Impressions: Hot Trends in Self-Storage for 2021

RV and boat purchases are up, creating new opportunities for self-storage tenants and self-storage operators offering enhanced protection on renters’ valuable assets. Jacquelyn Nash, Sr. Account Executive with On the Move, broke down these and other industry trends for Daniel Litwin.

“With the big boom in purchases of RVs, tenants are having a challenge trying to find where to put their big-ticket items,” Nash said. “There’s a lot of regulations through homeowners’ associations that don’t allow people to have these items on the street or in their driveway. Anything like that they are against. So, there’s a big opportunity for self-storage operators that have a little bit of room for expansion or already have a parking lot, or maybe a small RV and boat section to expand.”

The need for RV storage grew over the past eighteen months, according to Nash. With the pandemic causing a halt to travel across the United States, owners need places to store their RVs and boats. Before the pandemic, Nash said this type of storage was more of a niche market. And this increase in demand is also increasing the need for protection for these vehicles.

On the Move recently introduced a new program called Secure Outdoor. This deductible reimbursement program assists On the Move customers who offer their tenants boat and RV storage. It’s a way for operators to offer protection as an alternative to insurance or as an insurance supplement.

Another trend Nash pointed to is the growing need and acceptance of tenant protection programs. These programs are a must-have for self-storage operators, according to Nash. While no one likes to think of damage or theft at a facility, Nash said incidents such as theft or weather damage are facts of life. “I like to look at the positive and the negative and look at something that could be a potential customer-service tool,” Nash said. When implemented correctly, a protection program can take care of the problem for a client should something go wrong instead of simply providing a tenant with a phone number to call if there’s an issue.