And that’s a wrap!
The SSAA Convention was held from 9 – 11 November at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort on the glorious Gold Coast. The event drew more than 300 self storage enthusiasts from around the globe who engaged, networked and celebrated with each other across three big days.
In keeping with our abnormal world, this year’s theme was ‘Unlocking the next normal’, with thought leaders, industry experts and delegates all looking ahead to what’s in store for the future of self storage.
As we move towards the close of 2022, it was also an opportunity to reflect on the growth we’ve seen in our thirty(ish) years as an Association and as an industry. It was great to see so many peers share their wisdom – from design and construction to technology and automation, marketing and more – we all left excited about what’s next in self storage.
Thanks must go to our event sponsors and major partners for supporting the industry and the SSAA, and to all who supported the planning of our return to in-person events.
Here are just some of our highlights from GC22:
Day One
What better way for attendees to kick off the first day of the Convention than with our Trans Tasman Golf Tournament? Thanks to VISY Boxes & More for the day on the green at Links Hope Island.
The rest of us jetted off to explore some of Southport’s biggest self storage facilities. Thanks for hosting us, Kennards Self Storage and National Storage!
The afternoon was a chance for those new to the storage game (and there were many of them!) to hear from experts in their field. It was great to see a full house for our ‘Getting Started in Self Storage’ session presented by RegisBuilt. Each speaker had 15 minutes to impart their knowledge and expertise on everything from feasibility to construction, management and marketing.
Some of the key takeaways were:
Understand your demographic
While the past two years have seen incredible growth for self storage, performance is expected to normalise in a return to stabilised growth. This means there are more opportunities to be realised –but having an understanding around your local market, demographics and what to expect on day one before you turn soil is critical.
“Understanding that self storage is a long-term play is critical in recognising where opportunities present themselves in the market,” said Patrick Mulcahy from Cushman & Wakefield.
Design smarter to avoid making your life harder
From a construction point of view, more operators are looking to make self storage work on smaller blocks of land, and they’re having to get creative to maximise net lettable space and minimise build costs.
Anthony Regis from RegisBuilt said people are trying to maximise vertical space in particular, as a result of land costs going up.
“Twenty years ago we only built single level facilities,” he said. “Ten years ago it was two levels. These days, three levels are becoming more common.”
When designing new facilities, it’s a good idea to build off the boundary to reduce your build costs and give customers more choice of unit size.
As Mark Layton from Storco said, “Half the space earns you two thirds the money.”
Strong visual branding is also key, with good lighting essential to making people feel safe.
“The customer wants more of a retail feel. A lot of bigger facilities have music playing and are very well lit. Back in the 80’s, storage facilities were dark places that people didn’t feel safe. Light, bright, and airy is what people want today.” – Mark Layton, Storco
Build your facility like a fortress
There has been an increase in criminal activity recently, with the most common culprits being existing “customers” breaking into neighbouring units.
Jason Keane from Storage Security Group said the greater investment you can make into CCTV, individual unit alarms, access control and data – the better.
“If you can build your storage facility like a fortress, then do so,” he urged. The intention is to make it too hard to break into your facility.”
Ben Parsad from Janus Australia agreed, and said facility automation can help to ensure you are well aware of what’s happening in your facility.
“In the past, software stayed on the computer – if you don’t open it, you don’t see it,” he said. “Now with technology in your pocket, if anything happens [within your individual unit] you’ll know straight away.”
We ended the first day with a spectacular Welcome on the Water, where delegates boarded the sensational Yot Club vessel and cruised around the Broadwater sunset. It was the perfect way to celebrate being back together and officially get the self storage event of the year underway!
Day Two
It was an early rise for some delegates, who chose to start their day in the sunshine with some morning mindfulness on Mirage Beach thanks to Lock Distributors.
For the rest (read: most) of us, it was breakfast then off to the main ballroom to hear from our first keynote speaker, leading economics commentator Michael Pascoe, who provided a brilliant overview of the state of the economy. Michael spoke of the opportunities that lie in challenging times and encouraged us to find better ways of doing things.
“When there’s a challenge, it forces us to be smarter – to invest in automation, people and training,” he said. “The other opportunity lies in being an employer of choice and keeping valuable people engaged.”
While the world is largely in an uncertain state, Michael remains optimistic about Australia, stating there is “no better place to be right now.”
Launching: State of the Industry 2022
Linda Sharkey of Cushman & Wakefield and our CEO, Makala Ffrench Castelli, launched SSAA’s comprehensive industry report, State of the Industry 2022. Makala provided an overview of the report findings, which saw 2022 delivering another year of record performance right across the self storage industry.
But consumer expectations and the way people use self storage is changing, which highlights the importance of the customer experience.
“There is untapped demand in both Australia and New Zealand. More than two million Australians have needed storage in recent times but didn’t use self storage; promoting the benefits of storage will be critical to unlocking this demand.”
– Makala Ffrench Castelli, SSAA CEO
Linda Sharkey provided a thorough overview of the demand drivers and market performance, predicting a return to more sustainable growth – which, she reminded us, “is still quite healthy and strong.”
Belinda Aanensen from Fiftyfive5 also unpacked the top consumer trends and insights from the State of the Industry report, encouraging owners to consider how to leverage use cases.
“There are a lot of reasons to use storage, and the better we can demonstrate that to customers, the greater their understanding of storage will become,” she said. “We need to help people appreciate the value of storage.”
Keep an eye out for the full report findings in your inbox.
Panels aplenty
Expert panellists shared their insights on a range of topics, from tips when operating at capacity to how new entrants are thinking about investments in self storage. Steve Taylor of Total Construction shared learnings from his 30 years of experience in design and construction of self storage, starting with his time with Neville Kennard and remarking on the changes across the industry, the importance of an experienced team and the bright future ahead.
For a full review of the panel discussions, view the recordings here.
The future is automated
In a panel discussion, we discussed what’s driving the trend towards automation from an owner’s perspective. Thomas Whalan from Rent A Space Self Storage said it’s all about return on investment.
“We’re trying to get more customers, drive more occupancy and drive the rates. If you focus on these things in automation, you’ll drive that return on investment.” – Thomas Whalan, Rent A Space
Haydn Salvas from Storman agreed, and said the intent around automation from a technology perspective is driving that benefit across three areas: “Customers, stakeholder and people. The challenge is not losing sight of what the original intent was.”
Will DeBord from Janus International provided an American perspective, and said trying to do more with less is key.
“We’re seeing increasingly more after-hours rentals with over 50 percent of move-ins being online and contactless bookings,” he said. “We’ll start to see more IT products with more integrated solutions.”
When it comes to integrating the customer journey, Michael Dogger from R6 Digital sees potential in automating every single touch point but said a missing piece has been automated ID solutions which, following recent cyber incidents, is becoming integral.
Michael went on to speak about moving to a model that enables customers to interact with us however they want to – “whether it’s a high touch in-person model, a fully autonomous self service model, or something in between.”
“The unmanned future is certainly here, but the question is – is going unmanned the right thing for you? Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. The tech itself is not the reason. If you can’t make a clear case for how it is benefiting your customer, you shouldn’t do it.” – Michael Dogger, R6 Digital
We ended the second day of the Convention with a Women in Storage High Tea at the Palazzo Versace, followed by the much anticipated Trade Show In Between The Flags, where delegates browsed the booths and discovered the latest in all things self storage – all with a drink in hand.
Day Three
The third and final day of the Convention began with an update from SSAA CEO Makala Ffrench Castelli on the SSAA’s efforts in the face of ongoing insurance challenges.
“We expect the regulatory environment and insurance markets to remain challenging but will continue advocating on your behalf” said Makala.
Our next keynote speaker was urban futurist Lucinda Hartley, who got us thinking about how shifts in lifestyle impact the location, effectiveness and demand for self storage.
“The most significant changes to our lives throughout the pandemic were lifestyle behaviours, and not physical environment or demographics,” she said. “The challenge is using this data to forecast the future of property and places.
“People want a local lifestyle experience within 15 minutes of their house. People don’t want to commute. This has had a huge impact on self storage and how that density changes demand,” she said.
Americans love stuff
Next we heard from Terry Bagley of Janus International, who shared the latest insights and trends from across the USA. With higher disposable incomes and more reasons than ever to use self storage, the industry has boomed – but the next normal might see a decline in occupancy rates and more tenant churn.
Terry expressed the importance of automation in self storage to enhance the customer experience.
“In a survey of 25,000 active tenants, 87 per cent of respondents said they would rather use a cell phone app than a traditional padlock. Their number one priority was that they didn’t want the hassle of remembering a key or gate code.” – Terry Bagley, Janus International
Addressing social challenges
Next up, Jo Mason from Work Haven addressed one of the most challenging topics for workplaces – domestic and family violence at work, and the role self storage employers can take in both supporting their staff through DFV situations and supporting customers experiencing DFV within the self storage environment.
“A workplace that can address this can address anything,” Jo said. “Not only can the workplace provide a lifeline by taking an active approach and supporting people, there will also be less of an impact with regards to productivity – so it’s a win-win for both employee and employer.”
For more information on how to offer support in DFV situations, head to the SSAA Member Portal for policy templates and factsheets.
The next normal in storage
We were then joined by local and global panellists who explored self storage trends and insights from around the world.
Hans Pearson from StoreLocal said the concept of last mile logistics is one to watch.
“The evolution, I think, will be, ‘What role does storage play in the logistics chain, and is self storage part of logistics in some respects?’ I think it’s already there – it’s just whether the investment market can accept it.”
From a European perspective, Colin Jeromson from Janus International said the next normal is already with us.
“I’ve seen more changes in the last two years than in the last 15,” he said. “Storage is a proven industry with a proven product – but it will look very different in 10 years time. It will be multi-use.”
Chris Oosthuizen from Store-Age REIT and Digital First says there has been a fundamental shift in the way we communicate with clients. “Consumers want to speak to us on the platform of their choice. A very easy win is just communicating the way your clients wants to communicate. It’s not expensive or complicated – you just need to apply it.”
Reflections on 30 years of self storage
After lunch, we turned to an esteemed panel of industry pioneers to take a closer look at the changes over thirty years in self storage.
Liz Davies from Self Storage Australia was one of those who reflected on the Association’s humble beginnings.
“The idea that we were going to have an association that’s going to help all the members – including our future competitors – was a lightbulb moment,” she said. “To turn around and form a collaborative organisation was an absolute stroke of genius.”
David Blackwell agreed and said the story has been one of growth and maturity.
“We’ve gone from an industry that was made up of relatively small-scale entrepreneurs with a vision to a position where we now find mature institutions and great assets,” he said. “There was a lot of effort, and a hard grind. It’s been an interesting story over 30 years.”
The SSAA has prepared a range of 30th Anniversary commemorative stories, including a special documentary produced by life member Dallas Dogger. Visit the website to learn more.
We’re in the business of moments
Our final keynote speaker was behavioural scientist Darren Hill, who encouraged us to find success on the brink of uncertainty.
As many self storage operators are aware, there’s usually a pivotal moment in people’s lives that leads them to use storage – from death to divorce to disaster and displacement (aka “the four D’s”).
Darren posed the provocative question: “Is self storage really the business we’re in?”
“We’re in the business of moments. This industry flourishes and does best off life’s biggest moments. Whether they’re happy or tragic, this industry provides the backbone of life.” – Darren Hill, Behavioural Scientist
Darren’s moving spoken word piece is available on the SSAA Member Portal.
Let’s celebrate!
With the conclusion of the formalities, there was only one thing left to do – celebrate those leading the way in self storage with our 30th Anniversary poolside cocktail celebrations presented by R6 Digital and our glitzy SSAA Awards for Excellence presented by VISY Boxes and More. Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners who were recognised as stand out performers in our industry. You can read more about the Awards here.
From all of us at SSAA, thank you for joining us at Convention 22. See you all in 2023!
