensive facility maintenance program that handles repair and maintenance needs, allowing owner-operators to focus on running their businesses. Whether it’s expert repair and replacement services or regular planned maintenance, Facilitate can take care of your to-do list so you can concentrate on growing your business. You can relax, knowing your site is regularly maintained and in good hands.

First, if you don’t already have keyless latches for your doors, it’s advisable to consider them. Smart locks are where our industry is headed, and they are powerful tools to help increase safety and security, reduce management costs, and enhance the overall customer experience. One example is the Nokē Smart Entry system, a Bluetooth electronic lock and total access control system allowing customers to easily access your self-storage facility and their unit from their smart devices.

In addition, when you factor in the advantages of a trusted company such as Access Control Technologies, which can expertly integrate your site’s network to ensure that all of your smart technology works flawlessly, you have created a safe, secure, and easy-to-monitor environment that goes beyond your doors.

Speaking of doors, another way to upgrade your facility is by utilizing the strongest, most durable unit doors. The Janus NS+ Door and NS Retrokit both offer a strong and dependable solution, further securing the safety of your customers’ valuable possessions.

The last point to bring up is that your facility’s unit doors are the main interactive component for your tenants. It’s crucial that they are well-maintained, running at peak performance, and always looking good. All of these create a positive tenant experience, which leads to positive reviews and word of mouth. In reality, your doors help market your facility to potential customers, so whatever you do, don’t neglect them.

If you’d like to explore replacing your unit doors or utilizing the services of Facilitate, contact the professionals at Janus International by visiting www.janusintl.com/self-storage/facilitate.

hen you hear Los Angeles and Paramount, you wouldn’t be faulted for thinking of the movie studio. But Paramount is also a city near LA, a unique place that has made a successful transformation from blighted suburb to attractive small town, with tree-lined streets, white picket fences, landscaped boulevards, and manicured lawns.

Public art is also important to the city, as it is home to dozens of outdoor sculptures that vary in style, from abstract shapes to lifelike figures. In 2020, the city even started Paramount Paints, a mural program designed to produce outdoor art to create “a lively sense of joy and color for those passing by.”

The area’s latest art installment is a vibrant mural that wraps around the new Go Store It Self Storage facility at 15932 Minnesota Avenue, which opened in August of this year. The mural, designed by local artist Ms. Yellow, is bright, bold, and beautiful, making the facility (an attractive structure in its own right) the star of the strip. More than 32,000 vehicles drive by it each day, and standing five stories tall, it can be seen from miles away.

Although Paramount has transformed itself from an overlooked suburb to a desirable place to live, there was a dearth of quality storage options in the area, says Adam Lentz, Go Store It’s chief development officer, who has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate development. “There are over 300,000 people living within three miles of the site, and there was less than 250,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage,” he says.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Go Store It has been building a reputation for offering top-notch customer service at affordable prices. The company has also been building its presence, and Lentz knew Paramount was the perfect place to set up a new shop. “Aside from the need for quality self-storage in the area, the city’s ongoing investment in infrastructure and its emphasis on quality of life gave us confidence in the location.”

The facility, designed by MCG Architecture and constructed by DAI General Contracting in 13 months using a combination of MBCI metal panels and stucco, offers 75,000 rentable square feet with 857 climate-controlled units. OpenTech/Wisnet Wave were enlisted to take care of security, including video surveillance with gated electronic entry, while Janus International tackled doors and hallways. The facility is self- managed and uses StorEdge property management software.

Building the facility was not without its challenges. “Even for infill development, the site is small, just 0.73 acres, and we were able to overcome that challenge with a vertical, five-story building,” says Lentz. “To maximize our footprint and yield, we incorporated tuck-under parking as well as relocating and undergrounding much of the utility infrastructure.”

Management of the property is a “hybrid solution,” says Lentz. “One of the issues that storage facilities encounter is that the property manager will be out on site and prospective tenants have no one to talk with if they walk in or call. The same could happen with our site’s property manager. So, in the instance that the manager is not available to meet the customer, we’ve made it easy for people to scan a QR code from their phone, rent their storage unit, and move into the property immediately. They also have the peace of mind knowing there is a property manager there who’s available during regular business hours, and making sure the property is clean, well-maintained, and move-in ready.”

Fitting into the community was important to Go Store It, and Lentz says Paramount officials exercise great discretion over new builds. However, they were receptive to the development. “We were delighted to be able to work collaboratively with them to design and build a showpiece that serves the growing storage demands of Paramount residents in a clean, secure, and safe setting,” says Lentz. “The decision to include a mural was driven by the desire to soften the presence of the structure within the city’s overall fabric and to create a visual focal point that the community can take pride in.”

To create the mural, the city made several recommendations and allowed Go Store It to make the final decision. The company’s choice: Ms. Yellow, a self-taught, Mexican-American muralist and teaching artist from Carson, Calif. “Ms. Yellow’s work is so vibrant, and her ability to create compelling, large-scale pieces is unmatched,” says Lentz. “Her mural is not just an artistic statement; it’s a community benefit that enhances the aesthetic appeal of our facility and the city.”

Ms. Yellow focuses on empowering communities through her work, partnering with schools, galleries, museums, and organizations. She has traveled the United States and the world teaching art and building cultural bridges through the power of art, always with a focus on unity, love, diversity, social justice, folklore, education, and mental health. She’s also been contracted by some of the biggest brands in the world, including Apple, Adidas, and the NFL.

But the Go Store It project offered a whole new type of canvas. “The size of it really attracted me,” she explains. “I loved thinking about the levels and the complexity of the entire thing. I find comfort in challenges that push me to go beyond what I already know.”

Ms. Yellow spent 23 days on the project, which required many early mornings. For the self-proclaimed night owl, that was one of her biggest challenges, but she remained the consummate professional. “They offered to work around my schedule if I chose to go in later, but the building was still under construction with workers arriving as early as 5 a.m. I knew that I would basically put them out and they’d have to stay much longer if I was in the way, so I worked around their schedule.”

There was also the issue of the California sun. “It got really hot, and I was sweating before any paint would hit the wall,” says Ms. Yellow. “The elevators weren’t operating at this point, so I was running up and down five flights of stairs multiple times every day. It was basically ‘leg day’ every single day!”

f you have a self-storage facility, odds are you have probably already been asked for a complimentary unit. While engaging and supporting the community around your business is a good practice that can help grow your reach, giving complimentary units to local charities and non-profit organizations is something to be thoroughly examined on a case-to-case basis.

According to Sue Haviland, founder of Haviland Storage Solutions, the biggest incentive for a business to give out complimentary units for charities and non-profit organizations is marketing. “It’s always a really good marketing move when you have a new lease-up property and you are not full. You can take a few and offer them out in the community.”

Nowadays, the decision to offer complimentary units comes down to the facility’s occupancy rate. “Back in the day, a lot more free units were given away because they would give them until they were full,” Haviland says. “In the last few years, as most of these properties have been running really full, most [businesses] don’t want to give away their revenue. So, when 10 to 15 years ago they maybe had five free units, a lot of them now will maybe have one or two. Or, they will give half-offs instead of free.”

Haviland states that there is no industry standard when it comes to complimentary units; it depends a lot on each company. “Some owners won’t give any [complimentary units] at all.”

However, an important circumstance in which you should consider giving out complimentary units, if you have the capacity to do so, is during national emergencies. “In the case of natural disasters, even if not free, facilities will offer some kind of discounted unit for people who are displaced or need to evacuate and get their things put somewhere until they know that their home is safe or that they haven’t lost their homes,” she says.

Haviland affirms there are two ways to handle complimentary units. The first possibility is keeping the decision-making process completely owner-driven, where he or xshe is the only one responsible for picking the charities or approving them before giving away free units.

The second possibility is to let employees pick the charities and non-profit initiatives that get free units as active members of the community. In this method, it is imperative to properly train your staff to engage with the community and have the discernment to evaluate the groups within the community that need it the most. “I always try to train my employees to be very active in the community,” Haviland says, “so they can get a feel for some of the groups who have a little harder time raising money but do a lot of things in their community.”

Choosing which charity or organization to give a complimentary unit should come down to what cause is close to your heart. “[The choice should be] driven by what kind of message, culture, and impact you want to have,” adds Haviland, who works closely with many youth groups, YMCA types of groups, community groups with programs for at-risk youth, and more. “One of the organizations we give two big units to is called The Santee Santas Foundation, a small group that collects [children’s toys and food] all year long to provide Christmas to [150 to 200] low-income families in need in our community.”

When it comes to the actual process of giving away a complimentary unit, Haviland mentions that as qualifying criteria you should ask for proof of insurance for their goods, as a group or individual. “[In the event] they can’t provide it, and the facility has an insurance protection plan in place, we will typically ask them at a minimum to at least pay for and provide that, so if something did happen, their goods would be covered,” she says. “Some owners will write that off as well and pay that, but some will give them a $200 a month unit but want them to pay the $10 a month for the protection to keep it separate because it is insuring their goods.”

When planning to start implementing complimentary units in your facility, Haviland suggests creating a guideline with the company’s policy on the subject to help staff navigate it. “Have a set policy so your on-site staff knows the rules. Because in my facilities, we will get asked between 20 and 40 times a year for a free unit, and as much as you would like to give them to everybody, sometimes the organizations that are asking aren’t the ones most in need,” she says. “By having a core guideline, a staff member would know right away when to answer that the facility doesn’t have it available, or that they will send it to their manager for approval.”

Another good rule of thumb when you start to implement complimentary units is adding a clause in the contract that states the unit will be reviewed every year. “This will allow you to make sure they are not taking it under the guise of a charity while using it as a personal unit,” she adds. “Unfortunately, you will see that happen, and it kind of ruins it for other people down the road. Having a good guideline about how often you want to review it and being upfront with the organization you are giving it to that it will be reviewed every six months will save you a lot of trouble.”

To control the use of the complimentary unit in your facility and avoid having it end up being used for personal purposes, it is important to ask for articles of incorporation and a list of everyone who will have access to it. “[From then on,] to kind of policy it, our on-site staff will notice when they are coming into the facility and will proceed to hop on a cart to greet them in front of the open unit and get a good view.”

Within the guidelines, Haviland also suggests adding a unit size policy. “Many times, we will be asked for a large unit and have to answer that we can’t offer it for free,” she says. “However, we will offer smaller sizes of units, which we can give out, and they will end up taking it, as most of the time they don’t really need as big of a unit as they think they do either.”

Steve Mirabito, founder and president of StoragePRO Management, says it’s usually a good idea to only offer the first three months for free. “The first three months we are able to offer it complimentary, but we need to start making money soon after.”

When choosing a charity to support with a complimentary unit, Mirabito states the company typically finds an organization with which the company has shared values and proceeds to support its mission. “Occasionally we donate storage to Police Athletic Leagues so that inner city communities who are served by Police Athletic Leagues have the opportunity to store their stuff in a safe and secure environment,” he says. “It really depends on the type of non-profit and their purpose, their needs, and if our values align.”

When it comes to complimentary units, Mirabito believes it is not a big incentive. “Most storage facilities are on cash accounting for tax purposes. So, given the fact we didn’t collect the $300, there is no need to collect it in tax donation or as a charitable write-off,” he affirms.

However, he mentions it is a good idea to ask the organization for acknowledgement in their publications. “I always ask that we be acknowledged and thanked in their publications in contribution,” Mirabito adds. “Unlike other businesses, like a restaurant, where you would be giving away a free meal, which is something tangible, they often don’t think of it as something material. But most of the time, we are giving more with a rent-free unit than a restaurant or some other local business would contribute to the same cause.”

here are many benefits of blogging on your website at least once a week. The main one is search engine optimization (SEO). Given that, what if you blogged more often? That would give Google more content, right? Yes, but how often is too much? How often is enough?

The graph from Hubspot that shows the more often you blog, the greater your customer acquisition. Now I don’t expect you to blog several times a day, or even daily. You can if you have a staff of writers. Nevertheless, trying for two to three times a week makes a difference, especially if you are just starting out, have a new website, or haven’t blogged for a while. See Blog Post Frequency Chart.

Here’s proof that blogging three times a week really works. One of my first clients was a gentleman with a website encouraging trade between the U.S. and Africa. The objective was to attract visitors and eventually sell advertising. Timewise, including research, I was able to write just one article per week.

However, the research took me hours, like a reporter, to then compose a decent, thought-provoking blog post. It was way too much time.

I decided to try a different strategy: embedding videos. I searched YouTube, found newsworthy videos, and then embedded them into a post. Furthermore, I wrote a summary of the video’s content, including keywords. Wow! It took me 20 minutes to do what used to take me at least two hours!

So, I started posting these video blogs three times a week. At the end of June, when I reviewed the monthly stats to present to the client, I was surprised at the results. There was a remarkable increase; page views went from about 450 in May to over 1,000 in June! That’s proof that blogging three times a week is crucial. See Monthly Page Views Chart.

Then it built momentum. We managed to keep it at around 1,500 page views a month. Each blog post was shared on Twitter (X), Facebook, and LinkedIn to help promote it. Their Twitter following also grew as the blog frequency increased.

Consequently, I proved that the more you blog, the more traffic you drive to your website. You may think, “I run a self-storage facility. I don’t have that type of news or content.” That’s probably true. Nevertheless, you can tell stories about some of your clients, your neighborhood, the businesses in the area, rare auction items, etc.

If you just opened, have a brand-new website, or haven’t blogged for a while (or ever), Google probably doesn’t know you, forgot about you, or considers your website stagnant. What do you do?

Blog, blog, and blog some more! To get Google to notice you, publish articles three to five times a week for two weeks. Then go down to three times a week for the rest of the month. Check your analytics at the end of the month. Have your page views and traffic increased? Are visitors staying longer on your site because there’s more to read? Are you getting returning visitors, or are they new?

Furthermore, share every blog post on your social media and pin them to Pinterest. This becomes your content marketing strategy. Google indexes social media posts.

Some people are better talkers than they are writers. In that case, do videos or podcasts and embed them in your blog. Write a script; that can be the text of your blog. Google doesn’t see the video. It just indexes descriptive text and links. That’s why you must have some text in the article (an introduction and then a summary with relevant keywords in a bulleted list). You may also want to take a writing course offered at your local library.

Today, you also have artificial intelligence (AI) to help you do research and compose articles. Even though AI is a great time-saver, there are some precautions.

You have to admit that using artificial intelligence (AI) to save time when you have to blog regularly is extremely tempting. However, is it a good idea? Here are some pros and cons to help you decide if you should use it or not.

BENEFITS
1. It saves a lot of time on research. One of my clients was adding a page to her health and wellness site on massage therapy. All she gave me was a long list of 30 benefits. That wouldn’t do. So, I went to ChatGPT and entered, “What is massage therapy?” In a matter of seconds, less than a minute, I had a rather detailed description.

2. It will improve your writing efficiency. AI tools can help bloggers write faster and more efficiently by providing suggestions for content, grammar, and style. These tools can also automate tasks such as proofreading and editing, saving bloggers valuable time.

3. It can help you generate topic ideas, headlines, and more. Sometimes you don’t know what to write about. You have an idea, but you can’t quite pinpoint the topic. Type in a few words, and the ideas come up.

4. Cultural localization – These tools can also help local businesses by adapting content to suit different cultural contexts.

5. SEO optimization – AI tools can analyze search trends and suggest relevant keywords to optimize blog posts for the search engines. These tools can also provide insights into keyword competitiveness and search volume. Additionally, they can analyze blog posts and provide recommendations to improve SEO, such as optimizing meta tags and headings.

DRAWBACKS
1. It sounds like a computer talking. Yes, the massage therapy article was informative, but it sounded like a computer wrote it. AI has no emotion, compassion, or empathy. For instance, I was writing about health and wellness. True, scientific and medical studies and facts are available, but it does not know the pain a patient feels and how massage therapy can alleviate it.

2. AI has no wisdom or common sense. Besides sounding inhuman, AI also has no personal experiences to share.

3. You may get duplicate content. Had I taken that article verbatim, as it gave it to me, I would have taken the risk that other websites out there have the exact same AI-generated content. That will hurt your SEO authority as the Google search engine gives priority to the first website to publish that content.

4. Google knows. Yes, it can detect when content is purely AI written. Remember, when you blog, you’re to be writing quality, helpful content written for the human reader in natural language. Write for your target audience(s).

5. Copyrighted content could come up. AI searches and indexes content that’s already on the internet. More than likely, it’s gathering copyrighted content, which may lead to a lawsuit if you use it verbatim. Be careful.

Certainly, you should at least try it. In fact, I used Semrush’s ContentShake to write part of the “benefits” section of this article. Nevertheless, remember:

1. You are talking to humans, your potential customers, not robots. You need to tell personal stories with compassion and empathy, especially if you’re trying to solve or relieve a pain point.

2. Use your brand voice. You are the expert in your field. Though the computer may spew out data, you still have to help your potential customer analyze it and make sense of it. Only you have your own expertise and experience.

3. Watch out for outdated statistics. Ask it to cite the source. You will look stupid if you quote something that’s years old and obsolete. For example, the free version of ChatGPT only goes to 2021. Use Bing’s Copilot, which is the most recent pro-version of ChatGPT.

4. Use it for research, but add your own opinions, stories, experience, expertise, etc.

5. Triple check the information. AI has been known to be wrong at times.

t was one of my first shifts as a new captain. I remember it well. We caught a call around midnight and arrived at the mouth of the driveway. From there, we could smell the fire and see the flames pouring from an open door at the back of the self-storage facility.”

It may sound like the beginning of one of his books, but Thad Diaz, a former firefighter who has since become a prolific author of Tampa, Fla.-based detective novels, is not weaving his latest tale. He’s recounting a self-storage fire that he helped put out during his 25 years serving with the Hillsborough County Fire Department.

“We laid a line from the road, had the next-in engine lay from the nearest plug, and then we called a second alarm,” continues Diaz. “All of our units carry K-12 saws, and we called for them to crack open storage doors on either side of the fire. Once inside, they attacked the flames with a large diameter hose. We established a fast water supply and put a good stop on it.”

Diaz says that the fire had been caused by people living in one of the units and overloading the electrical system.

While this type of situation is not normally described with the literary flair of a novelist, they have become all too common in self-storage. But illegal live-ins are just one potential cause of self-storage fires, which seem to be occurring with much more regularity and are posing a big problem to owners and the tenants who put their trust in them.

There are no hard and fast facts about the number of self-storage facility fires each year, as they are included within the National Fire Protection Association’s report along with all other non-residential structure fires. In 2022, the most current published report, there were 140,000 of these types of fires. However, the idea that self-storage fires are happening with more frequency doesn’t seem like an exaggeration.

Let’s look at some fires that have happened within the last year and a half (these are just the headline-grabbing ones). Unfortunately, most of these stories end with the same statement, “the fire remains under investigation,” and the anticipated follow-up never comes. While there’s not always a definitive answer, with a little sleuthing and numerous phone calls, here’s what was uncovered.

June 5, 2024: Storage Depot, Lebanon, Ore. Fifty-plus units are destroyed in an early morning fire. The cause: A man using a torch to smoke marijuana oil in his storage unit tips the torch, igniting items in his unit. The fire spreads to 50 more, destroying them all.

June 4, 2024: StorQuest Self-Storage, Arvada, Colo. A fire destroys 70 units and burns so intensely on the second floor that the roof collapses. Two firefighters are injured. The cause was undetermined.

May 20, 2024: Storage Rentals of America, Baton Rouge, La. A fire leaves nearly half of the units in the building damaged. Two firefighters are sent to a local hospital. The cause was arson.

May 6, 2024: Safeguard Self Storage, Plainview, N.Y. A fire breaks out on the fourth floor of the facility causing extensive damage. Faulty workmanship conducted on the building’s solar panels is suspected as the cause.

April 29, 2024: Extra Space Storage, Fremont, Calif. Heavy fire burns through the roof of the two-story facility destroying multiple units. The cause was an illegal live-in improperly using a small cooker in his unit.

Feb. 8, 2024: CubeSmart, Spring, Texas. More than 100 firefighters showed up to battle the facility fire, which burned for over 12 hours and left 25 percent of the facility in ruins, sending two firefighters to the hospital. The cause was undetermined.

Jan. 17, 2024: County Line Self-Storage, Greenwood, Ind. A blaze breaks out, damaging multiple units, seriously injuring one man and sending one firefighter to the hospital. The injured man had been smoking a cigarette while storing a propane tank in his unit.

Oct. 22, 2023: Stop and Stor, Sunset Park, N.Y. A fire causes significant damage and dozens of firefighters battle the blaze; one is taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. More than 300 defective e-bikes and dozens of batteries piled up inside two storage units were responsible for the conflagration.

June 14, 2023: Public Storage, San Jose, Calif. A fire engulfs the entire self-storage facility, burning it to the ground. Illegal fireworks ignited inside a storage unit.

May 26, 2023: CubeSmart Self-Storage, Bradenton, Fla. A large fire destroys 30 units and causes approximately $1 million of damage. A homeless man living in a storage unit accidentally set the fire.

May 18, 2023: Access Self Storage, Byfleet, England. Firefighters battle a blaze for three days and the entire facility is ultimately destroyed. Defective batteries in storage were the cause of the fire.

It’s been said that self-storage fires are no more common than other non-residential fires—that those in the industry just pay more attention to them. But is this true? According to Diaz and other firefighters, the challenges that self-storage fires present are unique, which may lend credibility to the idea that they are more common and often more devastating.

For one, the natural design of a self-storage facility puts it at risk; there are dozens, if not hundreds, of units nesting side by side or on top of one another. At the Texas CubeSmart fire, crews even stated that what made the fire so difficult to extinguish was having to break into each individual unit, either using bolt cutters or a saw to cut through the metal. “Firefighters also had to be careful since they did not know what was in each unit,” South Montgomery County Fire Asst. Chief Joseph Leggio said at the time.

Andy Bozzo, a 25-year veteran of the fire service profession, who has since developed Tablet Command, an emergency incident response and management software company designed to save lives, understands the challenges that fires in our industry present for firefighters. “Throughout my career, I’ve fought several fires in self-storage facilities,” he recounts. “They are often a labyrinth of hallways and passageways where egress points are limited; they can contain various hazardous materials, and the amount of stuff found in each unit, the fuel loads, can be high and volatile.”

He gets no argument from Diaz, who adds that heat can even conduct through the metal walls of a unit, potentially skipping one but catching boxes against the wall in a unit two or three doors down. “The combustibles don’t always have to be next to one another to make contact,” says Diaz. “That’s why these fires can get out of hand so fast and why it takes a lot of manpower to get them under control.”

Diaz further explains that there can also be access issues due to the narrow roads and tight confines of many self-storage facilities. During a fire, he says these issues need to be quickly identified and addressed before more units arrive on the scene and potentially block access for both engines laying in supply hoses and ladder trucks carrying elevated streams. “Water supply can be a problem too,” he adds. “Off-site hydrants might require long lays, and on-site private hydrants are often unreliable because of poor maintenance.”

One industry icon who is embarking on retirement but knows about facility fires first-hand is M. Anne Ballard, president of marketing, training, and development services for Universal Storage Group in Atlanta, Ga. Unlike the fires caused by batteries, burners, and fireworks highlighted previously, her story hits a little harder.

“At one property, the spouse of a tenant set himself on fire inside her unit because he was so unhappy. I can’t imagine the unbearable pain he felt, yet he still managed to walk across the freeway to the hospital, the building burning behind him.”

According to Ballard, the fire destroyed the office, manager’s apartment, and multiple tenants’ units. Thankfully, the man survived, and the facility owners had taken out good property insurance that included replacement value and loss of use. In addition, almost all the tenants had insurance on their belongings. So, while it was a horrific thing, “it could have been much worse.”

Monica McMillan is the storage program manager with Universal Storage Insurance, which provides specially designed insurance products and comprehensive coverage for the storage industry. “In a lot of scenarios, damage to tenant goods that happens due to the fault of the owner, say a leaky roof that they failed to repair, is covered, and they are able to reimburse a tenant for damages,” she explains. “These scenarios are the reason you want to have a tenant protection plan in place. The tenants impacted may not always have coverage provided by the owners’ insurance, which is why they should have their own protection.”

She says that some homeowners’ insurance policies cover contents placed in a self-storage facility, but that only covers a percentage of tenants. More often, she’s seen facilities, especially larger operators and those with third-party management systems, offering forms of insurance to their tenants. “They make it easy. Most policies available through various markets offer coverage that is as simple as just checking a box to have insurance included with their monthly fee. There’s no additional bill to pay; it’s pretty inexpensive, and there’s no worry about the coverage lapsing while you are paying your monthly storage bill.”

McMillan says that while some smaller operators and independents may not be able to offer this, it is important to inform new tenants of their option to buy insurance through a provider on their own and provide phone numbers to push them into action whenever possible. “It’s so inexpensive that, unless the tenant is storing items of no value, it makes little sense for them not to get it. While the coverage depends on the value amount, insurances could be as low as $15 per month. On the high end, maybe $50 per month. I just wish my car insurance was that cheap,” she laughs.

Facilities that offer RV and boat storage should also consider other forms of insurance, as should those storing their vehicles. “There was a fire caused by an RV with a propane tank that exploded at one property, and it spread to a dozen other RVs nearby,” recalls McMillan. “This is the perfect scenario of when you need to have the proper coverage to protect your valuables. Most leases will have a limit of value you can store, and without additional coverage, you may be left without the correct replacement value.”

Most self-storage owners and managers are used to putting out fires, like satisfying the angry tenant, fixing the broken gate, and finding the accounting flaw. But many are not used to putting out a real fire. Hopefully, with an “ounce of prevention,” they’ll never have to.

Bozzo says that while he knows it can be difficult, it’s important for facility owners to try to monitor what goes into a unit and clearly state what is not allowed. “One of the biggest problems with certain self-storage facilities is that there is no control over who or what goes into those facilities,” he says. “In the fire service, we’ve seen everything from meth labs to amateur manufacturing, where hazardous chemicals and flammable materials are used. Self-storage facilities are not zoned for this kind of activity specifically, because in one storage unit you can have hazardous or flammable materials, while in the neighboring one you can have a heavy fuel load like couches, chairs, and other ‘fuels’ for the fire.”

Batteries, which were responsible for two of the fires highlighted earlier, are another big issue. “Improper usage and improper disposal of these batteries have caused several fires in the past few years,” says Bozzo. “It’s hard to control whether or not a user of a storage unit will store [them] in their unit. This can be problematic for the owners of the storage facility.”

Ballard agrees it can be difficult to monitor the contents of a unit, but she has some tricks up her sleeve. “You may not know what every tenant is storing, but make sure tenants know and understand the rules about storing hazardous materials. When new tenants are moving in, casually inspect your property while keeping an eye on what they’re storing as you walk by.” With her trademark smile, she adds, “Maybe bring them a cold water bottle; that’ll get you in for a closer look.”

Diaz concurs. “Try to keep an eye on what’s being stored, enforce your rules, and make sure unused units are empty. Keep the place maintained, including the fire alarm, sprinklers, and on-site hydrants,” he says, “and keep access lanes clear and gates in working order to help firefighters if the worst does happen.”

“Prevention is a special discipline in our industry, and my education and experience in it is limited,” continues Diaz. “But the best thing I think any owner can do is contact their fire department’s prevention bureau. They are extremely knowledgeable and can offer an inspection and provide pointers.”

Dante Alighieri, the renowned Italian poet responsible for The Divine Comedy, often spoke positively about the greater potential that small beginnings possess. “From a little spark may burst a flame,” he famously wrote. He wasn’t referring to self-storage fires, of course, but he could have been. It’s a reminder to all of us that just as many big things start small, like our industry and our own businesses, so can fires. With knowledge and prevention, we can put a stop to that little spark before it strikes the powder.

t’s too risky to expose our data,” commented one facility owner when asked about sharing data in MSM’s July Reader Survey. While most respondents were receptive to the idea, others, like this operator, had concerns. Now, with the RealPage case making headlines (the Department of Justice is alleging that the company’s software enables landlords to coordinate pricing strategies, violating federal antitrust laws), were they right to have these concerns? Or is data sharing in the self-storage industry somehow different and less likely to cause a stir?

The legal case against RealPage began in late 2022, when law firms filed lawsuits on behalf of tenants in a handful of cities. The lawsuits were looking to bring about a class action lawsuit, alleging that RealPage’s revenue management software was used to collude and raise rents.

On Aug. 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own case against RealPage, claiming the company is engaging in a price-fixing scheme designed to drive up rents. According to the complaint, that information includes current rents, vacancy rates, and lease expiration dates. It alleges that on a daily basis, the software’s AI suggests what rent a landlord should charge to maximize profits. “Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We allege that RealPage’s pricing algorithm enables landlords to share confidential, competitively sensitive information and align their rents.”

RealPage denies its software is anticompetitive, and states it also lowers rents when demand drops to reduce vacancy rates. They have stated that their platform only offers a recommendation, which landlords can take or ignore, however the complaint says it is difficult to reject or override the recommendation.

“Landlords are encouraged to configure the product to automatically accept the RealPage recommendations,” says Eric Dunn, a tenants’ rights lawyer with the National Housing Law Project. “And if a property manager doesn’t want to accept the recommendation, they have to put in an explanation,” which he says is then sent to a regional manager. He also states that RealPage holds online training sessions in which property managers chat with each other, and that landlords communicate directly regarding pricing in other ways.

While the case against RealPage may appear damning, there’s no guarantee that the lawsuit will prevail. In May of this year, there was a proposed consumer class action lawsuit accusing a group of major Las Vegas hotels, including Wynn, Caesars, and Treasure Island, alleging that management was using a revenue platform by tech company Cendyn to unlawfully coordinate room prices.

Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda Du threw out the case, stating there was no evidence that the hotels had made any agreement with each other to fix prices. Du further pointed out in her ruling that the hotels “are not required to and often do not accept the pricing recommendations [made by Cendyn’s algorithm].”

This hasn’t stopped others from trying. Consumer plaintiffs have also filed a lawsuit against CoStar, which publishes the hotel industry’s STR reports. They claim the company, and six hotel operators, including Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott, conspired to fix prices in order to keep them “artificially high.” CoStar has asked for the case to be dismissed, calling it “fanciful.” They defended their reports as simply using historical data on room availability and revenue, and stated they did not include “algorithms nor pricing recommendations.” The case is still pending.

In 2023, when MSM began a series of articles encouraging data sharing within the self-storage industry, Jeff Adler, vice president at Yardi Matrix, a real estate market intelligence platform, was skeptical that it would happen. He told MSM that there was “deep concern among some self-storage owners that sharing rents would lead to similar accusations of price fixing.”

At the time, Adler said, “The self- storage industry is less sensitive to this type of thing than housing, but it’s still a concern. Rents are already online, but any move to further consolidate collection of that data comes with some risk of price collusion.”

Adam Wagner, president of Superior Storage, told us he didn’t see it that way. “Collusion, to me, is asking other facilities what they’re charging and then agreeing not to go above or below a certain amount. All we do is look at pricing models and trends in our area to maximize our investments. It’d be a different story if everyone in a housing market said, ‘OK, don’t sell below $250 a foot,’ but that’s not what’s going on.”

Adler says that to be safe, pricing information should never be collected daily (something Yardi does not do). “You can’t use external data for the purpose of setting prices regularly,” he says. “Monthly or quarterly is OK for benchmarking and valuation purposes. If you’re just using it for that, there’s nothing to worry about.”

MSM reached out to two leaders in self-storage revenue management: Dr. Warren Lieberman, president of Veritec Solutions, and Dr. Ahmet Kuyumcu, founder and CEO of Prorize, LLC. They have both been following the case and offered their thoughts on its potential impact on the self-storage industry.

“What RealPage is allegedly doing is taking privately held information from multiple entities that ostensibly compete with one another, and using that knowledge to drive its recommendations,” explains Lieberman. “They’re also allegedly telling companies to use their recommendations, and that’s where price fixing comes in.”

Lieberman says there are no lawsuits against the individual property owners because they’re not necessarily collaborating but rather engaging with RealPage, which is enabling them to act together whether they realize it or not. “Sure, they may have a high-level knowledge of what’s going on, but they likely don’t know the internals of the algorithms. They’re not the ones that are driving the actions. That’s RealPage, and that’s why I would anticipate that this will only focus on them, not the landlords or property managers.”

When it comes to self-storage operators sharing data, this is welcome news; however, Lieberman says due to the RealPage case, there may be some nervousness on the part of self-storage revenue management and pricing system platforms. Still, he says several factors would have to exist for a case ever to be brought against them; most importantly, they would need to exert enough control over a market to move the market. “In self-storage, where the industry is extraordinarily fragmented, they’re likely not impacting the market in a way that is a detriment to consumers,” he says. “It would be very unlikely that their pricing recommendations could be considered collusion.”

Lieberman says that even in an unlikely event that a platform does have access to most operators’ data, they still can provide information; they just need to exercise a bit of caution. “Let’s pretend that we had information about 90 percent of all of the operators in an area. It still might be OK to publish high-level statistics: general occupancy, trend information, year-over-year information. That’s not price fixing. This could be shared and published, and operators would then need to interpret it and decide what they want to do with it. That doesn’t even approach any sort of collusion.”

“There are so many considerations when it comes to self-storage pricing,” says Kuyumcu, holding up his hand and emphasizing each factor with a finger. “There’s unit size, unit type, availability, demand forecasts, price sensitivity … All of these need to be taken into consideration when determining the recommended price. This will give you a baseline. From there, you ultimately determine where you should set your price based on the unit you’re renting and all those factors. Even two sister properties in the same market might behave completely differently due to these variables.”

While some operators choose to simply accept Prorize’s recommendations, Kuyumcu states firmly that they are under no obligation to do so, which is one sticking point in the current RealPage lawsuit. “We just provide guidance, and that can easily be overridden. This is especially important when the system doesn’t have relevant information. For example, if demand is low because roads are blocked due to major construction, the system wouldn’t account for that and might adjust rates based on reduced demand. Operators can step in and override the recommendations in these cases,” Kuyumcu says. “With RealPage, if the landlord is unable to easily override the recommendations, the operators might not have the final say.” To be safe, he says platforms must always make it easy to override the algorithm, which is why Prorize makes it so simple for operators, especially if the recommendation does not align with the supply and demand in their specific market.

Kuyumcu asserts that anyone working with pricing models needs to be cognizant of pricing laws. For example, in the event of a state of emergency, Prorize restricts models to comply with legal pricing mandates. In addition, pricing models should only use publicly available data from competitors. But overall, he feels concern in self-storage is likely exaggerated. “Look, housing is always going to be scrutinized much more closely than self-storage, as an apartment rental is the single most expensive budget item and directly affects people’s livelihoods, while self-storage is discretionary. There are also ethical and fairness aspects that play a much bigger role for housing.”

“Keep shared information at a high level, and don’t share privately held current data, that’s the best bet,” concludes Lieberman. “And be sure not to include any kind of demographic or geographic information about customers. You don’t want to exacerbate income inequality or be price insensitive in a specific ZIP code or market that results in some kind of gender or ethnic discrimination. Even if it’s unintentional discrimination, it’s still illegal.”

California attorney Carlos Kaslow, the editor of the Self Storage Association’s Self Storage Legal Review, says that while he may not be an anti-trust lawyer, he understands the heart of the issues at play here and acknowledges that they are complex.

“This is all new territory,” says Kaslow. “In the past, price fixing was a group of people getting together and agreeing with one another what they were going to do. Now, with AI algorithms and data scraping, there are a lot of gray areas, but one thing is black and white: Price fixing is illegal.”

Sharing self-storage data anonymously and through a third party in and of itself should not present a problem, but the intermediary needs to be careful with what they share. “Giving data to them is not illegal on its own; it’s what they do with it,” Kaslow says. “And they should have the expertise and the consult of a legal expert to know what can be provided and what cannot. This way, everyone gets what they want, and everyone keeps their nose clean.”

Has any of this changed the mind of data-sharing advocate Travis Morrow, president of National Self Storage, CEO of Storelocal, and author of MSM’s first pro-data sharing piece “The Data Sharing Dilemma” in June 2023?

“No,” says Morrow, who previously wrote that the potential benefits of having high-quality, safely aggregated industry data could be huge. “I believe operators stay safe through anonymity and project management systems stay safe through the use of a trusted intermediary like Moody’s. And to be honest, at the moment, our data is so bad as an industry, no one would even think of suing us for something like this.”

He is also quick to point out that the type of sharing he is advocating for is not going to put anyone in the crosshairs of the DOJ or any legal eagles. “It’s historical information going back a week with market data. You can see what the average rent was in Tucson, for example, and adjust your rate accordingly based on your occupancy, your amenities, and so on. Think of it as receiving Self-Storage Almanac data once a week instead of once a year. But we’re not anywhere near that now anyhow,” laughs Morrow. “Let’s first get to a point where our data even approaches the level of quality that other property categories have, and then we can talk about these issues.”

t’s possible to believe there’s an imminent oversupply in the near term while also recognizing the strong long-term demand for self-storage. Our firm has invested in self-storage assets for over three decades, and here are five key reasons why we continue to do so.

A few decades ago, particularly before the internet era, self-storage was far less recognized by the public as an option. Today, more households are aware of self-storage and its benefits. The Steady Demand Growth Chart, from Extra Space’s June 2024 Investor Presentation, reflects the period during which our firm’s principals have operated facilities. We believe that one of the core drivers of demand growth over the decades has been increased consumer awareness and education. Still now, more and more people are aware of self-storage as a solution.
See Steady Demand Growth Chart.

Younger people tend to have more aggressive spending habits, driving demand for additional storage solutions. While it’s often said that younger generations prefer experiences over “stuff,” data shows they lead in retail spending categories. While boomers were often raised to hold onto possessions (think Dust Bowl survivors as parents versus those more accustomed to fast fashion), the spending patterns of younger generations indicate a higher frequency of purchases. These consumer behaviors typically align well with the self-storage sector.
See Annual Consumer Spending by Generation Chart.

The average square footage of homes is decreasing, and townhomes, which are becoming increasingly popular in many real estate markets, often lack sufficient driveway space, forcing garage parking and limiting storage options at home. In Q4 2023, townhomes accounted for nearly 20 percent of new housing starts, with single-family attached starts up 27 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Residential developers are frequently making concessions on the size and space of homes to meet housing demand while strategically controlling construction costs. About 95 percent of respondents from a Home Innovation Insights study said they utilize their garage for storage; in 2013, 16 percent of those respondents said they do not park their vehicles in their garage due to the amount of items stored within them. So, as we see more communities with less driveway parking available, and HOAs increasingly enforcing parking standards, we are seeing more residents parking in their garage, forcing them to seek storage solutions elsewhere. Less space at home, for driveway parking, and in the garage positively impacts self-storage demand. The median home size by square footage in the U.S. reflects the trend of decreasing availability for storage at home.
See FRED – Housing Inventory Chart.

Younger generations are purchasing homes later in life, with the average age of a first-time homebuyer increasing from 30 years in 2010 to 35 years today. Renters, who tend to move more frequently and have shorter tenures compared to homeowners, are more likely to need self-storage during this extended period of renting. While the Mover Rate for Renters Chart is outdated due to infrequent updates from the Census Bureau, it still illustrates a higher frequency of moving among renters.

However, to play devil’s advocate, the fact the older generations have an extended tenure (now more so due to “locked-in effect” of low rates from recent years) means they are moving far less frequently. The question is: Does being the in the same home for them mean they need storage due to lack of space overtime?
See Mover Rate for Renters Chart.

Historically, 10 percent to 20 percent of a typical rent roll is made up of business tenants, and the number of small businesses has been booming. There are 33.2 million small businesses in the U.S., and according to the U.S. Chamber, 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses are considered small businesses. In 2021, a record-breaking 5.4 million new business applications were filed. Many individuals turned their ideas and hobbies into home-based businesses. Business tenants tend to be the best customers; they stay for twice as long as a residential tenant and typically have better credit and propensity to pay their rent without much delinquency.

Small bay industrial spaces have become highly sought after, with landlords often requiring longer leases and credit applications in competitive markets. In contrast, self-storage’s month-to-month rental terms and ease of rental make it an attractive option for many business owners. Some of our facilities have business owners renting between five and 10 units side by side, providing them with the flexibility to expand and contract as needed. This flexibility is a key reason why business tenants often remain longer and endure economic cycles, as they don’t find better alternatives elsewhere with more traditional options.

Generally speaking, demand is much more fluid than identifying the supply side. But the statistics give hope for increasing self-storage demand growth over the long term.

he self-storage industry has been at an all-time high recently, but some facilities still face higher-than-average vacancies and overall bad months in their business. Marketing during this time is imperative to make sure your business doesn’t go down like we have been seeing many small businesses do, especially since the industry caught the eye of some famous investors that have access to huge marketing budgets and get to navigate trying times a lot differently.

Marc Goodin, author of Crush Your Competition: 101 Self-Storage Marketing Tips For The Fastest Way To Huge Profits and president of Storage Authority, a self-storage franchising business that opened back in 2016 and makes $39 billion a year in revenues, shared some tips on how to navigate discounts efficiently during high vacancy. “A rule of thumb is to avoid giving month-free discounts. Most people who try this don’t realize it until they run into the tens of thousands in loss of profit, but for a large facility, this can end up costing even $80,000 a year,” he warns.

Attracting new clients, especially for new business, seems to be the biggest problem facilities run into when facing high vacancies, but when creating a marketing plan, it is best to refrain from discounts that continue past the first payment. As Goodin points out, these reductions can also end up amounting to a big number in the long run, causing the company a big loss in their profit margin.

To maintain the company’s good image, it is also a good idea to be honest and upfront with new customers by being transparent about pricing. So, avoid trying to fool new customers into signing up for lower-than-practicable rates just to raise them within a month. “Low teaser rates that are raised $30 to $90 a month in two months make customers unhappy and make the company look bad,” says Goodin. “This will probably make customers not want to do business with you in the future.”

One thing to keep in mind is that each customer is not an isolated individual; they are connected to a large-scale group, which has become even bigger as most people now tend to talk about their issues with companies online. So, if one of your customers has a problem with the company, the people they know, who could be potential customers, as well as strangers researching your company online, will probably hear about it, which can directly impact your sales and profit in the longer run. “Too many people are experiencing tens of thousands of lost incomes trying to follow the REITs’ main marketing and giving a free month of storage to every customer. It is much more profitable to better train your staff on sales and marketing,” Goodin claims.

Out of some discount incentives that Storage Authority has actually seen work in the past firsthand, the first-month discounts when signing up are simple yet highly effective. However, if customers ask for extra discounts, especially when claiming other similar businesses around your area have a better rate, Goodin advises sticking to a script like this one: “I understand you want the best value for your money. I am sure you can see how our facility and benefits are head and shoulders above the competition. We set our rates so we can provide our customers with the service they deserve and expect. I promise you, I will be here providing you with top-notch service that is hard to find these days.”

Some other strategies, such as making sure your facilities have a commercial car vacuum customers can use or that any time they stop by there’s free candy, water, soda, and coffee, should also be a part of your practice, as it makes for an enhanced customer experience. “Given the REITs are raising rents at two months and again at seven months, guaranteeing you will not raise their rent for at least a year is a significant saving.”

Making sure your staff has a little arsenal of tricks under their sleeves to close a deal is also imperative. “Small incentives to create a good relationship with the clients, like offering a $20 Dunkin Donuts gift card to be able to offer a free breakfast or a free lock customers can use in their unit, is a great trick to get a customer to close a deal faster,” he states.

If that’s out of budget, you can make more cost-friendly offers, like providing customers free use of your company’s app, which allows them to drive in and out of the facility without reaching out to the window to enter a code, or even offering the 13^th month free if they pay 12 months in advance. Getting customers in your facility, especially during high vacancy, is half the battle, so once they do reach out or take the time to visit your location, it is a good idea to have a skilled team and some incentives that don’t take away a big chunk of your final profit margin.

In Goodin’s book, he also mentions that the No. 1 rule when talking to a prospective client is to avoid giving price information before you have a chance to discuss the benefits of storing with your company. “The most important thing to remember is do not give them the price; I repeat, do not give them the price unless and until you have made them aware of at least three benefits of storing with you!”

Sometimes, the best discount can be no discount at all. Instead, a better marketing strategy can do the trick, as marketing has managed to become a necessity in every business of all industries and sizes, playing a big role in the road to achieving success. “The difference between low rental rates and high rental rates is often marketing,” Goodin affirms. “Unfortunately, many self-storage owners are using paid marketing like Google pay per click, which is no longer effective due to the cost and the fact that most of our clients come from a three-mile radius,” he adds.

As a solution, Storage Authority invests in guerrilla marketing, a term created by Jay Conrad Levinson to describe some creative and out-of-the-box marketing campaigns that sell products or services using either an unconventional approach or a surprise element. “Guerilla marketing is the most effective and productive marketing, but it takes consistent hard work,” he says. “The benefit, besides the results it brings, is that it doesn’t take a lot of money to do it.”

Above all, getting noticed is the goal. “One of my favorites is holiday marketing, as it gets people to stop by or at least look our way,” he states. “We give away 300 pumpkins every October, line our frontage with two dozen American flags on the 4^th of July, Labor Day, and Veterans Day.”

By Anne Mino

ave you ever talked to a banker and felt they spoke another language?

Banking and lending terminologies and jargon can seem complex, but you don’t need a translator to understand. Whether you’re seeking financing for the first time, are a seasoned borrower, or just want to enhance your financial literacy, we’re here to help. This article aims to demystify bank speak, breaking down key concepts and definitions to empower you with the knowledge to navigate the intricate terrain of banking and financing confidently. We will cover three main areas of terminology: business financials, loan terms and components, and financial ratios.

This section will define terms used for financial documents and metrics banks typically ask for related to your business financials.

Profit and Loss (P&L) or Income Statement: An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement (P&L), is a financial statement that summarizes a company’s revenues, expenses, and profits (or losses) over a specific period, typically a quarter or a year. Comparing revenues to expenses during the reporting period provides valuable information about a company’s ability to generate profit. The basic formula for an income statement is net operating income (NOI) equals revenues minus expenses (NOI = R – E).

Balance Sheet: A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company’s financial position at a specific time. It presents the company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity and provides valuable information about its liquidity, solvency, and overall financial health. It is an essential tool for investors, creditors, and other stakeholders to assess the company’s financial position and make informed decisions. The balance sheet follows this fundamental accounting equation: Assets equal liabilities plus shareholders’ equity (A = L + SE).

Shareholders’ Equity: This represents the owners’ claim on the company’s assets after deducting all liabilities. It includes the initial investment by shareholders and any retained earnings (profits that have not been distributed as dividends).

Gross Income Vs. Net Income: Gross income refers to the total income earned by the business before any deductions. It includes all sources of income, in this case for storage, such as rental income, late fee income, administrative fee income, merchandise sales, insurance commission and other earnings, but it does not account for any withheld taxes or deductions. Net income is the final line of the income statement and represents the company’s profit after all expenses, including taxes, are deducted from revenue.

Depreciation: In real estate, depreciation refers to the gradual decrease in the value of a property over time. Depreciation is a non-cash expense that can offset taxable income, reducing the taxes owed by the property owner.

Add-Backs: In commercial lending, an add-back refers to an adjustment made to a company’s financial statements to account for certain expenses that are added back to the net income. These adjustments reflect the true cash flow of the business and provide a more accurate picture of its financial health to lenders or investors. Common add-backs in commercial lending include:

• Non-recurring expenses – These are one-time or irregular expenses that are not expected to occur again, such as one-time repairs, legal settlements, or expenses related to a natural disaster.
• Owner’s compensation – In closely held businesses, the owner’s salary or compensation may be higher or lower than market rates. Lenders may add back any excess or reduce shortfalls to reflect a more accurate picture of the business’ cash flow.
• Non-cash expenses – Expenses that do not require a cash outlay, such as depreciation and amortization, are added back because they reduce net income without affecting cash flow.
• Interest and taxes – In some cases, interest or taxes not reflective of the business’ ongoing operations may be added back to adjust for their impact on net income.

By adding back these expenses, lenders can calculate a more accurate measure of a company’s ability to service debt and make informed lending decisions. However, it’s important for lenders to carefully review and analyze the reasons for the add-backs to ensure they are appropriate and accurately reflect the business’ financial position.

EBITDA: EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a measure used to evaluate a company’s operating performance by excluding certain non-operating expenses. EBITDA is often used in financial analysis to compare profitability between companies and industries. It provides a clearer picture of the underlying operating performance without the impact of financing decisions, accounting practices, or tax environments.

This section defines commonly used loan-related terminology. Understanding these terms is important if you need financing for your business.

Equity Injection: Equity injection refers to adding equity, or cash, to a business or project. This injection of funds can come from business owners, investors, or other sources. In commercial lending, lenders often require borrowers to provide an equity injection to reduce the lender’s risk and demonstrate the borrower’s commitment to the project. The equity injection amount is usually expressed as a percentage of the total project cost and can vary depending on the lender’s requirements and the nature of the project.

Loan Term Vs. Loan Amortization: Loan term refers to the period over which a loan agreement is in effect. It is the duration during which the borrower is expected to repay the loan, including the principal amount borrowed and any accrued interest. Loan terms can vary widely, from short-term loans that may be repaid within a few months to long-term loans that span several years or even decades. Loan amortization, on the other hand, refers to gradually paying off a loan over time through regular payments. These payments typically consist of both principal and interest, with the amount applied to each varying over the life of the loan. In an amortizing loan, more early payments go toward interest, while more later payments go toward reducing the principal balance. Amortization schedules outline the specific payment amounts and how they are allocated between principal and interest over the loan term.

Balloon Payment: In commercial lending, a balloon payment refers to a large, lump-sum payment due at the end of a loan term. Unlike typical installment loans, where the borrower makes regular payments of both principal and interest over the loan term, a balloon payment loan structure involves smaller, regular payments for most of the loan term, with the remaining balance (the balloon payment) due at the end. Balloon payments are often used in commercial real estate financing or business loans where the borrower expects to have significant cash flow or assets at the end of the loan term to cover the balloon payment. These loans can offer lower monthly payments during the loan term, but they carry the risk of needing to secure financing or pay off the balloon amount when the loan matures.

Personal Guarantee: A personal guarantee is a legal promise by an individual to repay a debt or fulfill an obligation if the primary borrower or debtor fails to do so. In commercial lending, a personal guarantee is often required from business owners when a business is seeking a loan. The individual agrees to be personally liable for the debt and the business entity by providing a personal guarantee. Lenders use personal guarantees to reduce their risk, especially when lending to small businesses or startups that may have limited assets or track records. If the business is unable to repay the debt, the lender can pursue the guarantor’s personal assets to recover the outstanding amount.

Loan Assumption: Loan assumption refers to the transfer of an existing loan from one borrower to another. In this process, the new borrower (the assuming borrower) takes over the existing loan agreement, including its terms, interest rate, repayment schedule, and remaining balance. The original borrower is typically released from any further obligations related to the loan.

Loan assumptions are common in real estate transactions where a buyer agrees to assume the seller’s mortgage instead of obtaining a new loan. This can be beneficial if the existing loan has more favorable terms than what the buyer could get on the market. However, the lender must approve the loan assumption, and the assuming borrower is usually required to meet the lender’s creditworthiness and financial stability criteria.

Financial ratios are used to assess a company’s profitability and efficiency, particularly in the banking and financial services industry. The following are common ratios and what they mean. These ratios help investors, analysts, and regulators assess a company’s financial health and performance, especially in comparison to its peers and industry benchmarks.

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR): Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) is a financial metric that measures a company’s ability to cover its debt obligations with its operating income. It is commonly used by lenders, creditors, and investors to assess the risk of lending to or investing in a company. The formula for calculating DSCR is NOI divided by total debt (DSCR = NOI/TD).

Return on Investment (ROI) – ROI is a financial metric used to evaluate the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. To calculate ROI, you first need to know the net profit, which is the gain or loss generated from the investment and the cost of investment, which is the total amount invested in the project or asset. Then ROI is calculated as net profit divided by cost of investment times 100 (ROI = [NP/COI] x 100). ROI is typically expressed as a percentage. A positive ROI indicates the investment has generated profit, while a negative ROI suggests a loss. ROI is a widely used metric in finance and business to assess investment performance and compare the profitability of different investment opportunities.

Profit Margin: Profit margin is a profitability ratio that measures the percentage of revenue that exceeds the costs associated with generating that revenue. It is calculated by dividing a company’s net income by its revenue (PM = NI/R). A higher profit margin indicates that a company is more profitable, as it can retain a more significant portion of its revenue as profit.

Loan-to-Value (LTV): LTV is a financial term used by lenders to express the ratio of a loan to the value of an asset purchased with the loan. It is commonly used to assess the loan risk and determine the maximum amount that can be borrowed. The formula for calculating LTV is loan amount divided by appraised value of the asset times 100 (LTV = [LA/AVA] x 100). For example, if a borrower wants to buy a storage facility appraised at $2 million and the lender is willing to provide a loan of $1.6 million, the LTV would be (1,600,000/2,000,000) × 100 = 80 percent. This means the loan amount is 80 percent of the appraised value of the facility, and the borrower would need to provide a down payment of 20 percent ($400,000) to meet the lender’s requirements. A lower LTV indicates that the borrower has more equity in the asset, which reduces the lender’s risk. Lenders often have maximum LTV ratios that they are willing to accept based on the type of loan and the borrower’s creditworthiness.

Loan-to-Cost (LTC): LTC is a financial metric used by lenders to evaluate the risk of a loan for a real estate development project. The LTC ratio is calculated by dividing the loan amount by the project’s total cost times 100 (LTC = [LA/PTC] x 100). The project’s total cost includes all costs associated with acquiring and developing the property, such as purchase price, construction costs, renovation costs, and other expenses. The LTC ratio helps lenders assess the amount of risk they are taking by providing a loan for the project. A lower LTC ratio indicates that the borrower has more equity in the project, which can reduce the lender’s risk. Lenders typically have maximum LTC ratios that they are willing to accept based on the type of project and the borrower’s creditworthiness.

Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio: The DTI ratio is a financial metric that compares a person’s monthly debt payments to their gross monthly income. Lenders use it to assess an individual’s ability to manage monthly payments and repay debts. The DTI ratio is calculated by dividing the total monthly debt payments by the gross monthly income and multiplying by 100 to express the result as a percentage (DTI = [MDP/GMI] x 100). For example, if a person has total monthly debt payments of $2,000 and a gross monthly income of $6,000, their DTI ratio would be (2,000/6,000) × 100 = 33.33 percent. A lower DTI ratio indicates that a person has a lower level of debt relative to their income, which lenders generally view positively. Lenders often use DTI ratios as part of their loan approval process, with lower ratios indicating lower risk for the lender. The acceptable DTI ratio can vary depending on the type of loan and the lender’s requirements.

Many financial terms may sound complicated, but they just describe things like revenue, loans, and interest rates. By demystifying complex terminologies related to business financials, loan terms, and financial ratios, you can confidently engage with bankers and lenders and make intelligent financial choices. Whether you’re a seasoned borrower or a first-time seeker of financing, this knowledge empowers you to make informed decisions and manage your financial affairs effectively. So next time you converse with a banker, rest assured that you’re speaking the same language!