20 Sep 2024
Self-storage has become a major "food group" for investors, and for good reason. However, there's a significant gap in operations between mom-and-pop-run stores and institutional-level facilities. Absolute Management bridges that gap by providing turnkey operations and expert teams to handle the heavy lifting. Whether you're a small operator looking to scale or an investor seeking streamlined operations, they're there to help unlock your facility's potential.
Watch to hear James McLean speak with Grace Totty and Will Taylor from Absolute Management at the Fall SSA Show.
James: Hi everybody, this is James with Radius Plus. I'm with Absolute Storage Management. So, self-storage has become such a major food group for investors, capital markets, but there's such a gap in terms of operations between mom-and-pop run stores versus institutions. How does Absolute Storage Management help bridge that gap for owners and operators who just need a little bit of help taking it to the next level?
Grace: Yeah, I think what we're able to do for the investor side, the clients that are investment-backed and they're just looking to, you know, storage is this kind of shiny new asset to have. We bring that actual expertise of operations, of marketing. We do in-house, you know, HR functions as well as part of our third-party management suite. So, we really are that turnkey operator. And so, that client type can then move on into their next investment. And so, looking for expanding their portfolio, we give them the time so they can build out that portfolio. And then for the mom-and-pop operators or the smaller individual operators, they might be looking for an exit strategy. And so, they might be looking to get out of that day-to-day operations, whether they're looking to enjoy retirement or they're looking to, you know, generationally future-proof this investment, they turn to us for those solutions as well. Or they too are trying to capitalize and build and buy and expand their portfolio. And so, we really give clients time and they get to do with that what they want to.
Will: We also carry with us the major benefit of essentially being a co-op for those people because we make the investment on the front end for some of the bigger, more expensive softwares that you can't afford as a one operator, you know, property. We go in and then we share that investment with our properties spread out all over our entire portfolio. So, it's essentially like a, you know, a co-op mentality where you can jump in and we can give you the benefits of using some of the big hitters in the industry to make sure that you're showing up in Google and in other platforms as well as the REITs are and not get outranked by them because you can't afford to put up a big paid campaign and jump on one of these larger software tools.
James: Thank you. Will, you touched on something super important is that competition is heated up. You referenced the REITs and not a lot of your portfolio is located in the Sunbelt region of the United States where there's been tons of new supply coming in. So, how has that affected your day-to-day operations and how have smaller operators or people that you work with been able to stay competitive with this higher level of competition, new supply entering your areas?
Grace: Yeah, we actually heard it said really well on a panel this morning. It's just about doing operations well. It's about fine-tuning those foundations. And again, coming into the market, it's important to have a third-party management company with a track record of success because we can be nimble and we can respond really reactively. And so, Sunbelt market is growing, supply is, you know, there, but really the truth is demand for storage is down year over year according to Google search traffic and users actually looking for the product. And that's what's really hard to navigate through right now. And so, making sure that you're spending your dollars wisely from a marketing perspective to be found, competing well with the REITs because they have deeper pockets, but the fight is won within three to seven miles of your facility. So, you don't have to have a national campaign to actually still successfully operate your facility locally. And so, making sure that you're strategic with how you're spending your dollars, strategic on closing those leads into an actual rental, and then operations begins at that point as well. And so, making sure that, you know, your fee structure is appropriate and in line, your rental rates are appropriate and are in line, making sure that you're collecting when it actually, you know, it's not just getting the tenant, it's then managing that tenant and making sure that we're collecting as well.
James: Gosh, that makes perfect sense. It's doing the basic things, but doing them right and with attention to detail on behalf of your tenants and providing a better service to people renting and looking for self-storage. So, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much, you guys, doing the industry.
Grace: You’re so welcome. Thanks for the opportunity to share.
