B² Interactive, a firm specializing in Internet marketing, website design and software development for the self-storage industry, is launching a software integration gateway this month designed to give storage owners the ability to dynamically update rental information across any websites where they are listed. The software will pass real-time and up-to-date information for unit availability, pricing and any current rental specials, company officials said.
By giving facility owners the ability to update information for immediate release across the numerous sites they are listed on, it gives their facility a better chance of being found by a new customer searching for storage online, company officials said in a press release. The software integration also takes a lot of the legwork away from property managers.
The software is designed to pass data between a storage facilitys property-management software and any online resources a storage operator uses, including its own facility website and national and regional online directories.
"This software integration is one that will make finding and reserving self-storage units easier for customers, while also making it easier for self-storage facilities to get their available units out to a larger audience without having to constantly check each website to make sure everything is there," said co-founder Brandon Taylor, the lead developer on the project.
B² Interactive began production on the software in February and began testing it in July. It was first deployed live on USstoragesearch.com. In addition to connecting facilities with national directories, the software can also enhance storage operator websites with tools like online reservations and tenant payment options, officials said.
The company was founded in Omaha, Neb., late last year by Taylor, Nick Bilava and Bill Hipsher and counts Storage.com, StorageUnit.com and USstoragesearch.com among its clients. The group first developed a self-storage directory for Omaha 15 years ago. Since then, the men have built, managed and maintained directory websites on a national level as well as individual websites for independent storage operators.
