This research report, commissioned by SpareBox Technologies and conducted by Pinkston, provides insights into self-storage facility owners, operators and managers’ 2024 priorities regarding their operations and technology.
KEY FINDINGS
Self-storage owners, operators and managers cite installation costs as main hesitation in embracing new technologies: 40% say installation is too expensive.
Vast majority of Self-storage owners, operators and managers believe technology will boost efficiency and give them a competitive advantage: 92% say technology will make their jobs easier and companies more competitive.
Self-service: The future of Self Storage. 66% of self-storage owners, operators and managers currently utilize some form of remote management, while 32% are somewhat or very interested in adopting it.
Revenue, occupancy rate, operating costs and new technology are top 2024 priorities: 49% of self-storage owners, operators and managers report increasing revenue is their top priority followed by improving occupancy rate (47%), reducing operating costs (47%) and investing in new technology (46%).
Many self-storage owners, operators and managers face similar challenges: 7 in 10 respondents believe they could be better at revenue growth, while half want to improve customer service and operational efficiency.
AI in the self-storage industry: Some owners, operators and managers are beginning to utilize AI to outsource day-to-day operational functions for their facilities.
About SpareBox Technologies
SpareBox Technologies puts comprehensive remote management in the hands of storage facility operators. Unlike anything else on the market, our technologies are affordable to implement, integrate seamlessly with your existing property management system, and have driven proven ROI at more than 100 storage locations across the country. Led by a mix of technologists and storage industry veterans, SpareBox Technologies is the leader in remote management. Learn more at spareboxtech.com.
Self-Storage Owners and Operators Survey Results
About the Research: In December 2023, Pinkston Research, commissioned by SpareBox Technologies, completed a survey of 150 owners, operators and managers of self-storage facilities across the United States.
Participants included a range of profiles, from independent owner-operators to REITs with large portfolios, with a median of 7 facilities in urban, suburban and some rural areas. Respondents were recruited from business listings as well as B-to-B survey panels and completed the survey online. Results have an 8% margin of error.
Owners, operators, and managers of self-storage faciliti(es) say investing in new technologies is one of their primary priorities in 2024 (46%), along with increasing revenue (49%), improving yield (47%), and reducing operating costs (47%).
| What are your primary priorities for 2024? (Choose up to 3) | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Increasing revenue | 49% |
| Improving yield, or occupancy rate, of storage units | 47% |
| Reducing operating costs | 47% |
| Investing in new technologies | 46% |
| Improving customer service or customer experience | 39% |
| Growth through acquisition of new facilities | 36% |
| Reducing labor costs | 21% |
Section Question:
Regarding your self-storage faciliti(es), how effective would you say your company is at each of the following? Please rate each from 1 – 5 where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent.
Seven out of 10 (69%) believe they could be better at growing their revenue, though most owners/operators rate themselves well (at least 4 stars out of 5).
| Growing Revenue | |
| Base: 150 | |
| 1 star | 0% |
| 2 stars | 1% |
| 3 stars | 13% |
| 4 stars | 56% |
| 5 stars | 31% |
Half (51%) believe they could be better at driving future growth potential.
| Driving Future Growth Potential | |
| Base: 150 | |
| 1 star | 0% |
| 2 stars | 0% |
| 3 stars | 15% |
| 4 stars | 36% |
| 5 stars | 49% |
Half (53%) believe they could improve their operational efficiency.
| Operating Efficiently | |
| Base: 150 | |
| 1 star | 0% |
| 2 stars | 1% |
| 3 stars | 11% |
| 4 stars | 42% |
| 5 stars | 47% |
Delivering good customer service ranks highest, with nearly 95% giving their company at least a 4 star rating, but with half of self-storage owners / operators indicating they have room for improvement.
| Delivering Good Customer Service | |
| Base: 150 | |
| 1 star | 0% |
| 2 stars | 0% |
| 3 stars | 5% |
| 4 stars | 43% |
| 5 stars | 51% |
About two-thirds (66%) of respondents currently use some form of remote management at some of their facilities, and another 16% are looking to implement remote management.
| Which of the following best describes your opinion on remote management of self-storage facilities? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| I / we currently use remote management at some or all of our facilities | 66% |
| I am a proponent of remote management but have not adopted it | 16% |
| I have some hesitations about remote management but am interested | 16% |
| I am not interested in remote management | 2% |
Owners, operators, and managers most frequently cite the cost of installation (40%), and required upgrades (38%), as well as a desire to keep an eye on their property (38%) as reasons why they have not adopted remote management.
| Are any of the following reasons why you have not adopted remote management system(s) in your self-storage faciliti(es)? Select all that apply. | |
|---|---|
| Base: 48 not currently using remote management | |
| Installation is expensive | 40% |
| It will require a lot of upgrades to our faciliti(es) | 38% |
| Want to keep an eye on our property with at least one person on-site | 38% |
| Concerned about the impact on customer experience | 31% |
| Don’t want to let staff go | 29% |
| The options don’t seem like a good fit for all our faciliti(es) | 19% |
| Learning the system(s) will be difficult or time consuming | 17% |
| Don’t know which options to choose | 17% |
| The options don’t work well with our existing systems | 10% |
| Don’t fully trust the technology | 6% |
About one in four has adopted a new technology to enable outsourcing, including security, supply chain management, online management and AI.
| In the past year, have you adopted a new technology that enables you to outsource key operational functions for your self-storage faciliti(es)? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Yes | 39% |
| No | 61% |
| What type of system have you adopted that enables you to outsource operational functions? | |
| Base: 58 Of the 39% who have adopted a new technology for outsourcing, the type of system is… (Open-ended, coded responses) | |
| Security System | 22% |
| Supply Chain Management | 21% |
| Online Management System | 14% |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | 10% |
| Customer Management | 9% |
| Human Resources | 3% |
| Logistics | 3% |
| Cleaning Service | 2% |
| Enterprise Resource Planning | 2% |
| Marketing | 2% |
| Technical Support | 2% |
| Warehouse Management | 2% |
| Other | 12% |
Section Question:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Self-storage owners, operators and managers overwhelmingly agree that new technologies in the storage business will make their job easier: 92% agree, including half (49%) who strongly agree.
| New technologies in the storage business will make my job easier. | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Strongly Agree | 49% |
| Somewhat Agree | 43% |
| Neither | 6% |
| Somewhat Disagree | 2% |
| Strongly Disagree | 0% |
Self-storage owners, operators and managers overwhelmingly agree that new technologies in the storage business will make their company more competitive: 92% agree, including half (53%) who strongly agree.
| New technologies in the storage business will make our company more competitive. | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Strongly Agree | 53% |
| Somewhat Agree | 39% |
| Neither | 7% |
| Somewhat Disagree | 1% |
| Strongly Disagree | 0% |
Similarly, roughly 1-in-4 are overwhelmed by the amount of new technologies that are available in the storage industry.
| I am overwhelmed by the number of new technologies available in the storage industry. | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Strongly Agree | 10% |
| Somewhat Agree | 16% |
| Neither | 13% |
| Somewhat Disagree | 41% |
| Strongly Disagree | 21% |
Owners, operators, and managers of self-storage faciliti(es) are most interested in new technologies that can increase their revenue (30%), improve the customer experience (24%) or increase yield on their units (22%).
| Thinking about new technologies that support self-storage operations, which of the following is the most appealing benefit? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Increasing revenue overall | 30% |
| Improving the customer experience | 24% |
| Improving yield, or occupancy rate, of storage units | 22% |
| Reducing operating costs other than staffing | 13% |
| Reducing headcount (on-site staff) | 11% |
Managing inventory, security, improving efficiency and reducing operating costs are the top challenges owners, operators and managers offer spontaneously.
| What are the three biggest challenges you face regarding management of a storage facility? | |
| Base: 150 (Open-ended responses, coded) | |
| Managing Storage Spaces / yield or inventory | 30% |
| Safety and Security | 18% |
| Employee Issues | 16% |
| Maximizing Efficiency | 14% |
| Operating Costs | 14% |
| Technology | 12% |
| Collecting Payments | 12% |
| Customer Service | 10% |
| Equipment (non-technology) | 6% |
| Customer Issues | 5% |
| Lack of Storage Space | 5% |
| Regulations | 5% |
| Abandoned Units | 2% |
| Business Development | 2% |
| Capital | 1% |
| Lack of Customers | 1% |
| Lack of Time | 1% |
| Location | 1% |
| Logistics of Multiple Warehouses | 1% |
| Maintenance | 1% |
| Reviews | 1% |
| Transparency | 1% |
27% of owners, operators, and managers say they would like to replace their current revenue management system.
| If there is one piece of technology you wish you could replace, what would it be? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Revenue management system | 27% |
| Property management system | 26% |
| Marketing platform(s) | 24% |
| Gate system | 15% |
| Website | 8% |
| What other options have you considered for operational support? | |
| Base: 150 (Open-ended, coded) | |
| General Management | 15% |
| Inventory Management | 12% |
| Automated Systems | 11% |
| Warehouse Management | 11% |
| Technology | 10% |
| Security Measures | 6% |
| Training | 6% |
| Customer Service | 5% |
| Supply Chain | 4% |
| Logistics | 3% |
| Outsourcing | 3% |
| Safety Measures | 2% |
| Advertising | 1% |
| Blockchain | 1% |
| Crisis Plans | 1% |
| Customer Perks | 1% |
| Data Systems | 1% |
| Health Measures | 1% |
| Investors | 1% |
| Progress Tracking | 1% |
| Quality Management | 1% |
| Strategic Cooperation | 1% |
| Warehouse Evaluations | 1% |
| None | 15% |
PROFILE OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS
| Do any of the following describe you? | |
| Base: 149 | |
| Owner of multifamily / apartment building | 1% |
| Operator of multifamily / apartment building | 1% |
| Manager of multifamily / apartment building | 0% |
| Owner of self storage facility | 66% |
| Operator of self storage facility | 7% |
| Manager of self storage facility | 33% |
| Owner of commercial retail building | 1% |
| Operator of commercial retail building | 1% |
| Manager of commercial retail building | 1% |
| None of these | 0% |
| How many storage facilities do you own, operate or manage? | |
| Base: 149 | |
| Average | 9.2 |
| Median | 7.0 |
| Is your company any of the following? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Small business with single owner | 70% |
| Multi-property owner | 15% |
| Real estate investment trust / REIT | 7% |
| Operator only (not owner) | 3% |
| None of the above | 6% |
| What is the total square footage of the self-storage facilities you operate? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| ≤ 2000 | 24% |
| 2001 – 5000 | 17% |
| 5001 – 8000 | 14% |
| 8001 – 15000 | 17% |
| ≥ 15001 | 28% |
| How many employees do you have per building? | |
| Base: 149 | |
| 1 – 5 | 33% |
| 6 – 10 | 20% |
| 11 – 25 | 21% |
| ≥ 26 | 26% |
| What is your company’s total annual revenue from self-storage rental? | |
| Base: 150 | |
| ≤ $250K | 29% |
| $250K-500K | 18% |
| $500K-1M | 21% |
| $1M-3M | 11% |
| ≥ $3M | 21% |
| Do you have facilities in… | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Urban areas | 55% |
| Suburban areas or small towns | 49% |
| Rural areas | 11% |
| State(s) where own / operate self-storage facilities | |
| Base: 150 (note: respondents could choose multiple states) | |
| Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) | 23% |
| Southeast (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 36% |
| Central South (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX) | 20% |
| Midwest (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI) | 17% |
| West (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY) | 14% |
| Are you: | |
| Base: 150 | |
| Male | 82% |
| Female | 18% |
| Prefer to self-describe | 0% |