U.K. self-storage operator Attic Self Storage recently completed a £250,000 refurbishment project of its facility in London. The three-month renovation involved extensive structural alterations to replace the existing brickwork façade with floor-to-ceiling glass and external cladding. The project provided additional staff space as well as a large, contemporary reception area that includes room for a merchandise display. The original lobby is now leased to a subtenant. New meeting rooms were also added, broadening the facilitys small-business services to include free Wi-Fi, mailbox rental, parcel receipt and dispatch services.

This refurbishment has been a long time coming, said Frederic de Ryckman de Betz, managing director. We occupy a fantastic location overlooking a main arterial route into London, and we are finally able to leverage that location fully. The business is taken more seriously by our clientele, and staff morale has received a huge boost.

The property comprises 30,000 square feet of self-storage rental space. The next phase of development is underway and will add another 12,000 square feet. The facility is 96 percent occupied, de Ryckman de Betz said. The pressure on space in London is evidenced by demand, with potential sites for self-storage few and far between. This is great news for yield and occupancy, particularly when you consider the downward trend for average unit sizes.

Established in 2008, Attic Self Storage is an independent facility operator in Central London. In 2012, it won the European Customer Service award from the Federation of European Self Storage Associations. Attic Removals, a removals subsidiary, was added to the business in 2013.

Centershift Inc., a provider of self-storage management software, is sponsoring the Salt Lake City chapter of Girl Develop It (GDI), an international organization that offers mentorship and hands-on instruction to women who want to learn software development. In addition to a cash donation, Centershift has committed to providing GDI with office-space resources and technical expertise.

Centershift strives to shape a stronger, more resilient community by providing educational opportunities for community members, said James Hafen, president and CEO of Centershift. "Girl Develop Its mission to promote careers for women in the field of software development is perfectly in line with our goals. We are excited about being able to help support both their programs and their presence in our area.

"Girl Develop It - SLC is so grateful for the support of local companies like Centershift, added Stacie Farmer, co-founder of the local Girl Develop It chapter. "Together we can remove the stereotype surrounding programmers and will work hard to create a diverse community where everyone feels welcome and that their skills are needed. We're challenging old ideas about who can be a programmer, and we're strengthening the field by opening doors for people who can bring fresh perspectives and unique skills to the table.

Based in Salt Lake City, Centershift provides Internet-based rental-management and point-of-sale software solutions for the self-storage industry. Its clients include real estate investment trusts and ownership/management organizations of all sizes. The companys Store Enterprise and Advantage applications were designed for integration with websites, call centers, Web aggregators, mobile devices, centralized mail services, corporate offices and other business systems.

A proposed self-storage development in an affluent neighborhood of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, has received strong opposition from residents, who have filed a petition against the project. Developer Norm Porter wants to build a Southpointe Mini Storage in Rosemary Heights, but residents of nearby condominiums and townhouses argue there is no need for the business and fear it will attract criminal activity.

The petition was filed by Wayne Mercer, who lives in a townhouse development on the east side of the project site at 31 Avenue and Croydon Drive. Among other concerns raised by residents are increased traffic along 31 Avenue, potential impact on a bordering riparian area, hours of operation, light pollution and unauthorized businesses operating from the storage units.

Growers of marijuana and operators of unlicensed businesses could operate all night, and operators of chemical labs would have no problem paying the monthly rent, Mercer said. The hours of operation would permit access 24 hours a day, seven days a weekonly a fraction of which is supervised.

Mercer also argued that the local area was already a saturated market for storage and said neighboring residents do not want to see their investments devalued by a poorly planned and unnecessary development [that] could turn into a crime-ridden white elephant.

Porter said residents fears were overblown and that he is working within city and neighborhood planning and zoning requirements, which stipulate the storage facility design resemble offices. The project has had three readings in front of the Surrey council, according to the source.

Theres no recorded correlation between criminal activity and modern-day storage facilities, he said. Modern-day security offers less light pollution than a large parking lot.

The Southpointe facility would include a four-story storage building with 24,831 square feet and two smaller two-story office buildings on either side of 31 Avenue. A right-of-way between the buildings would be used for parking.

The self-storage project was reviewed by a design panel in June and also received input from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to align with an initiative called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, according to Ron Hintsche, a planning manager for the city.

Mission Bay Self Storage of Boca Raton, Fla., hosted a bloodmobile, yard sale and Family Fun Day on Feb. 16. The bloodmobile was available from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The other events took place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the proceeds benefitting the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History.

The event at 20273 State Road 7 included food, music, raffles and a bounce house as well as dinosaur, ice-age, archeology and anthropology exhibits from the museum. Attendees were able to meet the museum director and curators. Vendors were encouraged to participate at $20 per spot.

The Palm Beach Museum of Natural History is a nonprofit organization formed by a group of paleontologists, archaeologists, science educators and museum professionals. It focuses on the natural history and archaeology of Florida and the Caribbean. Since the museum became incorporated nearly a decade ago, its scientists have been conducting active field research around the world. It also provides traveling exhibits and fossil replicas as well as an outreach program that brings the museum into local classrooms.

Mission Bay Self Storage offers climate control, boat/RV parking, a business center, commercial-delivery acceptance and more.

StorTrack LLC has launched a subscription-based, pricing-management service that allows self-storage operators to view up-to-date, local market-price conditions, analytics and trends. The cloud-based dashboard solution allows them to define a local territory and set up saved searches on specific unit types defined by size, dimension, features or promotions. StorTrack then provides an in-depth market pricing summary that includes historical pricing, averages, minimums, maximums and most recent changes. Users can also view market-summary data to review trends and highlights.

There is a lot of information out there. Distilling it into accessible data and analytics with tools that use and react to changes in the market will inform self-storage managers to make smarter business decisions, said John Tilly, general manager.

At the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, March 31-April 2, StorTrack will also launch a mobile version of its pricing tool, accessible via smartphones and tablets. The app, which can be used to monitor single or multiple territories, will be available to Android and Apple iOS mobile-device users on March 31. Users can specify the types of activity to monitor, and it will send alerts to their mobile device, letting them know of relevant changes in local conditions.

The StorTrack app lets self-storage managers to stay on top of key movements in local market conditions without having to sit at their desk and log-in to StorTrack, said Mike Aulicino, sales manager. The information goes directly to them on their mobile device.

StorTrack costs $49 per month for a single user, with nationwide coverage.

Understanding and anticipating pricing trends can often make the difference between average and top financial performance, said Warren Lieberman, CEO of revenue-management consultancy Veritec Solutions and special advisor to StorTrack. StorTrack dramatically improves the ability of smaller and mid-size self-storage firms to access pricing information that has only been available to the larger companies.

Based in San Mateo, Calif., StorTrack is a start-up company whose principals include experienced information professionals and leaders in the area of revenue management and price optimization.

By Pamela Alton

An often-discussed topic in the self-storage industry is manager compensation. Unfortunately, there's no set standard in the industry. Wages are all over the board, and there's no rhyme or reason to what a manager might be paid. However, there are some parameters owners can follow to find the right balance.

There's no real right or wrong to paying wages, except you can't pay your managers under the legal minimum wage in your state, which is against the law. Also, if you have resident managers, you can't use the cost of the housing to offsite any minimum-wage deficiency.

Lets explore some wage options, considerations and exceptions for the different types of staff you might employ.

Full-Time Resident Managers

There's still a significant number of self-storage facilities whose managers live onsite. These managers may be paid a salary or an hourly wage.

Even if your employee is paid a salary, he should complete a timecard for all hours worked. Most resident employees will gladly put in an extra hour here or there, not because they expect to be paid extra, but because the property is their home and they take pride in the facility. If your salaried manager works an extraordinary amount of overtime, you should pay him for those extra hours. This lessens the chance of issues down the road regarding underpayment. Of course, if a salaried employee has to work extra hours one week, he may work less hours the following week to average out the total hours for the pay period.

The typical wage for a salaried, single, resident manager is between $1,800 to $2,200 a month. The wage for a management team is usually around $3,200 to $3,600. Keep in mind this is an average. Some managers earn less and some more.

Hourly wages for resident managers can run $9 to $12 or more per hour. They usually also receive some sort of bonus program.

Non-Resident Managers

In the past 10 years or so, many of the newer self-storage facilities have opted not to include  manager apartments during development. This means employees are more akin to those of other retail environments where the employee comes to work and goes home at the end of his shift. Usually, these managers are paid an hourly wage rather than a salary. Facility relief managers also fall into this category.

A full-time, non-resident manager will be paid, on average, between $12 and $18 an hour. Relief managers, on average, are paid $9 to $11 an hour. These managers may or may not receive some sort of bonus as well as their hourly wage.

Does Facility Size Matter?

When it comes to a self-storage managers compensation, the answer is no! The pay to oversee a 350-unit facility may be equal or close to that of an 800-unit facility. How can that be? Well, a smaller facility may be older, have no mortgage and fewer operating expenses. If its in a densely populated area, rental rates may be higher and, therefore, an owner may be able to pay the manager as much as that of larger facility in a more rural area.

One thing is clear: After a facilitys mortgage payment, employee wages are probably an owners highest expense, so keep that in mind when designing your annual budget. There's no set standard in paying your managers, except you must pay them at least your states minimum-wage. Also, if a manager works overtime, pay him!

Your goal is to hire the right person for the job, give him the proper training and make him accountable for his actions. When you pay him well, provide a motivating and obtainable bonus program, and give positive feedback,  it will be a win-win situation for you, your facility and your manager.

Pamela Alton is the owner of Mini-Management Services, a nationwide self-storage manager placement service. She also conducts audits and inspections, manager training and feasibility studies. For more information, call 321.890.2245; e-mail [email protected] ; visit www.mini-management.com .

By Christopher Bond

The nascent self-storage industry in Russia remains highly fragmented, with operators of various quality and sizes, all primarily based in Moscow. The first operators began to appear in 2009 on the back of the world financial crisis, which was felt acutely in the region because all bank lending comes from the West. Financing was nearly impossible to receive (and remains so), but the predicament provided opportunities for investors with equity cash to purchase or rent properties. In 2010 and 2011, several self-storage operators emerged including my company, Samosklad, as well as Citi-Box, Redbox and Skladovka.

Russia is an extremely challenging operating environment with stifling bureaucracy, corruption, and poor regulations and control. However, with a population of approximately 15 million, Moscow has potential for self-storage growth and consolidation. The major problem lies in the inability to source and build good properties. Again, a lack of financing also inhibits industry growth.

Lack of Real Estate  

Due to a hangover from Soviet days, real estate (the warehouse sector in particular) is loosely governed, and legislation remains vague and uncertain. Basic tasks such as establishing title ownership, getting permission to build, and receiving electricity and water is a tremendously fraught and time-consuming process. As a result, the market is hindered and cannot grow.

Over the last 15 years, there has only been a market for large, class-A warehouse/distribution centers of at least 100,000 square meters, but these are all on the outskirts of Moscow, away from living accommodations. The market for smaller warehouses1,000 to 5,000 square metersthat can be renovated or redeveloped by self-storage operators doesnt exist. Any such properties are primarily in industrial zones, with limited access and visibility and a lack of documentation.

There are only about 100 self-storage facilities in Moscow, compared to 500 to 600 in London, a city of similar size. Existing operators have to make a difficult decision between redeveloping existing buildings or building from the ground up. Obviously the key is timing, how quickly they can see their money invested and the building opened.

At Samosklad, we made the decision to open four to five facilities by renovating old warehouses. Once a cash flow was established, we planned to build light-construction buildings. However, the latter can be problematic due to the above mentioned bucreuacracy and lack of good land plots.

One of the key principles of our business strategy is the acquisition or long-term lease of buildings. Many operators lease buildings for  a mere 11 months. If you sign a contract for longer than a year, it has to be registered with the tax authorities. In Russia, 95 percent of office, residential and warehouse space is rented on short-term leases to avoid paying taxes.

Due to the historic nature of Russia and the fluctuating market of the last 20 years, many building owners are too nervous to make a long-term decision, as market economics and inflation can be difficult to predict and understand. Obviously, signing such a short-term lease agreement is incredibly risky, and a few self-storage operators have been forced to shut down when owners reclaimed their properties for their own use.

Lack of Funding

The second biggest problem for self-storage development in Russia is a lack of financing. There are extremely high interest rates, between 12 percent and 20 percent. There are also tough lending rules, even to the point of a bank specifying how the borrower can invest the loan, whether it be in a property purchase, building, mezzanine investment, etc. Each individual payment has to be approved by the bank.

Even with two freehold properties on our balance sheet, Samosklad has been unable to secure financing in Moscow. At this stage, weve been equity-financed by our shareholders. Many institutional and private investors have shown interest in purchasing a stake in our business model, which has a strong cash flow and has never failed in any market.

Customer Base and Facility Operation

The self-storage customer base follows that of the European market, with roughly 15 percent business customers and 85 percent individual customers. Russians love to store and hate to throw away their beloved goods. Due to the problems described aboveand frequent property-renovation delaysindividual renters stay for an average of six months. At Samosklad, 95 percent of our business customers have been with us for three years.

Marketing primarily takes the form of context advertising through the major Internet portals, although operators with visible buildings spend less.

Facility administration is time-consuming due to the sheer volume of documentation involved with operating a retail business in Russia. Samosklad employs one extra accountant per each facility, for example.

As of September, there are approximately 10 self-storage operators in Moscow, all ranging in quality. Some conform to local regulations for fire prevention, taxes, etc., but many do not. As the market grows, were likely to see consolidation, with the large, well-financed operators coming to the forefront.

Christopher Bond is the director of Samosklad Self Storage. The company opened its first facility in 2011 and currently operates three facilities in Moscow. Samosklad plans to open 20 to 25 facilities by 2018. For more information, visit www.samosklad.ru .

SpareFoot, an online marketplace for the self-storage industry, has released The Four Pillars of Self-Storage Management, a free whitepaper targeted at independent storage owners and managers. The 12-page PDF document discusses strategies on rate management, occupancy analysis, rental contracts and profit management.

Available for download from the SpareFoot Blog, the whitepaper is designed to assist operators in maintaining profitability as the industry becomes more complex, company officials said. It includes advice from self-storage operators and suppliers.

In its discussion on rate management, the report examines street rates vs. contract rates, creating perceived discounts with customers, and strategies for raising rates with existing tenants. Its coverage of profit-management strategies includes discussions on tenant delinquency, abandoned and discounted units, insurance coverages, unit mix, conversion rates, and special events.

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 6,500 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, Apartments.com and Penske Truck Rental.