Five Star Storage + RaFA: At a Glance
Portfolio
45 self-storage facilities across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin
Operational Impact
Metric Before RaFA After RaFA Unit Turnaround 48–72 hours 24–48 hours Maintenance Tracking Siloed knowledge-base Real-time tracking Property Visibility Limited reporting Portfolio-wide visibility Tenant Communication Office-based On-site SMS & Email
Creating a Centralized Operations Hub
Five Star Storage partnered with SpareBox Technologies in early 2025 to implement RaFA across its 45-facility portfolio.
As the organization continued to grow, leadership wanted better visibility into daily operations while reducing the operational friction caused by manual processes and disconnected systems.
RaFA was implemented as a centralized operational hub, allowing field teams to manage walkthroughs, maintenance, and communication directly from the property while giving leadership real-time insight into facility conditions.
Improving Maintenance Visibility
Maintenance operations were one of the first areas to benefit.
With RaFA, field teams can now:
- Create maintenance tasks directly from the property
- Capture photos of issues
- Assign responsibility and track completion
- Monitor work at both the unit and facility level
“RaFA has given us the ability to add maintenance tasks while on property, capture photos, assign the task to an individual, and track maintenance on a unit and facility level. RaFA also allows us to track CapEx items separately from regular maintenance so we can capture photos, assign dates, and monitor project completion.”
— Shane Foster, Facilities Manager, Five Star Storage
The platform also allows Five Star to track CapEx and deferred maintenance projects, providing a clearer view of long-term asset needs across the portfolio.
Faster Unit Turnover
RaFA’s digital walkthroughs and unit-level notes have also improved how vacant units are returned to rentable condition.
Facility managers can now document repairs, attach photos, and coordinate maintenance more efficiently—reducing delays and improving communication between teams.
“We’ve gone from a 48–72 hour turnaround on vacant spaces to a 24–48 hour maximum. Digital notes also help us clearly identify when we need to source a vendor for more significant repairs, which helps us address offline units faster.”
— Joe Dinius and Jan Johnson, COO, Five Star Storage
By streamlining coordination between facility managers and maintenance teams, Five Star can return units to the market faster and maximize inventory availability.
Improving Communication in the Field
RaFA also improves communication between field teams, leadership, and customers.
Facility managers can access tenant information and notes while on property and send notifications to tenants immediately when issues arise.
“RaFA allows us to view tenant information and notes while on site, which increases our efficiency when dealing with unusual situations relating to a tenant’s unit. The ability to send SMS or email notifications directly to tenants while on property has also helped reduce inefficiency when returning to the office.”
— Dylan Enerson, District Manager, Five Star Storage
Supporting a PMS Transition
Five Star Storage was also the first operator to implement the RaFA integration with Self Storage Manager during a property management system transition.
Nick from Five Star explained:
“When we made the decision to transition our PMS solutions, we knew how important it was to minimize disruption to customers and operations.
Being the first to use the RaFA and SSM integration came with challenges, but both teams were very responsive. Having these tools integrated enables us to scale while maintaining our commitment to great customer service.”
Portfolio-Wide Visibility for Leadership
For Five Star’s leadership team, one of the biggest advantages of RaFA has been improved visibility into property conditions.
Through real-time reporting and photos captured during walkthroughs, executives can quickly assess facility conditions and prioritize capital improvements.
Joe Dinius and Jan Johnson explained:
“Providing our executive team with access to photos taken in the field enables us to clearly assess property conditions and prioritize capital funding.
This visibility helps ensure we continue meeting our goal of delivering a five-star experience for our customers.”
Looking Ahead
As Five Star Storage continues to grow, RaFA plays a central role in maintaining operational consistency across its facilities.
By centralizing maintenance workflows, improving communication, and providing leadership with real-time operational insight, Five Star has built a scalable operational model that supports both growth and exceptional customer service.
About SpareBox Technologies
SpareBox Technologies builds software designed specifically for self-storage operators.
Our platforms—including RaFA, BigFoot, and Prophet—help operators improve operational visibility, streamline workflows, and optimize performance across their portfolios.