There is no doubt in my mind that those of us lucky enough to work in Self Storage have landed in the best industry out there. I started my journey into Self Storage over 4 years ago joining Radius+. This past ISS World Expo was undoubtedly the best trade show I have ever been to.
Attendance: We had massive amounts of foot traffic from both industry veterans interested in expanding their existing portfolio, as well as newcomers to the industry looking to develop land they own or invest in an existing facility to optimize.
Sentiment: People are bullish in the fundamentals of Self Storage, and are more so just being held back by high construction costs and challenges to get capital with low enough rates to make a deal pencil. Developers who are able to break ground and get deals over the goal line in this market, will have to compete with less supply coming online.
Innovation: With challenges to development, there has been a huge push in the industry to focus on bettering operations systems. Marketing, website design, SEO, and call centers were bustling with foot traffic, as attendees focused on fine tuning and optimizing their existing locations. I am excited to see what processes can get streamlined to help make for a better renting experience, but also help alleviate the workload of facility managers operating a location.
It is the people in the Self Storage business who make it so great. Their optimism and innovation in the face of a challenging market makes me excited for the future of the industry.
