Posts filed under 'Hot Off the Press'
There’s an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal this week about the rising demand for wine storage. This could be an opportunity for self-storage facilities who made the investment in wine storage areas. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
America is a nation of wine lovers—U.S. sales topped $30 billion in 2007, according to the Wine Institute—but we’re also a nation of wine hoarders, as evidenced by the number of wine-storage facilities.
Enterprising companies offer lovers of the grape a place to stash those precious wines in secure, temperature-controlled settings worthy of a four-figure bottle of Bordeaux. There’s a reason for all the fuss: Wines not stored at the proper temperature (typically 55 to 58 degrees) or in the proper environment (somewhere dark) can easily go bad. Many storage facilities take service a step further, from helping collectors catalog their bottles to accepting shipments directly from out-of-town wineries or wine sellers. To see if such storage businesses live up to the hype, we visited four facilities of various sizes, styles and prices.
International Wine Storage in Miami offered some of the lowest rates—starting at just $22 per month to rent a shelf that can hold up to 12 cases (or 144 bottles). If you’re looking for storage with a certain upscale pedigree, you might be in the wrong place. The facility is part of a much bigger, all-purpose self-storage firm, replete with a loading area where used books and office furniture were on sale.
Read the rest of the article in The Wall Street Journal.
March 5th, 2010
Three self storage industry veterans just formed the Storage Business Owners Alliance LLC (SBOA), an organization that aims to help small- to medium-sized self storage owners and operators drive greater profitability.
By leveraging the combined “strength in numbers” of its membership, SBOA members can take advantage of substantial savings on everyday expense items such as office supplies, credit card processing fees, and payroll processing, as well as expense items more specific to the self storage industry such as retail supplies for resale.
SBOA’s Founding Members include more than 200 member-facilities such as Sentry Self Storage, Planet Self Storage and the facilities managed by Investment Real Estate Management LLC. “As a 50-store operation, we are thrilled with the cost savings the SBOA offers us to improve our bottom line,” said Rick Yonis of Sentry Self Storage. “Especially in today’s economy, we are pleased to be able to pass along some of savings to customers as well.”
SBOA has established vendor relationships with prominent industry brands such as Site Link (software), StorageClicks (search engine optimization), Janus International (unit partitions and doors), and Michaels Wilder (Yellow Pages advertising). Members also benefit from steep discounts from such nationally known merchants as Staples, ADP (payroll processing), Sprint and Federal Express.
Other notable discounts include the ability to save more than 25% on typical credit card processing fees (North American Bankcard), and a 42% discount on print subscriptions and a 10% discount on digital subscriptions on MiniCo’s Mini Storage Messenger magazine.
Although SBOA’s major focus is expense savings, there are significant revenue-generating benefits as well, including a cooperative program with the U-Store-It Network (Internet lead conversion) and a revenue-generating pay-with-rent insurance program with Minico, Inc. that pays the member an above average administrative fee each month on every tenant insurance transaction.
Future offerings will include a property/liability insurance program with steep savings on annual premiums for participating SBOA members.
The SBOA was founded by Morgan Hanlon, Ian Burnstein and David M. Levenfeld, owners and operators of multiple self storage facilities, who realized an industry need for small- to medium-sized owners to band together to better compete with the larger storage companies.
“The automated features of the SBOA website make signing up and implementing immediate savings as easy as possible,” said Hanlon. “The SBOA allows the owner of just one or a few facilities to enjoy the buying power of a major national company. We believe our members will find the discount opportunities to be extremely compelling.”
Enrollment is open to any self storage facility owner or operator. For more information or to join, please visit www.theSBOA.com or call 508-425-7111.
February 16th, 2010
StorageSeeker.com, a self storage search directory, just rolled out a new Pay-Per-Result pricing plan is available to self storage companies and managers that sign up for its service. Instead of a recurring monthly subscription fee that most storage directories charge, Storage Seeker now gives its customers the option to only pay when they receive a storage unit Quote Request from a prospective self storage tenant.
This is a smart move in an age where pay-per-performance advertising is making an impact. With this model, there’s no reason why every self-storage facility shouldn’t sign up for the service. Hopefully, StorageSeeker.com will report back to us with the results of this new campaign.
February 5th, 2010
MiniCo Publishing has released the “2009 Self-Storage Development Handbook,” an annual reference focused specifically on the self-storage facility development process from site selection to opening day.
Topics in this year’s edition include determining site potential, understanding pro formas, local market obstacles, selecting security components, the impact of design on security, and facility marketing as well as financial and legal considerations. The book also features detailed information about the challenges faced by Security Self Storage in Westlake, Ohio, the facility named the overall winner in Mini-Storage Messenger’s 2008 Self‑Storage Facility of the Year competition.
Commenting on the publication, Co-Publisher Poppy Behrens stated, “It is always important for self-storage professionals to understand the challenges they may face when developing a facility, but in our current economy this preparation is absolutely critical.”
April 2nd, 2009
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL (February 20, 2006) – Self Storage Promotions, the self-storage industry’s only integrated marketing communications firm, has launched a new web site. SelfStoragePromotions.com offers clients a top-to-bottom look at the company’s core services, recent projects and the latest on featured industry events.
SelfStoragePromotions.com explains the company’s integrated approach and its strategic consulting services. The company is now offering a free 30-minute consultation to help clients understand where their promotional efforts are breaking down and explore strategies for connecting with target audiences.
“Self Storage Promotions was birthed to fill a void in the storage industry – strategic communications,” said Jennifer LeClaire, President and Creative Director of Self Storage Promotions, a division of Revelation Media Networks. “Our team of writers, public relations pros, marketing specialists and web gurus are prepared to identify communications breakdowns that could be tarnishing your brand name.”
LeClaire heads up a team of writers, editors, web developers, PR pros, marketing specialists, graphic designers, branding gurus, event managers, consultants, market researchers, photographers and video producers who know how to craft multimedia messages that cut through the clutter.
Services include strategic counseling, public, media and community relations, corporate and crisis communications, marketing and advertising campaigns, web services, event management, branding and video production. Self Storage Promotions is the only full-service promotions agency that exclusively serves the needs of the storage industry.
LeClaire has been serving the self-storage industry for more than five years with writing, editing, ghostwriting, public relations and graphic design services. That industry-specific knowledge, combined with her 15 years of media savvy, positions her to help self-storage companies promote their brands. LeClaire has worked with Universal Studios, the NBA, the New York Times, the Associated Press, and many large and small corporations in their quest for communications excellence.
“SelfStoragePromotions.com illustrates our creativity and technical knowledge,” LeClaire said. “We understand that web development is not just about a pretty web site. It’s about converting visitors into customers. SelfStoragePromotions.com’s combination of aesthetics, site architecture and copywriting is a strong example of web design that meets business objectives.”
About Self Storage Promotions
A division of Revelation Media Networks, Inc., Self Storage Promotions is the industry’s only integrated marketing communications firm. Whether you need a quick press release, a complex web site, grand opening event management, or some other promotional service, consider Self Storage Promotions your one-stop shop for strategic solutions that bring results. For more information, visit www.selfstoragepromotions.com.
February 25th, 2006
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