Global Self Storage Inc., a publicly traded self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), intends to conduct a rights offering to eligible stockholders on Nov. 18 for the purchase of up to $11.6 million of newly issued shares. The company will use proceeds from the offering to partially fund an acquisition and repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility. Any leftover funds will be used to help fund additional acquisitions, expansion of existing properties or for general corporate purposes, according to a filing with Securities and Exchange Commission.

Global agreed to acquire Erie Station Storage LLC in West Henrietta, N.Y., on Oct. 4 for $6.2 million. Opened in 2016, the facility at 70 Erie Station Road comprises 46,850 square feet in 458 units. The REIT expects to close the deal during the fourth quarter, pending due diligence and customary closing conditions, according to the filing.

The rights offering comes on the heels of Global announcing last week that it has launched a third-party management platform.

Founded in 1983, Global Self Storage specializes in the acquisition, development, operation, ownership and redevelopment of storage facilities in the United States. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, it owns 11 properties in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Its total operating portfolio comprises more than 880,000 rentable square feet. The company changed its name from Self Storage Group Inc. in January 2016.

Sources:
StreetInsider, Global Self Storage Announces Rights Offering
Global Self Storage, All SEC Filings

Two men suffered burn injuries after a fire started inside a unit on Saturday at Diamond Self Storage in Salt Lake City. The blaze at 50 S. Redwood Road began around 9 p.m., according to Captain Adam Archuleta of the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

By the time crews arrived, multiple units were affected by smoke and flames. “We also confirmed that two patients received burn injuries. One was in serious condition and was transported to a local facility. The other had minor injuries and refused transport,” Archuleta said.

Crews had the fire under control within an hour and extinguished it a short time later. An investigation of the cause is underway.

Diamond also operates a location in Anchorage, Alaska, and another in Spokane, Wash.

Source:
Gephardt Daily, 2 Injured When Fire Breaks Out in Salt Lake City Storage Facility

When you’re trying to obtain online exposure for your self-storage operation, maximizing your Internet presence is key. Over the next decade, the importance of Web visibility will only continue to increase.

Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are changing the way self-storage operators gain traction on the Web. In fact, SEO has become the main component to online presence, regardless of business size. It’s important that you understand these strategies and the reasons behind them. Let’s take a closer look at both and why they matter for the growth of your business.

Understanding SEM

SEM is Internet-based marketing that promotes websites and increases their online visibility with paid or organic traffic referrals from search engines. You’ve probably heard of and are somewhat familiar with SEO? Well, SEO is simply one component of SEM. Other components include paid search, such as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and social media marketing.

Many companies use SEM to meet marketing goals, understand their customer base and increase website traffic. By effectively using all the components of SEM, it’s possible for a growing business to get ahead of the competition.

Understanding SEO

SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website by way of organic search results. While that sounds basic, it isn’t. Everything hinges on your website. Without a decent one, the rest of your efforts will be less effective. For starters, it’s critical to understand that mobile devices are driving online traffic. This means your website had better be mobile-friendly.

Layout, image tags and even the code your website uses will also affect how Google ranks your website. This should be left to professionals, as incorrectly editing your website can have a negative impact on search rankings. Something you can do yourself, though, is ensure you have high-quality, relevant content.

Have you ever landed on a website only to realize it was completely different from what you were looking for, so you left and found a better website on the search engine results page? Google tracks these “bounces” and uses them to refine its results over time. If your website contains content that’s irrelevant, outdated or inaccurate, it’ll damage your online reputation and hurt your rankings.

An easy way to make sure your website doesn’t fall into this trap is to blog or update content regularly with accurate information about your self-storage facility. Content is a great way to build Web traffic, increase brand awareness and help with customer acquisition. Blogging not only improves your SEO but educates potential tenants! You can brand your company as the local experts in storage, packing and moving while also helping your Internet rankings.

When you’re composing a blog post, include keywords for which you want to rank in search results. Include those keywords in your page’s title tag as well as other places within the blog. This is important! Writing a smart title that captures searchers’ attention and entices clicks is a great way to get traffic. In fact, better content can attract traffic to a blog by up to 2,000 percent, according to SEO Tribunal, a website dedicated to helping businesses find professional SEO companies.

Keeping Up With Google

Google can shake things up in the SEO world in a heartbeat! From announcing big changes to implementing new rules, the search engine has us all at its mercy. As of April 2019, Google continued to dominate the search engine market, commanding 88.47 percent of traffic. It isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

As much as keeping up with algorithm updates is a must, keeping up with Google trends is equally important. While there have been many recent trends in SEO, here are the three most impactful:

• Invest in technical SEO. This includes website speed, compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and the implementation of Progressive Web Apps.
• Be ready for voice search. This is the year of mobile, and though you may not talk to your phone, 82 percent of users do, so be prepared.
• Create exceptional content. As previously noted, content is king. Keep it the main priority.

Outsource vs. DIY

So, now we know that SEM and SEO are crucial to success in the digital age. Whether your self-storage facility is seeking more tenants or greater brand awareness, ranking higher on Google is a springboard for success. While Bing, Yahoo and other search engines also carry significance, Google is the overwhelming end-user favorite, so it demands your attention.

To maximize your efforts, find a provider that really understands the self-storage industry. Some will try to upsell their services and then secretly pass off the work to cheaper third parties. This often results in a lower-quality product and poor results, so make sure your provider is actually performing the work.

Similarly, some providers make false promises, claiming they can “guarantee” the top-ranking spot on Google. Nobody can promise this outcome. While hard work greatly increases the chance your facility may take the top spot, a guarantee of such success should be acknowledged as a red flag.

Now, you may be wondering if SEM and SEO are strategies you can handle on your own. You can, but it isn’t advisable. It’s like designing a modern website. Sure, you can do it yourself, but the quality, results and effectiveness can be greatly enhanced when you hire a trained professional. Knowing if your SEM/SEO tactics are working is the key to quantifying success and justifying the service. A professional can show you increases in traffic stemming from these tactics. The proof will be in the results.

Whether you’re blogging or optimizing your website for keywords, content should be at the forefront of your Internet-marketing strategy. Remember, SEM is mainly used to convert visitors into customers, which increases your return on investment. Tailoring content for the audience you’re trying to capture will help immensely.

The Internet has more than 4.33 billion active users. This encompasses more than 56 percent of the global population, and that number is expected to grow! However you drive traffic to your self-storage facility, be sure you have an effective online presence to maximize results.

Lauren Mannarelli is a marketing manager for The Storage Group, a provider of website development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, reputation management, software development and more. She specializes in identifying target audiences and devising digital campaigns that engage, inform and motivate. For more information, call 888.465.6247; visit www.storageinternetmarketing.com.

Get ready! It’s time for festive costumes, wicked witches, ghastly ghosts and, of course, loads of candy! Halloween is a day like no other, and even self-storage operators are showing off their holiday spirit this week by decorating their properties, donning scary outfits and welcoming trick-or-treaters. Some are even hosting haunted houses and participating in fall festivals. It’s a great way to market your site and connect with your community.

How are you celebrating Halloween at your facility this year? See what others are up to and share your plans and photos in this unusual thread on Self-Storage Talk, the industry’s largest online community. Enjoy the celebration, and be safe out there!

Access Self Storage, which owns and manages 22 facilities on the East Coast, received the “NJ Family Business of the Year Award” from the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU). The program recognizes significant contributions to the economy and community made by family businesses in New Jersey. The companies honored best exemplify a “multi-generational impact on the community, perseverance, commitment to family and business success,” according to the source.

“Family businesses form the foundation of the New Jersey economy. It is, therefore, essential that we support these businesses and celebrate their success,” said Dale Caldwell, executive director of the Rothman Institute.

The finalists were chosen by a panel of judges comprised of past winners, members of the business community and FDU. They were honored at a luncheon on Oct. 23 at Crystal Plaza in Livingston, N.J., where Access was announced as the winner.

In addition to receiving a plaque, Access will be featured in “New Jersey Business” magazine, a publication of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. Additional sponsors of the award include Coughlin Duffy LLP, Crystal Plaza and Sobel & Co. LLC.

Foy Cooley, CEO and owner of Access, accepted the award. “Access has always been an extension of my family, and it’s because of this family I am standing here today,” she said during her acceptance speech.

Access was founded more than 40 years ago by Cooley and her husband, Ken Cooley, who passed earlier this year. The couple came upon the idea to open a storage facility when they noticed rows of single-story buildings with exterior doors while driving to North Carolina for a birthday celebration. When Foy saw the “Storage for rent” sign, she asked her husband if “something like this could work up North?” The couple opened their first facility in Eatontown, N.J., in 1977. Foy’s son, Graham Cooley, is also a part of the family business, serving as vice president of development.

Access owns and manages facilities in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. It opened a new location in Lopatcong, N.J., last year, and plans to grow its portfolio to 30 locations by 2020.

Source:
New Jersey Business, NJ Family Business of the Year Awards 2019 – Accepting Nominations

Publicly traded, U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs) Life Storage Inc. and National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT) were among the companies recently honored by Newsweek Media as America’s Best Customer-Service Brands for 2020. Companies were recognized in 160 categories. NSAT ranked No. 7 overall and No. 1 among “storage centers.” Life Storage was No. 2 in the self-storage category, while SecurCare Self Storage, a participating regional operator of NSAT, notched third.

Disney Cruise Line was the No. 1 overall customer-service brand, followed by Neiman Marcus and The Ritz-Carlton. NSAT was behind L.L. Bean. Winners were selected based on the evaluations from more than 20,000 U.S. customers who have either made a purchase, used a service or gathered information about a product or service in the last three years.

“We are honored to be recognized as the top-rated customer service provider in the Storage Centers category,” said Arlen Nordhagen, CEO of NSAT. “NSA has been committed to excellence since we founded the company in 2013, and this is another acknowledgement of our entire team’s above and beyond efforts.”

Life Storage is a repeat honoree. “We are honored to be recognized by our customers with this award for the second year in a row,” said CEO Joe Saffire. “Life Storage associates across the company work hard to deliver a best-in-class customer experience each and every day. This award is a direct result of those efforts.”

Among the criteria considered, survey participants were asked whether they would recommend brands to friends or family, as well as evaluate brands in five areas related to the customer experience: quality of communication, professional competence, range of services, customer focus and accessibility. A total of 115,115 evaluations were collected, according to a press release.

Based in Buffalo, N.Y., Life Storage operates more than 800 self-storage facilities in 29 states and Ontario, Canada. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 56.5 million square feet.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered, self-managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The company has more than 700 self-storage facilities in 35 states and Puerto Rico comprising more than 46 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.

Sources:
Life Storage, Life Storage Wins Newsweek’s 2020 Best Customer Service Award
National Storage Affiliates Trust, National Storage Affiliates Trust Named by Newsweek and Statista as One of America’s Best Customer Service Brands for 2020
Newsweek, America’s Best Customer Service 2020

It takes a lot to manage a self-storage property in 2019. Twenty years ago, you just needed to keep the place clean, collect rent, manage your Yellow Pages ad and engage in a bit of community involvement. Now, a facility operator must be a data analyst, marketing wizard and yield-management pro, on top of many other things. There’s so much that goes into successfully managing a storage site that owners can easily feel overwhelmed.

The industry is also filled with investors who have no interest in handling the daily minutia of operation. They may have other careers or several additional assets and just don’t have the time. There are also owners who’d like to open a second or third facility but lack the bandwidth to manage the existing site and pursue new ventures. For all these scenarios, there’s a solution: third-party management.

Services and Fees

Some self-storage management firms offer a menu of services from which you can select the areas you want covered, while others offer a complete package that includes everything: staffing, payroll, accounting, maintenance, marketing, software, etc. A full-service provider does everything except file your taxes!

Owners and investors who manage their own storage sites often pay themselves for their time and effort. When you bring in a third party, you’ll typically pay $2,000 to $3,000 a month, or 6 percent of gross revenue, depending on property size. Some firms also require a monthly minimum. Many owners find that spending $30,000 or $50,000 a year to ensure their property is well-run and efficient is more than worth the money.

It’s important to note that having a management company doesn’t necessarily change the site-level expenses. You must still pay the electric bill and real estate taxes. However, when a third-party firm takes over, it often finds new efficiencies and other ways to increase revenue. In general, it can pay for itself by bringing in more money, helping control expenses and making the operation more efficient. How long it takes to reach this breakeven point can vary quite a bit and will depend on the individual property and market.

The Search

How do you find management candidates? To begin, see which companies are out there promoting themselves. Do an online search for “self-storage management companies” or visit the online buyer’s guide at insideselfstorage.com (you’ll find it under “Directories” in the top navigation bar). Ask members of your state storage association for recommendations or see which firms are involved with that group. Search LinkedIn or other social media to see which companies are active. Ask industry acquaintances and other operators in your area for their suggestions.

There are many firms available, including local, regional and national companies. You can choose from very large companies like the real estate investment trusts or much smaller firms that manage only a few properties. A lot fall somewhere in the middle.

Mid-size management companies typically oversee 15 to 25 properties. They generally have a solid infrastructure with engaged leadership and can customize their services for a specific market or offer special add-on services to respond to market conditions. Many owners find an advantage in dealing with firms of this size, as they receive more individual attention than with larger companies but still benefit from some economies of scale.

Some providers manage other kinds of commercial properties in addition to self-storage, for example, multi-family or office. Just bear in mind that if you use a company that manages many types of real estate, it may lack the breadth and depth of self-storage knowledge necessary to handle all opportunities and challenges.

Choosing a Provider

Take your time when interviewing management firms. A good prospective partner should:

• Listen to your needs and want to learn about your specific property and market
• Have experience in the self-storage industry and understand the business inside and out
• Be familiar with your area, type of store and situation
• Visit your site and meet you in person (Note: Some will charge for this.)

Here are a few important questions to ask:

• What is your management fee and what does it include?
• Are your travel fees and costs folded into the standard management fee, or are they charged separately?
• Which facility-management software do you use? If mine is different, will I be expected to change?
• Will you keep my existing onsite staff?
• How do you handle branding? Will we have to rebrand to your identity or can we keep our own? Is there a co-branding option? What provides the strongest marketing?

Perhaps the most important question to ask is whether your facility a good fit for the company and its services. Not every site will fall into its “sweet spot.” Also, do you feel comfortable with the company’s mission and how it conducts business? Once you’ve narrowed your list of candidates to two or three you'd be interested in working with, get to know them and become familiar with their ways of doing things.

Onboarding and Oversight

Once you hire a management firm, it could take 60 to 90 days before your facility has completed the onboarding process. There's a good deal of setup involved when taking over daily operation of a property.

The company will generally assign a team to your site that might include district or regional managers, vice presidents, or managing partners who’ll have some involvement in finances, operations and maintenance. These members will conduct periodic visits to your property to do inspections, audits and employee evaluations. In addition to ensuring everything is running smoothly, they’ll seek ways to increase revenue and control expenses.

Hopefully, I've given you some insight to what to expect and helpful tips on how to choose the right third-party management company for your business. Good luck!

Tron Jordheim is the business-development manager for Store Here Management/RHW Capital Management Partners. He’s a consultant in sales, marketing, call-center practices, lead creation and management. He’s also the author of three books, a regular speaker at industry events and a frequent contributor to trade journals. Store Here operates more than 20 facilities nationwide. For more information call 855.831.1105; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.storehere.com.

Real estate firm McGregor Interests Inc. (MII), which operates 10 self-storage facilities in Iowa and Nebraska under the LockBox Storage brand, is working on four development projects, including a conversion, two expansions of existing facilities and a ground-up development, according to a press release.

MII will be adding 35,000 square feet next year to Old Market Mini Storage at 501 Pacific St. in Omaha, Neb., which it purchased in July. The property sits in an opportunity zone, an economically distressed community in which new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

“I created a qualified opportunity zone fund to acquire the property,” said MII Founder Geoff McGregor. “Our partners were able to invest capital gains they earned from the stock market and reinvest those gains into our qualified opportunity funds (QOF).”

The fund’s goal is to take advantage of tax savings, McGregor said. The project’s investors will avoid paying gains tax until the seventh year, at which time they’ll only pay 85 percent of the tax owed, McGregor said. “Then, if we own it for 10 years and sell it, we all get a step up in basis to the then fair market value, thus avoiding any capital gains on the appreciation of the asset. We are one of the first QOFs to be formed and acquire an asset in the state.”

The company is also expanding the former Crescent Ridge Mini Storage at 3319 Ute Ave. in Waukee, Iowa, which it purchased last year. Construction is underway to add 68,000 square feet including outdoor vehicle storage.

In February, MII purchased a 92,000-square-foot industrial building in Omaha that it intends to convert to self-storage. The 4.5-acre property at 301 S. 74th St. once housed Lancer Label, a commercial printing company, until it went out of business. The original structure was deemed functionally obsolete as an industrial building due to low ceiling height and single-side load, the release stated. Once complete, the new facility will offer traditional self-storage and vehicle storage.

Construction has also begun on a new location in Omaha. Expected to open in the spring, the facility at 11163 S. 168th St. will comprise 85,000 square feet.

MII has completed additional projects in the past three years. It built a 75,000-square-foot building in Waukee, Iowa, in 2018, and a facility of the same size in Grimes, Iowa, the year before. Other developments included an expansion of its facilities in Bennington, Blair and Waterloo, Neb.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Omaha, MII is a diversified real estate firm that specializes in industrial facilities, self-storage and shopping centers in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.