What Three Storage Operators Say You Need to Start Doing Today

We closed our Q3 State of Self Storage webinar with one question for the panel: after everything in the report, what should an operator actually do on Monday? Between them, Adam Burnam of StorageMart, Tim Springer of Avid Storage and Melissa Stiles of Storage Asset Management run close to 1,000 locations, and none of their answers required a new budget line or a six-month project. Each one works at a different level of the business, from your numbers to your storefront to your fees, which is why they're worth doing together.

1. Grade every store against the top quartile

Tim's answer was to download the report and go straight to the page with the nine benchmarks that separate the top 25% of stores on the Cubby platform, then find your own number for each one. Top-quartile stores run more than 5 move-ins per 100 units, delinquency of 1.4% or better, about three quarters of tenants on autopay and close to 9 in 10 with a protection plan.

The useful part is that all nine are snapshots. You don't need a same-store pool or a year-over-year comparison to fill them in, so you can pull them with the tools you already have or hand the report and your data to an AI tool. Tim did exactly that the day the report came out, loading it into Avid's data warehouse to see how they stacked up, partly so he'd have good numbers to talk about. Then color the results. "Say green is good, red is bad," says Springer. "Anything that's red, that helps triage your time."

2. Rent from yourself

Melissa's advice was the least technical on the panel, and probably the hardest to do honestly. Put yourself in a customer's shoes and ask whether you'd rent from your own store. Is the facility clean and secure? Would the online experience make you want to book? Do your reviews describe a place you'd leave your own belongings?

She added a question most operators haven't started asking yet: "Would your AI agent want to rent from you as well," says Stiles, and can it rent from you to begin with? As more renters hand the search to an assistant, a store that an agent can't find, compare or book loses the lead before anyone picks up the phone.

If you can't see your store objectively anymore, borrow someone who can. Have a friend who doesn't know anything about storage go through the rental, start to finish, "and you'll get some really good, unfiltered advice," says Stiles.

3. Turn on surcharging, then go back up the P&L

Adam's answer was the most practical: if you aren't passing credit card fees through to tenants yet, start. The IRS does it, your utility company does it, and probably your lawn care guy does too. At StorageMart it hasn't moved churn, and Adam calls it "kind of an overnight success." The one condition he set is offering a convenient free alternative such as ACH. Surcharging rules also vary by state and card network, so check what applies before you switch it on. (Cubby supports surcharging for operators who choose to use it).

He was just as clear about where it ranks. "That's a dessert, that's not the main course," says Burnam. His rule for prioritizing your time is to go up the P&L and up the funnel, so street rates, ECRIs and protection plan attachment come before fees and new tech.

Start with the report card

The three answers fit together. Tim's benchmarks tell you which stores need attention, Melissa's walk-through tells you what a renter sees when they get there, and Adam's advice is a reminder to spend the most time on the lines that move NOI the most.

Missed the Q3 report? Download it for free today!