Having been in the self-storage industry for over 26 years, spanning through multiple economic cycles, I have seen this industry grow with each cycle. While many think of self-storage as “recession proof,” that doesn’t mean we escape each cycle...

Unfortunately, as we sit here today, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. As a result, issues that many self-storage operators had thought were resolved, including concerns over restrictions on their rental rate increases, remain. As self-storage...

Over the last year, through a massive public health crisis and a distressed economy, the self-storage industry has once again shown its resolute strength within the real estate sector. Notwithstanding the pandemic and the resulting business closures and...

By Donald Jones, president of Donald Jones Consulting & Services LLC

“Do unto others …” or “Treat others like …” are the great beginning phrases of principles of days past. Within the storage industry specifically, managers are accountable to owners,...

By Michael Baillargeon, Senior Vice President, Operations, Store Space

By now, all of us in the self-storage industry have been practicing due diligence against COVID-19 for months. We’ve put down strict sanitizing protocols and implemented social...

Virtual Cost Savings, Productivity, And Projections  

By David Meinecke, Vice President of Jordan Architects

As we continue to navigate through this tumultuous time, we continue to see the ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite varying levels of...

By J. Ashley Oblinger, Esq., Associate Attorney, Weissmann Zucker Euster Morochnik & Garber P.C.

Since mid-March, self-storage facilities across the country have been forced to temporarily close their doors or limit their operations due to state...

By Rod Bolls, founder and CEO of Boxwell, LLC

There are some things that are commonly considered off limits, if not crazy. Things like running 100 miles or starting a business, for example, are not for everyone. Ultramarathoners and entrepreneurs...

By Monty Spencer, CEO, The Storage Acquisition Group

A developer builds a new storage facility in a hot market, but it takes longer than expected to lease-up, causing rental prices to be lowered and the property value to drop.

What happened? Typically,...

By Tim Hobin, Executive Vice President – Real Estate, The William Warren Group, Inc.

As I write this, we’re finalizing the books on another stellar year in the longest economic expansion of all time, and I must admit, it has been a good run. As an...

By Andy Kelly, Principal and Broker of A B Kelly Realty, LLC (Self Storage and Commercial Property Management) and Principal of Sierra Self Storage Consulting, LLC

I started in the storage business in 1992 as an area manager. The industry had very...

By John H. Gilliland, president and CEO of Investment Real Estate, LLC

Remember where we were 10 years ago? In mid-2010, the country was in the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Self-storage developers and owners were reeling. I...

In the past, to find a self-storage unit you would:

• Ask some friends or family,
• Look it up in the phone book, or
• Drive around and stop at the first site you see.

Today you can go online and review locations, prices, and availability all within a...

Over my 20-plus years in the self-storage industry, I’ve heard the phrase “three mile” quite a bit. Meaning, of course, that any storage facility you own or operate is really only in competition with the stores that are within three miles. The...

Over the last five years, as the use of technology has blossomed in the self-storage industry, more and more self-storage facilities have shifted to unmanned properties, utilizing the opportunities for kiosk services and now even mobile leasing with...

Perhaps the most frustrating call received by mangers is the person who just wants to shop your price. The call is usually abrupt; it ends without you sharing anything about your facility and with no chance to gather information to follow up. You may...

Everyone does pricing. Some do it by intuition, others do it in a more sophisticated way. Every seller knows that you want the price to be just right–not so high that you put off potential buyers and not so low that you lose out on potential profits.

...

I attended a seminar last week that discussed trends in the real estate market for the self-storage industry. The discussion revolved around the trends in 2018 and what is expected to happen in 2019—cap rates, interest rates, you know, normal real...

August is sort of a bittersweet month for me. It’s the time two of my kids are getting ready to head to college and my youngest is deciding whose bedroom he is going to try and steal while they are gone. We are trying to cram in every bit of family time...

Why They Aren’t A Myth

If you’re unsure about embracing automated self-storage, here’s a cautionary tale about underestimating the effects of technology from another industry.

In 2000, Reed Hastings approached Blockbuster CEO John Antioco with the...

When I started Red Dot Storage, the business plan was pretty simple: acquire self-storage facilities and utilize automation and related technology to maximize value. From airport kiosk check-ins to in-app purchases, the automation phenomenon certainly...

When self-storage operators first started using technology it was in the form of PC software that was by its very nature isolated and rarely integrated with other systems. Early integrations included exporting data files other systems could read,...

By Devin S. Huber, Principal, The BSC Group

As a mortgage broker specializing in self-storage, my typical week includes speaking with dozens of operators, developers, investors, and lenders. Over the last three years, these conversations generally share...

By Noah Springer, Senior Vice President, Third Party and Asset Management, Extra Space Storage, Inc.

Before I had kids, I knew that mine would be the best looking, most polite, and smartest kids out there. They would possibly even be born with a proper...

Raising Funds For Wounded Warrior Charities

Sherman Gillums, Jr.

Throughout 2018, AZSA is encouraging self-storage facilities to participate in the Charity Storage Giving Back Program and to conduct auctions to benefit wounded veterans organizations of...

By Norm Shore, Director, Kayne Anderson Real Estate How many years have we heard that the college rental is not the preferred customer? Long enough to know that the college student 10 years ago is probably no longer in college, is possibly married with...

Tom Garden – Owner of Syrasoft Management Software and co-owner of Catskill Self Storage in Leeds, N.Y.

A dozen years or so ago, while hiking in Lake Louise, Banff, Manitoba, I came across a French couple who were attempting to take a selfie with the...

by Jeffrey W. Adler, Yardi Systems, Inc.

Storage rent growth is decelerating but still trending up.

Rent growth for self-storage properties decelerated during the last several months as new supply and the maturing economic cycle weakened tailwinds...

After the ruling in favor of a customer in the Gil v. Winn-Dixie case (Florida District Court), the flood gates have opened against businesses, including self-storage companies, claiming ADA violations related to website accessibility. Essentially, the...

Joel Deis, vice president and regional manager, Marcus & Millichap – Seattle Office, and national director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Self Storage Group

By Dave Benson, President and CEO, Morningstar Properties

This past September, in a hotel...