Go Local Interactive, a digital-marketing agency specializing in self-storage, has released a report examining consumer-behavior and marketing trends affecting the industry. “The Storage Industry Report” provides an overview of trends from the last 10 years, and highlights shifts in the last year to forecast areas of growth. It also includes an analysis of successful marketing tactics, according to a press release.

The report examines online searches and factors that influence consumer choices to advise self-storage operators on services they should offer online and how to market them to various consumer groups. Specific sections of the report cover branding, demographics, networking, paid media, online content, social media and Web optimization.

“Storage owners provide services to more than 32 million Americans each year, and with demand continuing to increase, digital marketing is increasingly becoming necessary to fill units quickly,” the release stated. “With the proper marketing plan, many facilities see an average of over 90 percent occupancy year-round. This high level of success is due to many factors and tactics outlined in this year’s report.”

The 33-page PDF report is available for a limited time as a free download from the Go Local website.

Go Local specializes in customer-acquisition strategies. It assists self-storage operators implement, manage and track marketing efforts down to the local level. Offerings include creative services, local-listings management, paid search, search engine optimization, social media and website development.

Development-Management Inc. (DMI) is developing a new self-storage facility in the historic South End of Charlotte, N.C. The company acquired the 3.5-acre site at 536 W. Tremont for $1.5 million last year as part of a bankruptcy sale, according to a press release. Expected to open next year, the facility will be DMI’s sixth property in the city and ninth in the Carolinas.

Construction on the two-story, 120,000-square-foot facility between South Tryon Street and Toomey Avenue will begin later this year. Once complete, the building will feature 98,000 square feet of rentable storage space. It will also include a wine cellar and an “industrial chic aesthetic” that will be consistent with the neighborhood, the release stated. The facility’s design will work with the site’s existing grades to allow customers to access lower-level storage units from the front of the property and the upper level from the back of the building by car, eliminating the need for stairwells or elevators.

“With this rare investment opportunity, we will introduce a modern self-storage facility in Charlotte’s South End, one of the nation’s hottest submarkets for multi-family development, while providing highly competitive rates to our customers,” said Ivon Rohrer III, vice president.

Founded in 1976, Charlotte-based DMI has developed more than 25 shopping centers totaling nearly 3 million square feet in the Carolinas and Virginias, and leases and manages 12 shopping centers totaling 850,000 square feet. Through its self-storage arm, DMI Storage, the company has nine self-storage facilities under development or management in the Carolinas.

CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust and management company, has promoted Jonathan Perry to chief investment officer and senior vice president. Perry has 20 years of industry experience. He previously held the titles of vice president of asset management and senior vice president of investments.

"Since joining CubeSmart in 2008, Jonathan has been instrumental in the execution of our external growth strategy, leading more than $3.5 billion in real estate transactions that have substantially improved the quality and composition of our real estate portfolio," said Christopher Marr, CEO and president. "This promotion is in recognition of Jonathan's continued leadership of our investment and third-party management teams, and his broad contributions to the company's executive leadership team."

CubeSmart owns or manages 827 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises more than 52 million square feet of storage space.

By Donna Edwards

No matter where your self-storage facility is located, it could face a natural disaster: blizzard, hurricane, tornado, ice storm, earthquake, fire, flood and even a volcano. Some events may give you time to prepare, but many will come with no warning. Each creates its own specific challenges, but roof and building damage are common in most situations.

Site managers need to be prepared before a calamity occurs and have a plan in place. We’ve all heard “proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.” This is certainly true when difficult events require crisis-management skills.

Preparing for a disaster doesn’t happen overnight. It includes thinking about what could go wrong, and then putting procedures in place for how to handle it. The following information will help you prepare for a potential disaster and outline the steps to take after one occurs.

Educate Customers

Customer education is an extremely important part of the preparedness process. The following questions should be addressed with tenants periodically throughout the year so there are no surprises if disaster strikes:

• Do customers understand that the business insurance for your facility doesn’t cover their unit contents?
• If you offer tenant insurance, do your customers understand what is and isn’t covered?
• If customers are insuring the contents of their units through their homeowners, renters or commercial insurance policy, do they know their deductible, and are they prepared for the claims process?

Create an Emergency Binder

Every self-storage operator should create and maintain an emergency binder containing key information for facility employees. If managers are unable to return to work following an emergency, or personnel from another facility or office step in to help, the binder can serve as a central point of documentation to help reopen the site. It should be wrapped in plastic, stored in a safe place and updated regularly.

In addition to procedures to follow, the binder should contain phone numbers and other contact information for the following (remember, the office computer might be damaged during a disaster situation):

• Local fire and police departments as well as other emergency personnel
• Any utilities your facility uses (electricity, gas, sewer and water)
• Contractors (electricians, general contractors, glaziers, plumbers, roofers, security technicians, water extractors)
• Temp agencies you can hire to help clean up
• Maintenance companies that can assist in getting the site up and running
• Government contacts (building inspectors, permitting and others needed to resume operation)
• All customers

Your binder should also include “before” photos of the facility, including every building, the office interior and exterior, the parking areas, the roof, etc. Laminate a facility map or site plan, which you can use for preparations before and cleanup after an incident. Have additional building-map copies handy for noting damage or affected units.

Be Prepared

In the face of an imminent disaster, there are things you can do to minimize injury and damage. Your preparedness plan should include the following:

• Back up the computer data to the cloud or download the information to a flash drive. If you’re using a backup device, store it offsite.
• Board the windows.
• Raise computers and other equipment off the ground.
• Secure customer files.
• Do whatever you can to protect gate equipment and security components.
• If possible, purchase a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radio or otherwise ensure you have access to weather alerts and warnings.
• Check all emergency lighting, fire extinguishers and other equipment that can help you clear debris and secure the facility.
• Clearly mark the escape routes for every building.
• If possible, gather any staff and customers who are onsite during the event in an interior room with no windows.

There are also several items you’ll want to have on hand for a crisis such as a first-aid kit, batteries, flashlights, non-perishable food and water. Materials such as metal sheeting, plywood, tarps and a wet/dry vacuum are helpful for damage control. A battery backup or generator can keep office equipment running during an extended power outage. Blank leases are helpful to have on hand in case you need to rent a unit and computers aren’t operational.

Steps to Recovery

Following an emergency, you’ll likely feel shaken up and possibly overwhelmed. It’s critical to remain calm, breathe deeply and make sure you get plenty of rest. Recovering from a disaster can be a long, tiring and tedious process during which everyone will be stressed. Follow these guidelines to keep everyone safe while you get the property in order.

1. Have a clear chain of command. Who will make statements to the press? Is there a format you’ll follow? Who’ll be responsible for additional public updates? It’s important everyone is in agreement about what the message will be, when it’ll be released and who’ll give it.

2. Take photographs. Following an emergency, it’s critical to document the state of the property. Even if you don’t see obvious damage, issues may arise later and photos will be helpful.

3. Check the office. Can you work in the office or do you need to set up a temporary one elsewhere on the property? What are the most critical steps to make the facility safe for staff and customers and secure their stored goods? Call your property-insurance representative and request a site visit. Then, start making your repair calls.

4. Communicate with customers. Call or e-mail all customers to let them know the status of the property. If landlines are down, you’ll need an alternate way for them to get in touch with you. This could be a cell-phone number, the company’s regional office or an e-mail address. After this initial contact, send regular e-mail updates to let customers know the status of recovery including any access restrictions, building damage, repair timelines and other important information. Use your social media pages to spread your message as well.

5. Keep the site safe. Don’t let customers on site until all of the buildings have been declared safe, your insurance representative has visited, and you’ve taken extensive photos of the property. Don’t risk life and limb to inspect damaged buildings. In the event of a serious structure collapse, a building inspector will need to ensure it’s safe to enter. If a building is unsafe or condemned, check with local officials to see if they’ll allow you to stabilize it so the insurance adjuster can verify damage to units. If not, all the units will be considered a total loss.

Once buildings are declared safe, contact the tenants of any affected buildings and set up a time for each to come to the site and document any damage to their unit with a facility employee. (Wet items will need to be dried and cleaned as soon as possible to prevent mold and mildew.) Ask all other customers to avoid visiting the property for at least a few days or a week.

6. Secure the facility. Lock the gate, secure breaches with temporary fencing and restrict access to office hours. Also, accompany all customers on the site until repairs are complete. If necessary, secure the buildings with locks, metal sheeting or plywood to prevent looting.

Your customers will have many questions including what was damaged, how bad is it, when they access their unit and who’s going to pay for ruined items. Answer them the best you can. In a crisis, being prepared for the possible and being in control if something occurs will help you and your customers weather the storm.

Donna Edwards is a manager at Plantation Self Storage in Bluffton, S.C., which is operated by Southeast Management Co. She joined the company in 2013 and has more than 10 years of experience in property management. Her marketing experience includes setting budgets, designing yearly marketing plans, and creating and writing all types of advertising. For more information, call 843.815.8000; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.southeastmanagementcompany.com.

Howard Sy, the grandson of a retail tycoon, has eschewed the family business in the Philippines to build his own self-storage empire. The 28-year-old entrepreneur opened his first StorageMart self-storage facility in Makati last year and already has plans to develop a second location in Bonifacio Global City, a financial district in the Manila metro area, according to the source.

Sy’s grandfather is Henry Sy Sr., director of SM Prime Holdings Inc., a prominent real estate developer in Southeast Asia. Rather than join the family business, Howard Sy worked as an investment analyst after college but found the long hours too consuming. Driven by a desire to run his own enterprise, he was ultimately inspired by an episode of “Storage Wars,” the U.S.-based reality-television series. He researched the self-storage industry and poured his life savings into the StorageMart venture, the source reported.

“I researched on it and saw an opportunity,” Howard Sy said. “It is not that big a need now, but it already is abroad. And the market will eventually grow here.”

The first StorageMart took two years from concept to opening last November. The facility offers 24-hour access and individual door alarms. It was designed with bright interiors to attract corporate tenants in addition to residential customers, according to the source. One mistake was installing too many medium-sized units and not enough small units, which quickly leased up, Howard Sy said. The facility offers 161 units and is 40 percent occupied.

Howard Sy believes the detail-oriented work he did in the financial world provided good training for his self-storage venture, and he’s determined to make it on his own. “The nice thing about [my family] is that they push you to do what you want,” he told the source. “I was not obligated to come home and work for the family. Sooner or later, I may join, but I don’t want to go in there without any experience. I want my credentials to speak for themselves.”

Howard Sy’s StorageMart is unrelated to the Columbia, Mo.-based self-storage operator by the same name.

Men on the Move Moving & Self-Storage will receive a significant tax break from Nassau County, N.Y., officials to keep its new headquarters in the county rather than relocate to Queens, N.Y. The storage business plans to purchase a vacant office building at 150 Crossways Park Drive W. in Woodbury for its offices and build a 90,000-square-foot storage facility on the property, according to the source. The move from Floral Park will expand its HQ by 47 percent.

The project is expected to cost $18.6 million, preserve 72 jobs and add 11 positions by 2021, the source reported. In return, the Nassau Industrial Development Agency (IDA) offered a $350,200 sales-tax exemption for the purchase of construction materials, equipment and fixtures, along with a  $132,100 discount on the mortgage-recording tax. As part of the deal, the property tax will be frozen for one year, followed by incremental increases of 1.66 percent for the next 14 years.

This is the second time Men on the Move has received a tax deal from Nassau County. It received breaks of more than $161,000 in 2014 when it expanded a Floral Park self-storage facility. It also received tax deals for facilities it built in Garden City and Glen Cove, N.Y.

Atlanta-based Storage Post Self Storage acquired Men on the Move’s Floral Park and Huntington Station, N.Y., storage facilities last year.

The Nassau IDA has previously received criticism for the tax breaks it’s given to Men on the Move and other self-storage operators, according to the source, but executive director Joseph J. Kearney defended the most recent deal. “This isn’t two employees, and the company purchases 87 percent of its goods and services in Nassau County,” he said. “We are happy to have them.”

No timeline was reported for the development project.

Founded in 1985, Men on the Move has a fleet of moving trucks and another storage facility in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Lockaway Storage, which operates 35 self-storage properties in Texas, is offering free storage to support Project Graduation, a parent-run organization that provides seniors at Samuel Clemens High School in Schertz, Texas, a safe place to celebrate on graduation night. The operator will house donations for the organization’s partnership with Goodwill Industries International, according to a press release.

Donations can be made at the following Lockaway locations, all of which are near the school, until April 21. All items must meet Goodwill’s requirements, the release stated.

• Evans Road, 7858 E. Evans Road
• 3009 & FM 78, 200 Roy Richards Drive
• Randolph, 9482 E. FM 1518 N.
• I-35 Schertz, 18913 Interstate 35 Frontage Road

Project Graduation will host an all-night, drug- and alcohol-free celebration on June 2 following the graduation ceremony at Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas. The event will include food, games and prizes as well as activities like paintball.

Lockaway operates facilities in Austin, Boerne, Converse, Leon Valley, San Antonio, Schertz and Texarkana, Texas.