By Rachel Adams

At any self-storage facility, tenants pay attention to customer service, superior security and amenities. Facilities that excel in these arenas will attain a high occupancy. Those lacking will likely drive customers away. For facilities that provide RV and boat storage, these qualities are particularly crucial to attract and maintain tenants.

Edward Heil, former owner of Lake Havasu RV & Boat Storage in Lake Havasu, Ariz., points out one obvious reason why these tenants are very different. Unlike most self-storage tenants, unhappy boat- or RV-storage tenants can pack up and flee a facility in 15 minutes. Theres no packing and moving involved, making it easier for them to make their getaway. "If you make them mad, they just drive up, grab a hold of their stuff and they're gone," he says.

To keep tenants happy and prevent this from happening, operators who specialize in RV and boat storage must master the challenges in this niche market, which can include higher hard and soft costs, the need for advanced security, distinct marketing avenues, and even unique amenities.

Under the Umbrella of Customer Service: Amenities and Security

Customer service is a crucial component for the success of every boat/RV-storage facility. These high-end toys often bring high-end tenants who have high expectations and different needs. "If you were a person that can afford a $1.2 million motorcoach, you're going to expect to be treated a whole lot differently than somebody that's taken half the junk out of his garage and stuck it in a storage space," Heil says. "It's a completely different mindset."

To provide the ultimate customer service, many facilities offer additional services that apply specifically to this niche. Such amenities include vehicle wash bays, showers, electricity hookups in units, dump stations, water-filling stations and enhanced security. For example, Jeff Jensen, owner of North Plains RV and Self Storage in North Plains, Ore., offers a dump station and water-filling station that can be used to fill RV water tanks or wash down vehicles.

Amenities like these do come with additional upfront hard costs during development and soft costs to keep the services running. However, the price tag is usually worth it because they contribute to good customer service, which equates to happy tenants. 

Heil, who developed his Lake Havasu facility with wash bays, a shower and bathroom, included these perks as a customer benefit and to attract high-end clients. While the wash bay was expensive to build, it was not designed to be a profit center. "It did two things: It helped with customer retention and it also helped with marketing," he says.

Security is another amenity critical to boat/RV-storage tenants. Gregg Sherwood, president of AZOH Storage Group, which manages Power Ranch RV, Boat & Mini Storage in Mesa, Ariz., provides enhanced security features such as individual keypad access, security cameras, individual unit alarms, personal key fobs for tenants who choose not to use the keypad for entry, and video monitoring that tenants can access online at any time. These features allow Power Ranch to provide 24-hour access to the facility, which Sherwood says is a key component of the facility's customer-service model. "[Tenants] do expect a great level of customer service, but mainly in the form of access to their stored RV, boat or jet skis," he says. "As a result, we offer 24-hour access 365 days a year."

Like extra amenities, advanced security can be a big expense, but it pays off for tenants who want assurance that their expensive toys are secure. "We spent an awful lot of money on security, but it was an amenity that differentiated us in our market," Heil says.

Location Is Key

Most successful RV- and boat-storage facilities are built near a recreation destination that supports the tenant base, such as a lake or state park. Other ideal locations include communities in which these types of vehicles are prohibited from being stored outside in a driveway or in the homeowners yard, or places that simply lack space for storage of large vehicles.

Lake Havasu RV & Boat Storage is not only close to a lake, its in a resort town. "We chose to be in an area that had a very huge attraction to RVers," Heil says. "There are probably about 10,000 people that come to Havasu between October and April, and that's huge, so we built the facility to cater to those people."

North Plains RV and Self Storage is in a smaller city that borders the Portland-metro region. The lack of excess space in the larger city draws tenants to store there. "In the Portland-metro region, lot sizes have been constricted such that there's really no room for people to park boats, RVs and large toys, so they're somewhat forced to find a facility like ours to store their toys and equipment," Jensen says.

Marketing Strategies for Unique Tenants

RV- and boat-storage operators reach out to potential tenants using many of the same techniques used to connect with traditional self-storage customers, including referrals and online marketing. However, the the market does require some additional and inventive promotion.

"We have multi-faceted marketing, from going out and setting up relationships with vendors and condo associations and apartments to Internet marketing," Jensen says. He also reaches out to storage facilities that lack RV and boat storage to form a referral partnership.

Sherwood focuses on referrals and building relationships within the community to build his tenant base. "We build relationships with the local dealers and end users of these types of vehicles, including seasonal housing sources for the Arizona winter visitors," Sherwood says. "We go into those communities and create relationships with the companies who manage them. This gives us access to their clients through group presentations and being in their newsletters."

Finding Success Without the Bells and Whistles

Even facilities that lack the perfect location or all the extra amenities can still capitalize on boat and RV storage if theres demand. Located in a rural town, Arcata Bay Self Storage in Arcata, Calif., is the only facility in the county with outdoor vehicle storage. The facility currently stores about 80 cars, RVs and boats. "While a couple other facilities may store a car or two, none have the capacity I do for storing vehicles outside," says Geraldine Goldberg, facility manager.

A local university and small airport bring vehicle-storage tenants to Goldberg, who offers rates lower than the airport for travelers leaving for extended periods and can accommodate students who need vehicle storage between semesters. Goldberg has also marketed to boat- and RV-repair shops, and has built connections with local tow-truck drivers who often refer tenants to her facility.

Even without wash bays, showers or a dump station, Goldberg maintains a high occupancy, which she attributes to excellent customer service. "Every one of my tenants gets the best in customer servicethat could be why my facility is full most of the time," she says.

Facility operators agree: Whether it's an expensive RV sitting in an individually alarmed unit or grandmas antique furniture in a traditional self-storage unit, good customer service is good for business. We treated everybody like they had million-dollar rigs sitting on our property, even if they were just renting a 5-by-5 space in a climate-controlled building," Heil says.

Rachel Adams graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Her passion for writing and culture propelled her journey through college and have continued to inspire her endeavors with VIRGO Publishing, where she contributes to "Inside Self-Storage and "Professional Door Dealer" magazines. Contact her with questions, comments or ideas at [email protected].

HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP), a provider of commercial real estate and capital-markets services to self-storage and other commercial sectors, has been ranked the No. 1 financial intermediary for the fourth year in a row by National Real Estate Investor (NREI), a publication and website covering the real estate investment market. The annual Top-25 ranking is based on the volume of commercial real estate loans arranged in the previous year.

HFF arranged $26.76 billion in loans in 2012, outpacing Wells Fargos $24.92 billion and CBREs $22.45 billion. The top five also includes Meridian Capital Group ($20.32 billion) and NorthMarq Capital ($9.49 billion).

Other intermediaries making NREIs list that frequently conduct business in the self-storage sector include Jones Lang LaSalle at No. 6 ($8.63 billion), Marcus & Millichap Capital at No. 12 ($2.2 billion) and Cushman & Wakefield at No. 14 ($2.01 billion).

HFF and HFF Securities LP (HFFS) are owned by HFF Inc. HFF operates out of 21 offices nationwide and is a provider of commercial real estate and capital-markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, including self-storage.

Affiliated self-storage operators Optivest Properties, Northwest Self Storage and SecurCare Self Storage have completed a formation transaction to create National Storage Affiliates, a Maryland-based real estate investment trust (REIT). The privately owned company comprises 64 self-storage facilities in 11 states with a committed asset value of more than $800 million, company officials said.

The company is owned and operated by its affiliated operators, who will continue to manage and self-brand their contributed portfolios under the National Storage Affiliates umbrella. The affiliates will contribute their interests in all of their self-storage assets over the next few years, as current mortgage debt matures, officials said in a press release. The company expects this activity to grow into a portfolio with approximately 220 facilities, 100,000 units and 12.5 million rentable square feet in 15 states.

With market trends in our industry increasingly favoring size and scale, we feel that our collective teams and assets are greater as a whole than the sum of the parts, said Arlen D. Nordhagen, CEO of National Storage Affiliates and SecurCare. As affiliate owners of National Storage Affiliates, we have addressed our desire to continue to operate and grow our respective contributed portfolios, while improving our financial and operational positions through the REIT.

The new company intends to capitalize on the local knowledge and experience of its affiliates while leveraging the scale of the REIT for marketing, operational best practices and financing, officials said. It expects to add additional affiliate operators as it completes its targeted exposure to the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas.

U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and a Prudential Real Estate Investors debt fund provided financing for the company. Clifford Chance will serve as legal counsel, and Knightsbridge Realty Capital will provide strategic advisory services.

National Storage Affiliates is a self-administered, self-managed REIT. The companys 64 self-storage facilities comprise approximately 3.3 million net rentable square feet.

By Steve Weinstein

In todays highly competitive market, its important to ensure your business is keeping up to date with the latest technology. Security is one of the most important features at any self-storage facility, and an aging system can speak volumes to a tenant.

Your investment in security makes tenants feel at ease. It gives them the sense that their belongings will be safe and protected. Digital video-surveillance cameras, electronic gate-access control, individual unit alarms, and a real-time site-graphics monitor in the office shows customers youre paying attention and in control. It provides them with the warm and fuzzy feeling of comfort, which is key to the storage experience. If tenants dont feel safe, theyll move.

There are many factors to consider when upgrading an aging security system. From evaluating your facilitys needs to sticking to a budget, heres some insight to the process of creating a safer, more secure facility.

Evaluate Your Needs, Review Your Market

The first step in any planned upgrade is to evaluate your existing system. Identify what it does well and where it falls short. Identifying shortcomings will allow you to determine if an upgrade is necessary and help point you toward the features and functionality the new system should include.

The next step is to review your market. Take a drive around to other facilities in the area and see what they offer. Are you already the only gated facility in a market of open lots, or is it the other way around? Would adding individual unit alarms give you a selling point that no one in your area offers?

Talk to your tenants. Ask them for feedback on what would provide a better experience. Are there specific security measures and features they would feel more comfortable seeing?

Create a Budget

Once you have an idea of the features your upgraded system needs to include, its time to create a budget. Everyone always wants the Ferrari, but is that a realistic solution for your business? How much of an investment are you willing to make at this time? What can the business support? Are you in a crunch where if you dont update now youll lose tenants, or do you have the financial space to entertain a larger investment for the long-term potential of higher return? Knowing the answers to these questions is very important in setting your budget and, therefore, your expectations.

Determine how your desired features fit with your budget. Go shopping. Attend a few industry tradeshows and see the options available. Spend some time online looking at storage security websites, and go to storage forums like Self-Storage Talk and read the good (and bad) of what others are using.

Compare the various vendors, their pricing, features, reputation and history in the industry. Which ones are going to give you the best bang for your buck and the least headache in the future? Do you plan to piece-meal your security solution from multiple vendors, or would you rather work with a one-stop-shop that can handle everything?

Talk to the Experts

Call and have a conversation with a security expert. Look for a company that has been specifically in the self-storage industry for a while and understands your needs. Ask about the warranty that comes with the products youre considering.

For example, if youre buying a new access-control system, does it cover lightning? How long is the warranty? Remember this is likely a long-term relationship, so make sure youre comfortable with your security consultant and he takes the time to answer all your questions.

Security equipment and features for the storage industry are constantly evolving, so choose a company that shows a history of innovation. The vendor should be able to grow with you in the future. Does it offer easy-to-add modular options? Just because you arent adding door alarms today doesnt mean your market wont demand them next year. Be sure the company you choose allows this level of modularity and upgradeability.

Taking the time to find the right vendor with the right suite of security products for your facility can make all the difference in the world to your tenants and your facilitys revenue stream. A bargain-basement system isnt going to perform well in the long run and can frequently wind up costing you more than a higher-grade system. But spending top dollar for the most expensive system is simply foolhardy if there are other comparable systems with the same features available.

In the end, do your research and explore your options before committing yourself to an upgrade plan of action. Youd hate to find yourself facing the same needs again in just a short amount of time.

Steve Weinstein has been a security consultant for the self-storage industry since 2004. Hes a senior account representative at QuikStor Security & Software, which provides security and software products to the self-storage industry. For more information, call 800.321.1987; visit www.quikstor.com .

Old Barn Self Storage in Grass Valley, Calif., supports local education by collecting and recycling old electronics and holding Happy Art contests that provide cash prizes to winning students and teachers. The winning artwork also gets enlarged and displayed next to an iconic Happy sign that adorns the hillside next to the facilitys property and overlooks Highway 20/49. The sign is visible to 25,000 motorists each day, according to the source.

Old Barn works with 29 nonprofit and educational groups for its rotating, monthly e-waste collection program. The self-storage facility collects unwanted computers, monitors, printers, cell phones, radios and other devices each month, and typically raises about $200 to $300 for the participating partner group. The facility works with SIMS Recycling Solutions to pick up and process the collected items.

They crush it, separate it; everything is used, said Lew Aebersold, Old Barns facility manager.

Nearby Union Hill Elementary School was among the first schools to participate in Old Barns Happy Art contest last year, with several Union Hill students winning cash prizes and the first-place winners teacher earning $200 for classroom supplies. This month, the school will be the beneficiary of proceeds earned from the self-storage facilitys electronics drive.

Locally owned and operated, Old Barn Self Storage has served Grass Valley and neighboring Nevada County communities since 2005.

RoofConnect, a national provider of commercial roofing services for self-storage and many other property types, hired David Adams as senior director of business development and made other key internal promotions.

Adams will be responsible for RoofConnects new business-development initiatives. In addition, he will provide insight into marketing, core sales, training and process improvements within the company.

Adams has more than 24 years of roofing-industry experience in the manufacturing and contracting sides of the business. His experience has included leadership roles in national sales, training, business development and government/cooperative contracts. He will be based out of RoofConnect's Huntington Beach, Calif., office.

My passion is in helping people, including RoofConnect customers and teammates, achieve their goals, said Adams. For our customers, this will specifically include how RoofConnect can extend the life of their roofing assets and lower their total spend to achieve lower costs per square foot over time with our systematic approach to roof asset management.

RoofConnect also made the following promotions:

• Teresa Barnhill has been promoted to strategic account sales manager
• Jeremy Hill has been promoted to senior director of operations
• Brooke Spears has been promoted to national account project manager

   
(From left to right: Barnhill, Hill and Spears)

RoofConnect specializes in complete roof-management services including annual roof maintenance, emergency leak response, coordinated disaster planning and disaster response, snow-load management and removal, reroof/roof restoration and roof-top environmental solutions. The company's nationwide coverage is available 24/7/365.

Bird-B-Gone Inc., a supplier of pest-control products for self-storage and other building types, has released several installation videos on its website and YouTube showing viewers how to properly install its products. The videos cover several products that are commonly used in self-storage settings including Bird Wire, Bird Spike, Bird Slope and Bird Jolt Flat Track.

The installation videos are ideal for people who are new to Bird-B-Gone and need some training, said Ian Rowsby, director of sales. They will also help self-storage operators determine which product is best suited for their needs. You get a lot of useful information in a short period of time by watching the installation videos, Rowsby said. And if you need additional help or information, were always available.

The videos can be viewed at www.birdbgone.com  by choosing Bird Control Videos from the Resource Center drop-down menu on the top navigation bar. They can also be viewed through the companys YouTube channel.

Further instruction on installing the companys products can be obtained through Bird-B-Gone University or training at the Irvine, Calif., headquarters.

Founded in 1992, Bird-B-Gone Inc. is a manufacturer of professional-grade bird deterrents. The companys products help solve pest-bird problems in commercial, industrial and residential settings.

ONeil Software, a provider of software solutions for records centers worldwide, has appointed David Holt as the companys new CEO. Formerly the executive vice president responsible for software development and support services, Holt will assume responsibility for overall management, direction and growth of the Irvine, Calif., company

I have worked closely with David on software-development objectives and goals since 1988. As my long-time friend and business partner, Im confident he will use his organizational and team-building skills to grow the company, not only as he has done in software development, but now also in sales and marketing, said Tim ONeil, founder and board chairman.

Holt joined the company in 1991 as director of software development. David has provided strong and innovative leadership in creating software solutions for the records-storage industry. For [more than] 20 years under his stewardship, our technology has followed and adopted the best of the emerging trends in automation and data management, ONeil said. This has provided us with the foundation to meet all the challenges that come the way of a software company in the competitive and constantly changing world of information technology.

In his new role, Holt will broaden the companys foundation and expand initiatives into new products, services and markets, ONeil noted.

ONeil Software serves more than 1,000 records centers in more than 80 countries, ranging from startups to multi-national companies. In addition to software, the company specializes in barcode tracking, portable printers, wireless handhelds and Web technology.