Less Mess Storage Inc. (LMS), which operates self-storage facilities in Prague as well as Warsaw, Poland, has restructured its storage holdings from under six subsidiaries to two. The company will now run its Poland facilities as Less Mess Storage Sp. z.o.o. and its assets in the Czech Republic as Less Mess Storage s.r.o., according to a company press release.

LMS restructured its subsidiaries to improve the transparency of its financial reporting and to save on costs associated with value-added taxes, according to the release. "The completion of the mergers of our subsidiaries, as planned and on time, demonstrates the business-friendly nature of Poland and the Czech Republic,” said Guy Pinsent, CEO.

Subsequent to the move, Euro Pacific Canada Inc., a U.S.-based investment firm specializing in foreign markets and securities, also initiated coverage of LMS, publishing an initial report on the self-storage operator and setting a 12-month target of $1.50 per share, LMS officials said.

“The launch of research coverage by Euro Pacific Canada marks another positive step for Less Mess,” Pinsent added. “It is a thorough piece which chimes with management's view of the highly attractive nature of the self-storage business and huge growth opportunity for the company in the strong economies of Poland and other Central European markets."

LMS owns and operates five self-storage properties—four freehold, one leasehold—encompassing more than 180,000 square feet of net rentable space. The company reported $4 million in revenue in 2013. Though its records office resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it also has a headquarters in Warsaw and offices in Prague. Its common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the stock symbol "LMS."

Update 11/6/14 – Storage Auction Kings raised $1,500 during the third quarter for “Home for Our Troops,” according to Schur. The donations came from auction bidders, buyers, sellers and Storage Auction Kings. To date, the company has raised more than $35,000 for various charities.

The company has chosen the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots as its fourth-quarter charity recipient in honor of Schur’s father, Ray Fenter, the company’s founder and a former Marine. The goal is to raise $3,000 during the quarter, Schur said.

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7/21/14 –Schur Success Auction & Appraisal Inc., dba Storage Auction Kings, has chosen Home for Our Troops as the recipient of its third-quarter 2014 charity donations. The Colorado Springs, Colo.-based company raises funds by working with storage-auction buyers and adding donations from its sales commissions, according to Shannon Schur, president and CEO. It supports a different charity each quarter.

“This quarter, we have chosen Homes for Our Troops. This wonderful organization provides specially adapted housing for our severely injured veterans. To date, they have built nearly 170 homes to support our heroes,” said Schur, who hopes to raise $3,000 for the charity. “We are very proud to help support this organization and bring awareness to their mission.”

Founded in 2004, Homes for Our Troops is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that builds specially adapted homes for military-service members with life-altering injuries. The organization assists veterans and their families by raising money, and providing building materials and professional labor to coordinate the construction of a home, which is provided mortgage-free.

Schur Success began its charitable efforts in 2011 when Schur and her husband, Richard, who’s also an auctioneer, decided to make a donation to charity for every unit they sold. “When we announced this to our buyers, they pitched in and helped us raise money at every auction we conducted,” Schur said. Since starting the program, the couple has raised more than $33,000, with nearly 35 percent donated from bidders and clients.

Storage Auction Kings conducts lien sales at self-storage businesses exclusively. The company currently serves more than 200 storage facilities in four states.

Strategic Storage Trust II Inc.(SSTI II), a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), recently acquired its first self-storage portfolio consisting of five properties in North and South Carolina for $22.1 million. The facilities encompass 354,200 net rentable square feet of storage space in 2,490 units and were 88.8 percent occupied at the end of the third quarter. They’ll be rebranded as SmartStop Self Storage.

“These assets are an ideal fit for our first five acquisitions with SSTI II,” said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO. “The self-storage sector’s strong performance in these markets continues to drive our decision to keep acquiring facilities in the Carolinas.”

The acquisitions are:  

• 150 Airport Blvd., Mooresville, N.C.—Built in 2004, the property has 36,900 square feet, 320 units.
• 120 Centrewest Court, Cary, N.C.—Built in 1998 and renovated in 2006, the facility encompasses 62,100 square feet, 310 units.
• 5012 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, N.C.—Built in 1999, the property has 60,600 square feet, 440 units.
• 338 Jesse St., Myrtle Beach, S.C.—Built in 1998 and renovated in 2007, the facility offers 100,100 square feet, 760 units.
• 4630 Dick Pond Road, Myrtle Beach, S.C.—Built in 1999, the property has 94,500 square feet, 660 units. 

All of the facilities feature ground-level, drive-up and climate-controlled units. The recently acquired South Carolina properties are within eight miles of another SmartStop facility in Myrtle Beach.

“These acquisitions allow us to expand into the Raleigh and Myrtle Beach markets with well-located, performing facilities and provides a solid management base to acquire additional locations,” said Wayne Johnson, senior vice president of acquisitions. “In addition, several properties have expansion opportunities, which would capitalize on the portfolio’s strong physical occupancy.”

Joey Godbold of Charlotte, N.C.-based Percival Partners LLC, and Ben Vestal, president of the Argus Self Storage Sales Network, represented the seller in the transaction. At the seller’s request, the portfolio was marketed to a select group of qualified buyers and sold off-market, according to an Argus press release. The acquisition included a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan assumption that took more than six months for approval, the release stated. The portfolio had been managed by self-storage REIT Extra Space Storage Inc.

Argus is a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Formed in 1994, the company has 36 broker affiliates covering nearly 40 markets. Godbold represents the company in North and South Carolina.

SmartStop Self Storage Inc. (formerly Strategic Storage Trust Inc.) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed company that operates 136 properties in 17 states and Canada. SmartStop is the sponsor of SSTI II and Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc., a private REIT that focuses on growth-oriented self-storage properties.

Portable self-storage operator Mobile Mini Inc. has released a storage-container conversion guide through its United Kingdom website. Targeted at small businesses, particularly those operating in creative industries, the guide highlights the office versatility containers offer, according to the source.

“Converted storage containers are an ideal choice for startups, particularly for the creative industries which have a high level of self-employment,” Zoe Brookes, marketing manager, told the source. Creative businesses that may be a good fit for a converted container include those in the arts-and-crafts space as well as small marketing and design agencies, the source reported.

The guide is designed to help business operators determine if a converted container makes sense for their operation as well as to examine container types and design options. It also includes advice on logistics and working with municipal planners, and offers case-study examples of businesses that have used the structures.

“The creative industry is a fast-growing sector, generating more than £8 million an hour for the U.K. economy, so finding a practical solution for housing growing small businesses in this industry is vital,” Brookes said.

Founded in 1983, Mobile Mini is a provider of portable-storage and mobile-office solutions. The company operates more than 130 locations throughout North America. It has operated a network of branch locations in the U.K. for 25 years.

You’ve spent days, weeks and even months training your self-storage managers to achieve top performance and improve your facility’s operating numbers. Now they’re either going to do well or poorly. What’s your plan of action in either case?

We Southerners have many colloquialisms, and a phrase we use when someone’s performance isn’t up to snuff is to say the person “can’t or won’t”—“can’t” because he hasn’t been trained and doesn’t know how, or “won’t” because he simply chooses not to do as he’s been taught.

If you’re having issues with staff performance, you must first decide if you have a “can’t” employee or a “won’t” employee. You can train someone who doesn’t know how to do something, but you can’t force someone to follow the correct process if he simply refuses. This person needs to find a new opportunity somewhere else, as he’s not helping you or your storage business follow the path to profitability.

Employee training is a never-ending process, as the tools and technology we use are constantly evolving. Stay current on what’s new and impart the knowledge and techniques to everyone on your team, especially your relief or part-time managers. Below are 10 ways to train and support your staff to ensure the company reaps the best results.

1. Provide a Manual

First, provide a manual in print or digital format for all employees. It should include detailed instructions on everything managers need to know, including all your company’s policies and procedures. For example, it should address:

• Moving customers in or out
• Using the facility’s management software
• Making bank deposits
• Reporting on marketing efforts
• Applying rental discounts
• Greeting customers and answering phone calls
• Conducting property tours

Leave nothing to chance, or you’ll get varied results based on the person’s skill set and experience. Set standards of performance in all areas of your operation.

2. Cover All Processes

Once employees are familiar with your company’s policies and procedures, walk them through it—more than once. They should be trained on all aspects of operating a successful self-storage business. This will include making collections calls, handling customer complaints, paying referral fees, sending out rent-increase letters, raising standard rates for new customers, using petty cash, and more. Think about all the tasks managers handle every day and teach them how to do them properly.

3. Allow for Industry Activism and Education

Whenever possible, enable your team to attend state and national self-storage conferences. Encourage them to become members of your state’s industry association. Many states have very active associations and provide at least annual events for learning and networking. Use these opportunities as rewards for improved performance.

4. Offer Tools and Resources

Provide the appropriate operational tools for your managers, including an operations manual, reporting processes, sales and marketing methods and measurements, an employee handbook, staff bonus schedules, and others. It’s challenging for managers to serve customers on the front line while working to improve facility performance, especially if they don’t have all the tools they need to do the job. Help them out by having these resources readily available.

5. Set Clear Goals

You have to ask specifically for what you want your team to achieve. For example, if you want all vacant units kept rent-ready, clean and with a sign on the back wall welcoming the new customer, tell staff to “inspect vacant units to make sure they’re ready.” Cobwebs across the lock and hasps, weeds in front of unit doors, worn-out ropes on the door handles, chipping paint on the buildings or faded doors are all signs to customers that you don’t care about their storage experience. Your staff needs to know—in detail—your expectations on keeping the property up-to-date.

Set standards for everything. For example, you might declare:

• Delinquency rates should be between 3 percent and 5 percent at month’s end
• Rental income should be 10 percent higher than the previous year
• Rate increases should be between 8 percent and12 percent
• Discounts should be nonexistent on sizes that are in high demand
• Traffic to your store and on your website should be growing

These are but a few examples of how to clearly relay your store’s goals to staff.

6. Measure Results

It’s critical that you measure your managers’ efforts. This should be done for each operational process on a monthly basis, not just quarterly or annually. Spend about an hour each month reviewing the store’s reports with your managers. Show them how to read and understand management-software reports as you see them. This is time well spent and will greatly improve your revenue and your staff’s role in achieving it. If you help your team grow their knowledge base about operating performance, it will improve the way they work.

7. Present Feedback

Give your team feedback on a regular basis for each goal, including financial performance vs. budgeted numbers through net operating income. It’s hard to continually improve the bottom line if managers don’t know what those numbers are or where they come from. Let them know if they’re meeting your monthly goals for marketing and sales-closing ratios. Are they waiving too many fees and applying too many discounts or credits? Tell them where they’re succeeding and where they’re falling short.

8. Create Staff Rewards

When it comes to rewarding staff, a monthly system is best. Bonuses must be easy to calculate. Include all team members, including relief or part-time managers, and reward excellence, not mediocrity. For example, when conducting mystery phone shops, don’t pay $1 per point for scores above 70. Instead, pay $5 a point for scores above 90, and you’ll give your managers incentive to achieve better results.

If you pay a per-lease bonus, how is it shared among your staff? If your reward is based on exceeding the budgeted income, make sure the team knows the goal and potential bonus that goes with it.

Focus on total income, not just one revenue stream, such as retail sales. That approach will cause managers to fixate on a fraction of the overall goal. The majority of your facility’s profit will always come from storage rentals. There may be exceptions at facilities with large truck-rental operations or other niche services. Those teams might be given an extra bonus, since it requires more work to meet the sales projections.

9. Apply Disciplinary Measures

Discipline should be based fairly on results and actions, and you have to commit to it. This could mean more training, remediation or even punishment with predetermined responses. For example, theft should be grounds for immediate termination.

Let your managers know if they’re failing to meet performance standards each month and what needs to change. If you don’t see improvement within three months, it might be time to let the employee go. It’s easy to play hardball and expect excellence when you’ve provided training and retraining, documenting poor performance, and giving ample opportunity to improve.

10. Focus on Continued Improvement

Keep your storage team focused on continuous improvements in all areas—closing ratios, new customers, higher income, reduced expenses, customer ratings, clever marketing programs, great curb appeal and more. Turn every facet of your operation into a number, and measure the outcome. Try these 10 tips, and you’ll see improved staff performance and happier managers who are getting more bonus money while you’re enjoying improved profit each and every month.

Anne Ballard is president of training, marketing and developmental services for Universal Storage Group and the founder of Universal Management Co. She's a former president and current board member of the Georgia Self Storage Association and has served on the national Self Storage Association’s board of directors. She has participated in the planning, design and operation of numerous storage facilities. For more information, call 770.801.1888; visit www.universalstoragegroup.com.

England-based self-storage operator The Storage Team has opened a location in Wigan, England, after securing a loan from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The refurbished site in the Eckersley Complex next to Wigan Pier comprises 15,000 square feet and has been named The Budget Storage Team, according to the source.

The property is The Storage Team’s second location. The company opened its first facility in 2007 in St. Helens, England. “When the opportunity arose to develop the premises in Wigan, we immediately recognized the potential to improve the facilities on offer at the site, making it a modern, clean and highly secure storage center,” Kevin Thompson, managing director, told the source. “As a result of the expansion, the business’ turnover is expected to increase by 30 percent by 2015.”

Part of the funding came from refinancing a £400,000 business loan. “Kevin has created a successful and respected business, which offers a high level of service to its clients,” said Trevor Percival, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. “When he approached us with plans to refinance the current business loan, we were keen to work with him in order to help expand the company and achieve the firm’s long-term goals.”

The Wigan facility will serve residential and commercial tenants.

MJ Partners Real Estate Services has released a 29-page report highlighting key performance metrics from the third-quarter 2014 financial results issued by the four publicly traded U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc. The report offers a market overview, including implied cap rates and investment activity for all four REITs, as well as chart data and side-by-side comparisons on self-storage facility performance. It also contains information from analysts on macroeconomic trends impacting the U.S. storage industry as well as a look at storage REIT performance as a whole.

All four REITs reported healthy numbers, with each reporting occupancy levels during the third quarter of at least 91.3 percent. Public Storage achieved the highest occupancy, 94.7 percent, during the quarter, while CubeSmart showed the largest year-over-year occupancy gain, improving from 90.5 percent to 92.3 percent.

CubeSmart also tallied the largest year-over-year revenue gain for the third quarter, with an increase of 7.7 percent. Same-store net operating income was also up for all four REITs during the quarter, with CubeSmart having the largest gain at 10.8 percent, followed by Extra Space (9.3 percent) and Sovran (9.2 percent), which operates the Uncle Bob’s Self Storage brand.

Public Storage garnered the largest rent per square foot from same-store locations at $15.25, followed by Extra Space ($14.92), CubeSmart ($14.05) and Sovran ($11.71).

The PDF report can be downloaded for free from the MJ Partners website. Inside Self-Storage also published a summary of third-quarter financial results for all four REITs.

Headquartered in Chicago, MJ Partners is a full-service real estate brokerage and investment banking company specializing in commercial real estate, mortgage banking and consulting services. The company's clients include major financial institutions, private equity funds, REITs, opportunity funds, insurance companies, pension-fund advisors, corporations, private developers and entrepreneurial businesses.

A new survey from SpareFoot, an online marketplace for self-storage consumers, shows that more than 25 percent of Americans think their home is cluttered. The nationwide survey, conducted in October, revealed that 6 percent of adults believe their house or apartment is “very” cluttered, and 21 percent believe their space is “somewhat” cluttered. Forty-six percent said their living space is not cluttered at all.

The analysis also showed that 12 percent of Americans worry their home is too cluttered when they have guests. Another 23 percent said they agonize over it “occasionally,” while 61 percent said they’re never concerned about it.

The survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, included phone interviews with 1,003 adults living in the continental United States. The interviews were done by landline (502) and cell phone (501), in English and Spanish, from Oct. 9 to Oct. 12. Statistical results were weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies, according to the release. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The survey results align with national statistics that show up to 5 percent of Americans might have a hoarding disorder, according to Matt Paxton, an “extreme cleaner” who helps people with severe clutter problems on the A&E reality TV show “Hoarders.” He said people who have too much clutter usually have an underlying problem, such as depression, or a painful loss or illness.

The SpareFoot blog includes additional survey results as well as advice from organizing experts on how homeowners can minimize their clutter.

Founded in 2008, SpareFoot.com helps consumers find and reserve self-storage units, with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals. With a network of more than 7,000 storage facilities ranging from mom-and-pop operations to real estate investment trusts, the company reaches prospective storage renters though partnerships with brands including SelfStorage.com and Penske Truck Rental.

Storage Business Owners Alliance (SBOA) Merchant Services, a credit card processing company serving the self-storage industry, has introduced EZrentPay and the use of EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) technology to streamline payment collections and software integration. The product enables storage tenants to send payments via e-mail and text. It’s integrated with SiteLink, a self-storage management program provided by SMD Software Inc.

EMV technology is also referred to as chip-and-PIN, chip-and-signature, chip-and-choice, or generally as chip technology. It’s a recent advancement in a global initiative to combat fraud and protect sensitive payment data in the card-present environment, according to an SBOA press release. A cardholder's confidential data is more secure on a chip-enabled payment card than on a magnetic stripe (magstripe) card, the release stated. EMV technology is effective in combating counterfeit fraud with its dynamic authentication capabilities.

“We put a particular stress on finding every way possible to help our clients and future clients in self-storage benefit when it comes to collecting payments and having reliable and accurate bookkeeping,” said Gary Cardamone, spokesperson.

SBOA Merchant Services provides debit and credit card as well as check and ACH processing services. The company has partnered with Sage Payment Solutions, a firm that tailors payment solutions around individual businesses. Sage’s products and services include credit/debit card processing, check processing, ACH processing, mobile payments, gift card and loyalty programs, and accounting software.

 

MakeSpace Labs Inc., a startup business specializing in valet self-storage services in New York City, has hired Toby Ciottone as vice president of growth, strategy and expansion. The move comes two weeks after MakeSpace announced plans to expand its services nationwide.

The company has offered local door-to-door service for customers’ stored goods since it launched last year and is now collaborating with partners to offer property retrieval and delivery anywhere in the country. Ciottone will be based in Chicago and tasked with helping scale services to markets outside of New York. "We want to build a national storage company," CEO Sam Rosen told the source. "We know Toby is the guy to help us do that."

MakeSpace creates a visual catalog of each storage box stored in its warehouse. Customers have access to the catalog through a cloud-based platform, which allows them to keep track of their items and request them when desired.

Ciottone comes to MakeSpace from Hailo, a London-based car-service app similar to Uber and Lyft. Ciottone was Hailo’s general manager in Boston and Chicago before the company ceased North American operations on Oct. 14, according to the source. He also previously worked in new-market development for Zipcar, an app-based ride-sharing and car-club service.

"A big challenge we faced at Hailo was the difficulty in scalability due to the intense competition in the U.S. MakeSpace is a leader in the [valet storage] category," Ciottone told the source. "I am excited to assist in the growth and steady expansion of MakeSpace, as well as having a hand in revolutionizing a previously antiquated industry.”