Occupancy is often regarded as one of the most crucial metrics for self storage operators—but that’s a mistake. While we’d love for our facilities to be 100% full with the highest-paying customers in the area, this is rarely the case. In fact, higher self storage occupancy rates could be slowly killing your facility, making you less money and lowering your facility’s value by tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jonah Hall, President and CIO of Cedar Creek Capital, knows (arguably) more about self storage occupancy than anyone in the industry. He’s the reason why while occupancy rates were dropping over the past few months, our income was going UP. That’s right, fewer customers, fewer storage rentals, and more revenue. How is that even possible?
If you own a self storage facility or are planning on buying one, this is crucial information that could help you earn tens of thousands more every year. We’re talking about how to raise rents even when occupancy is low (and not lose customers), the biggest mistakes we made when taking over facilities, and the different types of “occupancy” plus which you should pay attention to most. We’ve tested these strategies across dozens of facilities, so you don’t have to.
What you’ll learn in today’s show:
- Why occupancy rates don’t matter nearly as much as you think they do
- How to increase your facility’s revenue even as occupancy rates are falling
- A self storage industry update from our own portfolio (are downward trends reversing?)
- How to “train” your customers to lower your facility’s costs
- The biggest mistake we made with rent raises at new facilities
- How to know which unit sizes will have the most demand in your area
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