Archive for June, 2007
Ouch. The author of “Sorting It Out: One Disorganized Woman Solves the Problem of Too Much Stuff” just blasted self-storage. She writes:
“Renting storage space is generally one of the most useless expenses anyone can add to the household budget. I’m hard-pressed to come up with a legitimate reason for it, except for those rare instances when the rental facility is truly a temporary or seasonal solution to a storage problem.
“Temporary does not mean forever; that would be permanent. So, if you have stored something for longer than a year (a very generous length of time), it is probably no longer a temporary arrangement. If you haven’t accessed what you have in storage during that year, unless you were off having a fine old time touring the continent (or facing the challenge of serving our country abroad), it’s pretty safe to conclude that you don’t need what you’ve stored. That means it’s time to unload the burdens of the storage unit and all of its unnecessary contents.”
Good grief. Not someone we want evangelizing for the industry, is it? This is the kind of information that needs to be combated with information to the contrary. This author goes on and on and on about self-storage’s origins — all in the name of promoting her book.
See, if you buy her book, she figures, you won’t need self-storage because you’ll be organized. What she fails to acknowledge is that there’s many other reasons people use self-storage, among other key points.
What do you think? Is she accurate in her description of “selfish storage?” Or shouldn’t we do some education to the contrary here?
Her blog comments have plenty of supporters. What say you?
Read her blog here.
June 29th, 2007
Edmond residents, like most Americans, own a lot of stuff — so much stuff, in fact, that they don’t have room to store it all at home, according to an article that recently appeared in The Edmond Sun in Oklahoma.
The self-storage trend is on the rise locally, as well as across the country, the story reports. According to the Edmond Economic Development Authority, building permits have been granted for 107,000 square feet of self-storage space in the Edmond area since 2004.
The industry coverage is awesome, but is self-storage still in the trend stage? Or is it just that this reporter hasn’t been duly educated on the industry’s decades-long history? Sure, the industry is relatively young, but it’s not wearing diapers, either.
So, yes, perhaps it is a trend the reporter is seeing, but it’s not a new trend. It’s a trend that remains alive and well — and it’s spreading, which is probably what our reporter friend in Oklahoma is noticing. In any case, it’s great to see the story. It’s our job to educate reporters from coast to coast and in other nations about self-storage so the trend can live on in a positive light.
June 28th, 2007
Divine Development LP, in alliance with the Agape Foundation and Mobile Master Trucks, has developed the first “green” business grant available to the self-storage industry. The grant offers low-cost use of clean-emissions vehicles to members of certain businesses, predominantly self-storage. It also provides a driver/employee for each vehicle (a type of moving truck), available for use six hours per day, five days per week, acording to an article in Inside Self-Storage.
Click here to read more about it. And don’t forget to check into options to advertise your business on the sides of these trucks. That’s where true self-storage promotions comes into play.
June 27th, 2007
Here’s one way to get publicity: Hire someone with star power to manage your facility. That’s just what Hawaii Self Storage did.
Shaun Salvador in 1996 was a football walk-on for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, for which he played a year at tight end, including one game he suited up against University of Hawaii (which UNLV lost), according to the Star-Bulletin. The Star goes on to conduct a Q&A with the “star.” This is priceless publicity because folks in the local community will doubtless want to meet him, or at least the kids will.
What can you do to leverage the star qualities of your staff? They say everyone has their 15 minutes of fame. Perhaps you don’t have any ex-college football heros on your team, but ask questions of your staff and make the most of their experiences. It could be that they are comunity service superstars or foster parent heros. Get the idea?
Click here to read the story in the Star-Bulletin.
June 26th, 2007
Marcus & Millichap’s The Mele Group has listed a three-property portfolio in Corpus Christi, Texas, demonstrating that the Tampa-based self-storage brokerage has the manpower, investor database power and networking power to broker deals in markets beyond its home base in Florida.The AAA Storage portfolio is listed at $14.8 million. Michael A. Mele and Kevin Gordon from The Mele Group joined forces with Mark A. Villanueva, an Investment Associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Real Estate Investment Services’ National Self Storage Group in Austin, to broker the sale. The trio will combine their self-storage expertise and investor connections to ensure the AAA Storage portfolio earns top dollar in the market.
“The AAA Storage portfolio offers investors a unique opportunity to buy into a group of properties that are not only in close proximity to one another, but strategically located in markets with high rental populations,” said Michael A. Mele, Senior Investment Associate at Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group. “Projecting a closing in early fall and due to its strong lease-up pace, the portfolio will be deliverable near a 7% CAP Rate at list price and offers room for both physical and economic occupancy increases. This is an investor’s dream.”
The three properties are AAA Storage Ayers, AAA Storage IH 37 and AAA Storage Rodd Field, all within 12 miles of one another. The trio of single-level properties offers a group of premier self-storage facilities totaling 322,085 rentable square feet and 2,238 units. Each site is built out to capacity and is currently in lease up of the final build-out phase. Over the past 12 months, the portfolio has seen its physical occupancy climb, on average, net 2,000 square feet a month – a strong contributor to its investor appeal. As of May 31, 2007, the portfolio posts a 66 percent physical occupancy.
“From a management perspective, the AAA Storage portfolio offers clear benefits. With the properties located so close together, oversight of the facilities becomes easier,” said Villanueva, an Investment Associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Real Estate Investment Services’ National Self Storage Group in Austin. “With occupancy rates rising each month and the city of Corpus Christi poised for growth, this is a strategic acquisition for an investor who is willing to purchase all three properties.”
Click here to read the rest of this release.
June 25th, 2007
Inside Self-Storage (ISS), a producer of publications, tradeshows and education programs for the self-storage industry, welcomes Allison Bandura to the team as its new expo education and marketing manager. She will be responsible for planning educational events and seminars for bi-annual ISS Expos and spearheading marketing efforts for these shows.
A Phoenix native, Bandura graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Arizona State University. She previously served as director of marketing for the Border Trade Alliance, a grassroots, nonprofit organization serving as a forum for people to address key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America. In this position, she was responsible for sponsor relations, coordinating organization events, and overseeing all marketing and public relations.
June 22nd, 2007
Yet another fund is including self-storage in its mix. Harrison Street Real Estate Capital closed Harrison Street Real Estate Partners I LP. The total value of the fund is expected to be between $800 million and $1 billion. Beyond senior housing, student housing, parking and medical properties, the fund will invest in, yep, you guessed it - self-storage.
The powers that be at Harrison said they wanted to focus on “niche areas” of real estate. At some level, self-storage may always be a niche. At another level, self-storage is a force to be reckoned as it continues to show strong among investors against other property types.
Success is always a two-edged sword. It presents opportunity and challenges.This is great marketing for the industry, but, of course, will lead to stiffer competition for operators.
June 21st, 2007
The Wesco Torrence Self Storage Center made a smart marketing move — announcing to the world its senior, student and military storage discount specials, along with a branded 800 number (or 888 number as it were).
That’s the news hook. The operator took full opportunity to describe the many benefits of doing business at the facility, including its wine storage, self storage or RV storage — it’s a full-service business center that’s ideal for businesses of all sizes and the general public alike.
This is a masterful release that communicates Wesco’s unique value proposition — and communicates it well. Would that all facility releases so on target.
Click here to read it for yourself.
June 20th, 2007
You gotta love it when you see self-storage headlines in Forbes. Through its Associated Press feed, Forbes is running the story about Extra Space buying 13 properties from AAAAA Rent-A-Space for $130 million in convertible units. In fact, the news about Extra Space is all over the place.
When you see breaking news in the industry like this, it’s time to ride on that media relations bandwagon and get your own name in the paper. Hint: Be sure to have something newsworthy when you do. You need an angle. Approaching the media without an angle is asking for a disgruntled editor to mark you as a time waster the next time around.
Click here to read the rest of the story in Forbes.
June 19th, 2007
The National Portable Storage Association, or NPSA, is leveraging the popular viral video site YouTube and its Web 2.0 technologies to help educate its members on safety issues related to loading and unloading containerized storage.
YouTube lets people watch and share original videos through a Web experience. The Google-owned property allows people to upload and share video clips on YouTube.com and across the Internet through Web sites, blogs, and e-mail. Now, portable storage operators can glean valuable information from the NPSA’s sneak peak by visiting www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uJ0y8MxBYs.
“Containerized storage may be an industrial business, but we use modern, cutting-edge technologies to help our members learn how to safely load and unload portable storage units,” said John Finnessy, CMP, Executive Director of the NPSA, a nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of the portable storage industry. “What we’ve posted on YouTube is just part of our soon-to-be-released video, but you can begin learning online now through the power of Web 2.0 technologies.”
Click here to read the rest of this release on ClickPress.
June 18th, 2007
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