Westport Properties has selected XPS Solutions, a provider of telephone sales and customer-service support to the self-storage industry, as its call-center business-solutions partner.  Westport Properties operates more than 35 facilities throughout California and the eastern United States under the US Storage Centers brand. 

XPS Solutions sales and service team will answer and convert prospect calls to reservations, handle payments, and answer any questions customers may have regarding their self-storage needs.  Their business solutions include commercial marketing, Web-lead programs, marketing campaign analysis, and IVR (integrated voice response) solutions for payments.

Westport is excited to be partnering with XPS Solutions, said Mike Brady, senior director of operations for Westport Properties.  We are always looking for value and XPS Solutions offers the best combination of quality services with leading-edge technology and price.  After a lengthy evaluation we found that XPS Solutions brought experience, quality and the most advanced technology in the call-center solutions industry, he added.  XPS Solutions ability to integrate seamlessly and understand our business needs, combined with the best-in-class business tools that help increase our net operating income, makes for a very compelling partnership.

Our partnership goes beyond the typical self-storage call center model, said Michael Roberts, vice president of business development for XPS Solutions. Westports support of cancer research has made our relationship a positive one inside and outside the self-storage industry.

Westport Propertys founder and president Barry Hoeven founded KureIt! Kidney Cancer Research Fund, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative kidney and other cancer research.  Kure It raises money from the private sector and redirects funds through competitive grants to kidney and other cancer researchers conducting groundbreaking research projects to better treat and ultimately cure kidney and other cancers.  Kure It has raised more than $500,000.

We are grateful for the tremendous support and generous contributions of XPS Solutions, said Hoeven.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office in Oroville, Calif., issued a felony warrant arrest for a suspect they believe was involved in the stabbing of a man Tuesday at a self-storage facility on Lincoln Boulevard.

Ronald Robert Knight, 43, is in stable condition at a local hospital. According to police, Knight was stabbed in the neck by Zachary James Ragan, 42, just after 7 p.m. The two men, who are acquaintances, were visiting the storage facility when the assault occurred.

Police do not yet know what spurred the attack. Knight, who underwent surgery at Enloe Medical Center, has been unable to talk to investigators.

Sheriffs deputies, the California Highway Patrol officers and a police helicopter searched for Ragan following the assault. The arrest warrant includes a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon.

Ragan is described as white, 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. He has tattoos covering most of his upper body and a horn tattooed on his forehead.

Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust targeting the self-storage market, acquired three self-storage facilities totaling approximately 2,030 units with 281,000 rentable square feet within 10 miles of downtown Chicago. The sites will be rebranded under the SmartStop SM Self Storage trade name.

Purchased from an institutional investor, the recently renovated properties are infill locations along high-traffic routes with prominent signage. The self-storage facilities opened between 2002 and 2004 and have interior and exterior drive-up units featuring climate control and heated interior-loading areas.

The facility at 1000 E. 95th St. has 690 units with 72,000 rentable square feet on 4.6 acres. Its just east of Chicago State University on the citys south side and consists of six single-story buildings and a sales office.

The second property, 2244 S. Western Ave., contains approximately 590 units with 59,000 rentable square feet on 2.7 acres. The single-story building is in the near southwest side of the city in the densely populated Pilsen neighborhood near Cermak Road.

The third facility, located at 5701 W. Ogden Ave. in Cicero, contains approximately 750 units with 65,000 rentable square feet and 85,000 square feet of rentable industrial space on 10.4 acres.

We saw value-add possibilities and long-term rate growth opportunities at these infill Chicago locations, said Wayne Johnson, senior vice president of acquisitions. Having customer-friendly, ground-level storage in high-traffic urban locations is a great way to introduce the SmartStop SM Self Storage brand to the Chicago metro area.

Since its launch two-and-a-half years ago, Strategic Storage Trusts portfolio of wholly-owned properties has expanded to include 38 properties in 15 states.

Stor-Age Self Storage recently acquired The Storage People (TSP) in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Situated in a prime location with exposure onto Allandale Road, TSP consists of more than 7,000 square metres of self-storage space and 400 units. The facility was developed during 2007 and has an occupancy level of 90 percent.

The transaction, financed by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, will be finalized in November.

"Stor-Age is delighted to have successfully completed this acquisition, said CEO Gavin Lucas. We believe the store will complement our existing portfolio and will allow us to significantly grow our market share in the Gauteng region."

Headquartered in Cape Town, Stor-Age Self Storage is the largest self-storage company in South Africa.

By Larry Friedman

From the perspective of the self-storage customer, having insurance on what he keeps in his storage unit is like having insurance on an automobile: It doesnt seem all that important until something goes wrong. But when that happens, insurance is the most important thing in the world; and not having it just piles misery on top of misery. In other words, insurance means peace of mind for the tenant.

What many self-storage operators dont realize is tenant insurance also provides peace of mind for them. After all, its a valuable risk-management tool that helps protect your business. Companies that specialize in self-storage coverage know the unique risks owner-operators facerisks posed by lawsuits and other legal actioncan cost them their business and life savings.

Tenant insurance can also create a dependable revenue stream and take away the headaches and heartburn of unhappy tenants. Those are very valuable benefits. If operators survey the choices in the insurance industry, theyll quickly discover firms specializing in self-storage offer programs that are easy to start and manage. It begins with an enrollment process thats simple for the operator and painless for the tenant.

Meeting Operator Needs

A handful of statesArizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washingtonhave licensing requirements, which adds some time and effort to the enrollment process. Thats where insurance professionals can offer a helping hand. Firms with full-service licensing departments can facilitate the process.

What sets a full-service firm apart from other companies is the ability to provide tailored training programs. Just ask a storage owner if training matters. It can make the difference between rolling out a successful program with buy-in by staff and tenants, and wasting a lot of time, money and effort.

Thats why its so important for an insurance provider to listen to facility operators and meet them on their terms. For some, that means a top-to-bottom, company-wide, tailored training program. Others need onsite training and workshops. Some may prefer training webinars. Web-based training programs leverage new technology and allow for a free flow of questions, answers, ideas, brainstorming and on-the-fly problem-solving within an operators entire team. Plus, theyre cost-effective and time-efficient.

Serving Tenant Needs

Training should be just the beginning of the partnership between the insurer and owner-operator. The real work on the insurers endand the real payoff on the owner-operators endcomes when disaster strikes, when the claims pour in, when the questions overwhelm an operator and his managers.

What happens when disaster hits? A quality insurance partner will have a ready-made structure or plan in place to respond. The company may even put a team onsite to process claims and issue settlement checks on the spot so tenants can move on with their lives, and operators can focus on recovery, rebuilding and repairing.

What happens when tenants have hard questions? Your insurance partner will have answers. Having an in-house claims team of licensed insurance professionals makes a big difference for operators and their worried tenants. It means they get answers when they callnot the number to some third-party administrator.

Offering a tenant-insurance program and the peace of mind that accompanies it is only the beginning of a quality tenant-insurance program.

Larry Friedman is president and CEO of Bader Co., a fully licensed provider of tenant insurance. For more information, call 888.223.3726; visit www.baderco.com .

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Tenant-Insurance Provider Checklist

• Does the provider specialize in self-storage solutions?
• Do you have to be licensed, and if so, where?
• Who issues the policies, and who do tenants call with questions?
• Who acts as the licensed agent?
• What liability will you have?
• Who settles the claims?
• What training and support is available?

Extra Space Storage LLC, a real estate investment trust, purchased two self-storage facilities from American Storage Properties for an undisclosed price. The Self Storage Zone facilities, in Capitol Heights, Md., and Arlington, Va., contain a total of 152,895 net rentable square feet with 1,508 storage units, 1,212 of which are climate controlled.

Steve Hryszko, vice president for the CB Richard Ellis Self Storage Advisory Group (SSAG), represented the seller. SSAG specializes in the acquisition, disposition and financing of self-storage facilities nationwide.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 809 self-storage properties in 34 states and Washington, D.C. The companys properties comprise approximately 540,000 units and more than 58 million square feet of rentable space.

Amazing Spaces Storage Centers and the Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) partnered again this year to raise money for Shriners Childrens Hospital in Galveston. The Make a Difference campaign emphasizes the contributions to the hospital by self-storage owners in their communities. Amazing Spaces and TSSA have supported the Shriners Childrens Hospital for the past seven years. Donations to the hospital surpassed $230,000 in 2009.

Were always so excited each year to help this wonderful charity that has been providing a wonderful service to children in our area since 1960, said Kathy Tautenhahn, marketing director for Amazing Spaces. This year the self-storage operator matched dollar for dollar the money raised at each of its locations to double the amount raised. All proceeds go directly to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston.

The 2010 TSSA Make a Difference campaign ended at the associations annual convention, Oct. 17-20, in Fort Worth.

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health-care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients ability to pay.

Ready Steady Store in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, launched an online contest in its effort to bring in more business tenants.

Initiated on the storage companys website, the contest offered one company three months of free storage and an Apple iPad. Businesses needed to apply online to be eligible.

Sandra Harvey, regional director of ASC Finance for ADVERTISEMENTBusiness, was the first winner.

Andy Egerton, the facilitys area manager, said the storage company was overwhelmed by the number contest applicants.

With Halloween only a few days away, self-storage operators are logging on to Self-Storage Talk, the official online forum of Inside Self-Storage, to share ideas of ways to capitalize on the holiday and ways to give back to their communities.

Member Madman in Vancouver shares that he and the other facility staff will begin donning costumes on the Thursday before Halloween and will hand out treats to customers through the holiday. Member MRDye in Colorado posts that her facility is hosting the first annual Spooktacular Jr. Creepers Carnival, complete with costume contests and games. 

Other members are sharing stories about how their facility (or other facilities in their network) host full-blown trick-or-treat events for kids. After all, many self-storage facilities naturally lend themselves to trick-or-treatingplenty of space and parking, wide asphalt drives, vacant units, and a central office to serve as the "home base." As Oct. 31 comes and goes, members have pledged to log on and post photos from their events on the newly formed Self-Storage Talk Photo Thread.

If you want to get in on the fun and to share your Halloween ideas, or if you're looking to glean ideas from others, log on to the forum, pull up the trick-or-treat thread and start posting. You must have a registered username to post, so if you don't have one, you can sign up for free. The process is easy and takes only a few minutes.