Category: Best Practices

In today’s self storage industry, security encompasses an increasingly complex range of hardware, systems and technology platforms that deter crime and improve operators’ ability to monitor and respond to threats. Security integrators play a crucial role in helping owners and operators manage and optimize all aspects of their security systems. They coordinate, install and connect hardware, software, networks and hybrid IT solutions and develop a comprehensive security strategy tailored to your operation’s unique requirements. Specifically, there are several ways a qualified security integrator adds value to your self storage operation:…

As a real estate investor, incorrectly identifying a deal can potentially cause catastrophic losses, while proper identification of a deal can set you up for long-term success and wealth creation. In a competitive marketplace, real estate investors must combine a boot-on-the-ground qualitative analysis with data-driven quantitative research. It is the combining of these two approaches that paints the most complete picture allowing for additional insight to how a property may perform. Gone are the days of information asymmetry where the seller always had more information than the buyer. Technology has…

These days, the story of industry disruption through innovative technology is a daily occurrence. Interestingly, each new innovation triggers a series of disruptions by applying that technology to other industries. For example, Uber was a major disruptor in transportation services and today there are countless “Uber of …” across myriad industries. Within the storage industry, we have observed this through the emergence of companies like Clutter and Neighbor. As real estate specific technologies (aka Prop Tech) continue to emerge, self storage owners and investors should be prepared to experience a…

In today’s world, the demand for automated rentals is at it’s all time high. This past year has been challenging for many industries in maintaining a strong business while creating a “contactless” environment for their employees and customers. Although we have hope that the end of today’s pandemic is in the very near future, there’s certainly no guarantee. Nevertheless, customers have now become so used to a contactless environment and the simplicity of taking care of their daily responsibilities that we’ll never truly go back to the way things were…

The self storage industry has established itself as a solid performer in a difficult market. Like every other commercial property sector, it has experienced some effects of the pandemic, yet it is well positioned at a time when the economy faces extraordinary challenges. A slowdown in development activity is helping oversupplied self storage markets restore the balance between supply and demand, while thanks to high occupancy rates, the year-over-year street rate performance was positive for the first time since 2017, according to the latest Yardi Matrix report.  In the interview…