Section 6 • Customer & Site Information


renting longer. In 2007, the average length of stay was 1,091 days or nearly three years. While the length of stay dropped between 2008 and 2012, for 2014 it increased back up to 1,033 days or 2.8 years. For 2014 the average number of rental days came in at 1,169 or 3.2 years.


At the end of the day, the goal for every self-storage facility is


to grow the business and keep an optimal occupancy. Chart 6.13 tracks the average per store number of move-ins and move-outs along with the total volume and net change between 1999 and 2014. While 2007 was the obvious low point with an average net gain of 15 leases per month, the 16-year average is a 40-per- month gain.


The Big Picture Most self-storage owners, operators, and investors would agree that, outside of location, there is nothing more important than having the right person at the helm of a self-storage facility. Managers are hired and trusted to run multimillion dollar as- sets; therefore, they must be capable of delivering profits and


100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900


0


1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Volume


Move-Outs Move-Ins Chart 6.14 – Average Length of Stay in Days


200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400


0 2003 Average stay in days


2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Year


72 Self-Storage Almanac 2016 2014 Source: Universal Storage Group 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Universal Storage Group


Table 6.1 – Number of Stores Contacted Before Choosing A Facility


Number of Stores


0 1 2 3 4 5


Source: Unversal Storage Group Percentage


of Customers 81.90% 9.90% 5.50% 1.90% 0.50% 0.30%


watching the expenses so the property can achieve the success you are expecting.


As the industry has grown over the last four decades, so has


the art and business of self-storage management. While many assume that the daily management of such facilities is simple and the business itself a simple concept, it is also an industry full of unique nuances. These unique nuances and how they are handled separate those facilities that are undermanaged and underperforming from those at the top of the industry that are well managed and highly profitable.


It’s understood industry-wide that today’s self-storage man-


agers must be skilled professionals; gone is the caretaker role of the past. This type of manager has gone the way of first-gener- ation facilities that served as a placeholder until the land could be used for some higher purpose. Fittingly, the job benefits en- joyed by self-storage managers have grown in correlation with their required talents and abilities.


Chart 6.13 – Volume of Move-Ins and Move-Outs (Per Store Average)


385 328


421


420 339 361


391 360


384 342


372 332


377 327


350 296 318 281


314 273


299 269


295 264


316 272


306 279


324 290


288 264


Number of Days


Average


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