Storage King, which operates 28 self-storage locations in England, has launched a property-management service for other facility operators in the United Kingdom. Storage King Management 1st will offer access to the company’s operational systems and management expertise.

Customers will receive assistance in setting business targets and monitoring performance, according to a press release. They can also get help with revenue management, website development, social media, search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. They’ll also have access to Storage King’s call-center services.

“We are excited to bring Storage King Management 1st to market, a project that everyone in the company has been very close to,” said Robin Greenwood, CEO. “The team has been hard at work over the past year putting in place systems, processes and resources that will add great value to a U.K. operator who is looking to improve on their investment. With over 100 years of self-storage experience, our management team knows what it takes to successfully run a self-storage business.”

The Storage King portfolio includes owned facilities as well as properties under licensing and management agreements, primarily in the Southeast. It comprises more than 575,000 gross leasable square feet. The portfolio was acquired in 2017 by Stor-Age Property REIT, which operates the Stor-Age Self Storage brand in South Africa.

Update 10/3/19 – Yates was found guilty during a trial at the Riverside Hall of Justice last week and convicted on 20 counts of felony animal cruelty in connection with the June 2017 and February 2018 incidents in which he locked cats and dogs in a self-storage unit and a U-Haul truck, causing some to die. Though Yates was excused from testifying at trial due to health complaints, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Steven Counelis ordered him to appear in court on Friday after the verdicts were reached. When Yates didn’t show, the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Counelis then held a pre-sentencing hearing on Monday, to which Yates still did not appear. The judge revoked the defendant’s bail. Yates’ whereabouts are unknown, a source reported.

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4/12/18 – The man who allegedly left nine cats inside a Palm Springs storage unit pleaded not guilty to animal-cruelty charges yesterday. Douglas John Yates, 55, has also been charged in the death of a dozen dogs that were found inside a stolen U-Haul truck in Thousand Palms, Calif., in February. He was arrested on Feb. 15 and now faces more than 20 felony animal-cruelty counts in addition to being charged with burglary and receipt of stolen property in relation to the two cases, according to a source.

According to investigators, Yates rented the truck from Blythe Freeway Towing in Blythe, Calif., on Jan. 15, but failed to return it. The company reported the vehicle missing the following week. Yates was contacted by police during the investigation, which led to the location of the truck on Varner Road. The cause of animals’ death wasn’t disclosed.

Yates posted the $10,000 bail and is free with a stipulation that he can’t care for or have custody of any animals. He’s pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to appear in court on May 9 for a felony-settlement conference, a source reported.

In 2006, Yates pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges involving emaciated dogs and cats that were being kept inside a rental home in La Quinta, Calif. Yates was staying in the home while working as a contractor. Animal-control officers were called to the residence after a report of abandoned canines, who were found without food and water. Officers also found feces “scattered over the floor,” according to an animal-control report. The homeowners later told investigators that Yates had brought seven cats into the home without their permission. The animals were diagnosed with “emaciation, dehydration and malnutrition” by a veterinarian, the source reported.

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6/20/2017 – Nine cats were found earlier this month locked inside a unit at a StorAmerica Self Storage facility in Palm Springs, Calif. All of the animals were contained in crates. One of them died before being rescued, while the others were taken to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and are doing well, according to the source.

The cats were discovered after Lora Mattal, a tenant at 4550 E. Mesquite Ave., heard faint meows coming from the unit on June 7, a day when the temperature reached 102 degrees. She alerted the facility’s managers and was told they had called the renter.

Three days passed without any action, so Mattal took matters into her own hands, using bolt-cutters to cut the lock. "I [opened] the door and there [were] nine cats locked in cages. One of them was dead, and his foot was stuck in the cage because he had been trying to get out,” she said, adding the death might have been avoided had facility management responded faster.

A post on the unit door from animal control stated the cats were found without water and some had matted fur. The Palm Springs Police Department is investigating the crime, but no charges have been filed. A StorAmerica manager told the source the tenant has been given a vacate notice.

StorAmerica is a subsidiary of Guardian Storage Centers, a privately held firm headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Guardian and its affiliates own and operate 66 storage facilities in Arizona and California.

Sources:

My News LA, Man Charged in Dog Deaths Pleads Not Guilty to New Animal Cruelty Charges
KESQ.com, Eight Cats Found Purposely Locked Inside Storage Unit
My News LA.com, Palm Springs Man Convicted of Killing Animals at Large

Space Station Self Storage, which operates nine facilities in England, has launched an initiative encouraging staff to donate 1 percent of their work hours to charitable fundraising and volunteering. In response, employees have given their time to various organizations and raised funds through bake sales, community events and the sale of goods donated from storage customers.

The West Drayton facility recently gave £600 to the Yiewsley & West Drayton Food Bank, which is part of a nationwide network supported by The Trussell Trust, founded in 1997 by Carol and Paddy Henderson. The food bank operates three locations in Uxbridge, West Drayton and Yiewsley, England.

Additional charities the operator supports include 52 Lives, St. John’s Hospice, Thames Hospice and Wythall Animal Rescue. Space Station also donates £5 to charity for every customer review about the facility left on consumer website Trustpilot.com.

Founded and owned by Alastair Caldwell, Space Station operates six facilities in London and one each in Birmingham, Slough and Uxbridge, England. The company also provides free moving services for customers who rent a self-storage unit.

Source:
Hillingdon and Uxbridge Times, Storage Firm Staff Hand £600 to Yiewsley Food Bank

The self-storage buyer’s journey has changed. Data shows that customers now consult more than 20 online sources before making a rental decision. To make your business more competitive and zero in on the best potential renters, you need to show up at every touchpoint along that journey. After all, the key to an effective marketing strategy is delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.

By understanding the following touchpoints, you can accurately tailor your messaging to the buyer’s needs, creating a hyper-personal digital experience. This leads to measurable and actionable results that drive the most qualified leads.

The Touchpoints

Search engine optimization (SEO). If you haven’t optimized your website for search engines, you could be missing out on qualified traffic. SEO helps you show up in organic searches. Start with foundational SEO, and keep your on- and off-page SEO elements current.

Digital advertising. This is one of the most effective methods for lead generation with a more immediate impact. Appearing at the top of search results with digital advertising helps increase brand awareness and greets people where they are online. You’ll also need display, remarketing and social advertising to move prospects along the path to leasing.

Mobile-first website. Google recommends companies design their websites to be “mobile-first,” as mobile devices now account for more than 50 percent of overall Web traffic. A mobile-first site focuses on page speed and a clean design that displays correctly on small, vertical screens. Your website should load fast and tell your brand story.

Google My Business (GMB) listing. GMB is the most important tool for managing how your company information displays in maps and searches. Having a GMB listing allows you to maintain accurate name, address, phone number and website links on Google, which is essential for attracting new leads. It’s also important to maintain other online business listings, or citations, as they account for 11 percent of local pack-ranking factors.

Reputation. More than 90 percent of people say online reviews affect their purchase decisions. If you want buyers to trust your company, you need to respond appropriate to positive and negative reviews. Search engines also use customer reviews in their ranking algorithms.

Social media. Being involved in relevant conversations on social networks, whether as a participant or quiet observer, provides insight to the buyer experience. Directly communicating with your audience builds trust, encourages engagement and can lead to more qualified leads. By taking the reins on your online reputation and social presence, you can control what’s being said to and about your brand.

Make an Impact

The self-storage buyer’s journey has changed, and you need to be present at each touchpoint along that journey to make an impact. With consumers viewing an abundance of content every day, they may only pay attention to hyper-personalized, timely and relevant information. Once you understand how and when your audience moves through the buying cycle, you’ll be able provide the digital experience they expect, leading to more leases.

Celena Canode is a marketing campaign manager at G5, a provider of digital marketing solutions to the self-storage industry. It’s a predictive marketing software-as-a-service company that uses artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to help marketers amplify their impact. Through its Intelligent Marketing Cloud, G5 delivers performance and scalability through predictive analytics, hyper-personalized customer experiences and continuous spend optimization. For more information, call 800.554.1965; visit www.getg5.com.

Town officials in Wethersfield, Conn., last month imposed a 180-day moratorium on new applications for self-storage facilities. During the Sept. 11 meeting, they also agreed the ban could be extended another six months, according to the source.

Land-use officials claim the town is “saturated” with storage, said Wethersfield Town Planner Peter Gillespie. The temporary ban will allow them to consider “what we want to do or not do’’ with these projects, he said, adding that it’s the first development moratorium in his 14 years with the town.

The measure follows similar bans passed in other Connecticut cities. The Milford Planning and Zoning Board unanimously adopted changes to the city’s zoning regulations in August that restricts new self-storage development to the Housatonic Design District, a mixed-use industrial zone along the Housatonic River. Hartford also amended its zoning in recent years to limit storage to industrial zones after a multi-story facility was built in the historic Parkville community.

The regulations come as city officials express concerns about the number of storage developments in their communities. They also claim the facilities take up too much space in already densely populated areas and their positive economic impact is minimal, as they don’t provide employment opportunities or spur other development.

“We want Hartford to be an equitable, thriving, vibrant and sustainable city,’’ said Sara Bronin, chair of the city’s planning and zoning commission. “Self-storage facilities don’t help us achieve any of those goals.”

Source:
Hartford Business, Some CT Communities Put Self-Storage Facilities on Pause

 

The Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA) and investment-management firm JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) have released research findings from a 2019 survey of the European self-storage market. The organizations polled more than 800 facility operators. The results indicate the market continues to grow, though there’s continued consolidation driven by the largest operators, according to a press release.

This year, there are 4,350 facilities comprising 9.8 million square meters of storage in operation on the continent, an increase of more than 500 properties for the third year in a row. In the last 12 months, there were more than €250 million in self-storage transactions, though much of that is driven by the largest companies. The top 10 European operators represent 25 percent of all facilities in the region and 40 percent of available rentable space, the release stated.

The average rental rate in Europe is €259 per square meter per year, with average physical occupancy at 79 percent. The amount of storage space available equates to nine self-storage facilities per 1 million inhabitants compared to more than 160 properties in the United States. The United Kingdom continues to lead all European markets in self-storage square footage per capita, comprising 40 percent of all facilities across the continent.

“In the last 12 months, we have seen a step change in the amount of interest in the self-storage sector from an increasingly diverse set of investors who are looking to access the market in a number of different ways,” said Ollie Saunders, lead director of self-storage Europe for JLL. “From funding development, to entering joint ventures and direct acquisition, the market remains active but sometimes frustrated by the lack of stock and entrepreneurial operators looking to expand. There have been some notable deals in the sector this year, such as [Legal & General Investment Management Ltd.’s] first acquisition into the market, which is testament to the growth and continued interest from institutional investors.”

Legal & General, a Europe-based asset manager, entered the market in August by acquiring the three-property Iron Self-Storage portfolio in Bolton, Cannock and Northwich, England. Together, the newly constructed facilities comprise about 140,000 square feet.

“The self-storage industry in Europe continues to perform well, although this year’s results were not as positive as previous years. Consolidation of the market looks like it’s continuing with the major operators having funding to expand their portfolio, but decreasing numbers of properties available for development,” noted FEDESSA CEO Rennie Schafer. “Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts to emerging technology like unmanned stores and Bluetooth access control. We also expect the rise of mixed-use [developments] to open up new opportunities for the sector and drive growth as it lowers development costs and maximizes the use of land. With the cost of land rising, this can open up previously out of reach opportunities for self-storage in major metropolitan areas where land prices are at a premium.”

Founded in 2004, FEDESSA consists of 14 self-storage associations across Europe and represents about 1,400 facilities.

JLL is an investment-management firm specializing in real estate services for property investors and occupiers. The company has about 300 corporate offices in more than 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 92,000 employees.

Hello, fall! It’s time for cooler weather, gorgeous foliage, nature hikes and apple-picking! It’s also time to pack away the summer décor and introduce autumn favorites such as scarecrows, colorful wreaths, decorative gourds, glittery pinecones and other rustic elements. Halloween devotees rejoice this time of year, too! From bats to witches, pumpkins to ghosts, the options are endless for those of you looking to spruce up your self-storage facility.

In a recent thread on Self-Storage Talk, the industry’s largest online community, members are discussing their decorating plans for this month and beyond. Find out how they’re masterfully creating a fun or frightful scene on a budget while keeping it classy. Share your fresh ideas!

StorTrack, a provider of competitor-pricing data, market-analysis tools and first-stage due diligence to the self-storage industry, has rebranded its market-intelligence platform as “Optimize.” The change to the online application coincides with the release of new features designed to improve user management and monitoring of data on local competition, according to a press release.

The platform allows users to quickly compare competitive markets and view corresponding dynamic pricing and other data. A new price-comparison function enables users to view their rental rates side by side with competitors’ premium and low unit rates. Other new features include historical graphs that display rate trends for up to 12 months, tools to monitor inventory, quick download of spreadsheet reports and a “Marketing Scorecard” module that displays side-by-side comparisons of marketing activity. Users can also create facility profiles with square footage, lists, maps, inventory overviews, price volatility and other items, the release stated.

“Optimize is the result of thousands of conversations with our customers over many years,” said Jeff Brink, vice president of business development, noting that the company used feedback from “hundreds of operators” to build the tool.

StorTrack serves more than 2,000 self-storage facilities in North America with dynamic pricing data, local market intelligence, market-valuation insights, reports and market-analysis tools. The company tracks more than 30,000 facilities worldwide with daily pricing data. It’s owned by Detroit-based Aggregate Intelligence Inc., a global company specializing in data on air travel, e-commerce, events, hospitality, rental cars, retail and self-storage.

Source:
PRWeb, StorTrack Upgrades its Market Intelligence Service for Self-Storage Operator

The Storage Group (TSG), an Internet-marketing company that serves the self-storage industry, has released a new “Performance Dashboard” designed to help facility operators manage, monitor and measure marketing and software data collected about their site. The update includes a redesigned interface intended to create a one-stop area for customers to view data for online rentals, digital-marketing campaigns, customer reviews and other metrics, according to a press release.

The new interface includes improvements to navigation, with options to submit requests, pay bills and contact support. It also has an add-on option, “Market Intel,” which will allow operators to view rental rates of local competitors, the release stated.

“We’re dedicated to helping facility owners maximize [return on investment],” said Steve Lucas, CEO. “All of our products and services are developed with both the end-user and the facility owner in mind. We’ve revamped our Performance Dashboard to better service facility owners and operators in managing day-to-day operations.”

Based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., TSG provides online tools and marketing solutions including local-listing management, mobile websites, online rentals, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and software and website development.