The winter holidays, though a time for visiting with loved ones and observing traditions, still represent a hectic time for self-storage operators, who are generally busy at the end of each month. This is when operators collect rent, make delinquency calls and send notices; and yet in December, employees want time off to spend with friends and family.

In the days between Christmas and New Year's, a hot discussion titled "Who's Open Tomorrow? has broken out on Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community, about vacation time, operating hours, and whats best for the business. Originated on Dec. 23, the thread has gained steam since the initial post.

Some self-storage facilities shut their doors for Christmas Eve, while others worked part days or full business hours. Nearly all facilities were closed on Christmas and the day after. New Years Eve and Day may be handled in much the same way.

It's logical that tenants may want access to their units shortly after Christmas. There are giftsor old items that were replaced by giftsthat need storing. Tenants also may want to put away their decorations. For this reason, facilities might find it advantageous and necessary to be open.

On the other hand, it seems many posters are reporting "boring" surroundings at their facilities this week. A East Cost blizzard has kept fewer people from driving in many locales between Atlanta and Boston, and that has led to "dead" storage sites. It's realities like this that make owners and regional managers consider cutting hours during this week to save money or to give employees time off.

What's your opinion on your holiday hours? Are you satisfied? Do you think you should be open more or less? Visit the thread to share your opinion. You must be a registered member to post, but if you're not yet registered yet, you can do so for free. It's easy and takes only a few minutes.

Live and growing since 2008, Self-Storage Talk is the largest online forum in the industry and the official forum of Inside Self-Storage. SST has approximately 3,850 members, 23 different topical forums, 3,800 discussion threads and 32,800 posts.

The National Portable Storage Association (NPSA) is excited about a new home design for which all the building materials fit into a single portable-storage unit. The architectural plans for SunShower SSIP house, which can be run off the grid in the wake of an emergency, recently won a design contest for its innovative design, created by Tulane University professors Judith Kinnard, professor of architecture, and Tiffany Lin, assistant professor of architecture.

We see more and more architects experimenting with portable storage units, said John Finnessy, NPSA executive director. This home may not be built from containerized storage, but its meant to fit into a portable storage unit for shipping. Imagine if you could ship a container and unfold it as a home. That could be the future.

The 1,000-square-foot home uses two roof forms: A sun roof collects solar energy in photovoltaic panels, while a shower roof is sloped to gather water. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is made from energy-efficient steel insulated panels.

The NPSA is dedicated to the advancement of the portable storage industry, including those who rent, sell or lease containers, trailers and mobile offices. The NPSA assists members with industry, regulatory and workforce issues, and offers networking, marketing and legislative support at national, state and local levels.

Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust targeting the self-storage market, recently acquired a downtown Las Vegas self-storage property totaling approximately 540 units for $6.8 million.

The site will be rebranded under the SmartStop Self Storage trade name. This is the companys fourth self-storage purchase in Las Vegas.

This adds significantly to our Las Vegas portfolio, which is ripe to take advantage of high growth for the market over the long term, said CEO H. Michael Schwartz.

The property, located at 1120 South Las Vegas Blvd., contains approximately 81,600 rentable square feet on approximately 1.7 acres of land. Its in downtown Las Vegas, about one mile south of central Las Vegas. Built in 1996, it consists of two three-story buildings. Amenities include surveillance cameras, individual locks, climate control, keypad entry and a retail rental office.

While the housing bust provided many self-storage operators with new customers, some are now having trouble collecting rent on those units.

Several self-storage operators in Florida report theyve seen an increase in delinquent tenants, and are now holding more lien sales.

Bill Bell, manager of U.S. 41 Self Storage in North Fort Myers, Fla., said his facility tries to work with delinquent tenants to get them back on track.  Lisa Strong, assistant manager at Community Self Storage in Cape Coral, said one of every 10 tenants is behind on payments.

Floridas self-storage lien law requires weeks of posted notice, published notices, registered letters and other mandates before a tenants belongings can be sold at auction.

The possessions of a pediatrician arrested on child-sex charges will go to auction in January after he neglected to make payments on his Florida self-storage rental unit for more than a year.

Earl Bradley, 57, is in jail, awaiting a February trial on child-sex charges. Bradley rents a storage unit at Secure Self Storage in Rehoboth Beach, Fla.

The public notice for the auction includes items such as childrens toys, electronics, arcade rides and games, business and kitchen equipment, and more. The contents of the storage unit will be auctioned in its entirely to the highest bidder on Jan. 25, at 10:30 a.m. Bidders should arrive by 10 a.m. with legal photo identification. The unit must be completely cleaned out within 24 hours of sale, according to the public notice.

Auction bidders will not be allowed to view the unit until the day of the auction. The self-storage staff will open the storage unit door during the auction, allowing bidders to view whats inside the unit.

Delaware State Police previously searched the self-storage unit after obtaining a warrant. Last year, the Delaware Attorney General's Office petitioned the courts to freeze Bradley's assets and seize them for his alleged victims. It's unclear how that action might impact the auction.

Storage Asset Management Inc. (SAM), a self-storage management and consulting company, collected more than 12,000 non-perishable food items during its holiday  We CAN Feed the Hungry food drive. Donations were collected at the 27 self-storage properties SAM manages throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

The drive took place during October and November, with the SAM team marketing the effort throughout its local communities. The company also donated its rental trucks to the campaign. Collected items were donated to food banks in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

 We are so grateful to our property managers for their hard work and to our customers and local community for their generosity, said Julie Purcell, director of marketing.  We are very proud of what was accomplished, and we look forward to continuing these efforts in our local communities.

Storitz Inc., an online rental and comparison shopping website for the self-storage industry, said many of its clients supported the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots holiday campaign by becoming a toy drop-off location.

Participating in the toy drive were Storitz facilities in the HB Storage Investments network, Optivest Properties, TNT Management, Price Self Storage locations in Southern California, US Storage Centers and AAAA Self Storage.

Many locations also offered customer discounts for participating in the toy drive. For example, customers who donated a toy at American Self Storage in 29 Palms, Calif., could move into a new storage unit for $1.

Storitz officials said the company will make a donation directly to the Toys For Tots foundation and continue to assist clients with charitable efforts during 2011.

A fire at a self-storage facility in Portsmouth, Va., Dec. 22 was caused by a space heater left too close to stored belongings, fire officials determined.

By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the storage facilitys sprinkler system had extinguished most of the fire. Some items stored located higher than the sprinkler heads continued to burn before firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

CT Self Storage has received approval from the Plainville, Conn., Planning and Zoning Commission to add 13,400 square feet to the facility.

The project will include 93 storage units and a structural design element at the end of the building that will be 20 feet high. The self-storage business will also add 11 parking spaces. The facility currently has 700 storage units.

Officials restricted the size of the storage units to no larger than 300 square feet, forcing designers to divide a planned 450-square-foot unit into two separate spaces.