A group of more than 60 family and friends gathered at a Public Storage facility in Bedford Park, Ill., on Aug. 3 to honor the memory of former self-storage manager Jennifer Boyd, who was stabbed to death in a unit 12 years ago. The gathering released more than 100 pink balloons printed with the words “Justice 4 Jeni” and a reward notice. Boyd’s murder remains unsolved.

“Twelve years ago today a light was extinguished, a light that will glow again when we have justice for Jen,” said Doug Rice, Boyd’s uncle, during the ceremony.

Boyd, 27, was found inside a storage unit with multiple stab wounds after a customer heard banging and cries for help and called authorities. She is believed to have been in the unit for up to two hours before firefighters broke in and found her dead.

Investigators believe the murderer may have posed as a customer. A sign was left on the manager’s window indicating Boyd intended to return at 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon she died. She had been property manager for several months and was the only employee working that day, according to the source.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned black male between the ages of 35 and 40, wearing wire-rimmed glasses. He would be approximately 47 to 52 years old today.

“Even though today is a celebration of Jeni’s life, it can’t go without being said that the monsters responsible for Jeni’s death freely walk the streets,” said Rebecca Hernandez, Boyd’s sister. “Their lives still go on as normal while ours have forever changed. After all these years, we still hold out hope that individuals are going to be caught and brought to justice. Jeni deserves this, and so do we.”

The slaying was the first murder registered in the village of Bedford Park. Last year, two investigators were assigned to work the case with a fresh perspective, and detective Andy Smuskiewicz said they are working on several leads.

Public Storage continues to offer a $25,000 reward for information that leads to capturing the killer.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the Bedford Park Police Department at 708.458.3388, at extension 313 or 314. Tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at www.villageofbedfordpark.com.

Self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) Extra Space Storage Inc. celebrated its 10-year anniversary on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Aug. 12. The REIT, which operates as EXR on the NYSE, debuted with an initial public offering of $12.50 per share. Recently, the company’s stock traded for more than $51 a share, according to a company blog.

Joining the NYSE helped Extra Space access new capital to expand through acquisitions, the blog stated. The company purchased eight properties during the second quarter of this year for approximately $91.2 million. The assets are in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Washington. Extra Space has five additional properties under contract for a total purchase price of approximately $41.4 million. The acquisition of these facilities is expected to be complete by the end of September.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space has grown considerably in 10 years in staff and the number of owned properties. It had 377 employees in 2004 and now has 2,641, a growth of more than 600 percent. In 2004, the REIT owned 136 facilities. It now has 1,071 properties encompassing 79 million square feet of rentable space in 35 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The company ranked second on the 2013 Inside Self-Storage Top-Operator List.

Extra Attic Mini Storage, a self-storage operator with four locations in Richmond, Va., is hosting a community event on Aug. 30 to celebrate the expansion of its Bethlehem Road facility. The community event, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will include refreshments and tours of the facility.

The property at 4825 Bethlehem Road was recently expanded by 10,600 square feet of storage space and 35 units, with some measuring more than 150 square feet. The facility now offers tractor-trailer access via two 8-by-10-foot electric roll-up doors on a loading dock. The expansion also includes an upgraded lighting system with energy-efficient daylight fixtures, a new heating unit, and two large ventilation fans to cool the space, according to a company press release. Customer entry is controlled by an electronic keypad that’s monitored by the onsite manager.

“We are extremely excited to expand our facility because we want to address the needs of the growing community in the area,” said Laurie Kriigel, facility manager. “Our large-sized units are always sold out, so we came up with a plan to accommodate more customers.”

Extra Attic Mini Storage has provided storage solutions in Henrico County for 34 years. The company is family-owned and -operated.

Storage Pros Management LLC (SPM), which owns and manages more than 50 self-storage facilities throughout six states, recently acquired Vanguard Self Storage in Old Hickory, Tenn., a suburb of Nashville. It will be rebranded as Storage Pros Old Hickory.

The property at 316 Martingale Drive encompasses 40,000 square feet of storage space and more than 135 covered parking stalls for boats, RVs and other oversized vehicles. It’s less than 15 miles northeast of Nashville, near the Cumberland River, according to the facility website. Business offerings include drive-up units, delivery acceptance, tenant insurance, electronic gate access, and moving and packing supplies.

SPM now owns and operates 14 self-storage facilities in the Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., markets. “We see significant opportunity by adding this facility to the Storage Pros family,” said David Levenfeld, president and CEO. “It had been operated as a standalone property and will now benefit from the revenue maximization, marketing and expense-control facets of the Storage Pros operating platform. We are especially pleased to grow our footprint in the growing Nashville [metropolitan statistical area].”

SPM owns 49 facilities and manages an additional seven in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Tennessee. The properties comprise more than 3.2 million square feet of storage space and more than 28,500 units and parking spaces.

A joint venture between publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) Strategic Storage Trust Inc., self-storage real estate developer Westport Properties, and a fund called USA Hawthorne LLC has sold a 510,000-square-foot building in Hawthorne, Calif., that was originally earmarked for storage, according to a press release. Purchased by an unnamed, publicly traded REIT for $46.7 million, the office and industrial facility is leased entirely to Space Exploration Technology Corp. (SpaceX), a space-launch services provider.

SpaceX moved into the building at 1 Rocket Road in 2007 and is under lease until 2023, with two additional five-year renewal options, according to Strategic Storage Trust officials.

"This property was part of the Northrup campus in Hawthorne, Calif., and was acquired for the purpose of redeveloping the building into an indoor RV- and boat-storage facility," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust. "However, when the opportunity arose to lease the entire facility to SpaceX for their corporate offices and the development of rockets, we quickly changed courses to everyone's benefit—the tenant, SpaceX and for our investors."

SpaceX has invested its own capital into the building, creating an open floor plan and a glass-walled mission-control center that monitors and directs launches and flight missions, among other improvements. The company is also planning a $40 million parking structure across the street from the facility, according to the release.

"With historically low vacancy rates in this Los Angeles submarket, combined with the aggressive cap rates [that] quality, single-tenant industrial buildings are trading at, we felt this was an ideal time to sell this unique asset," said Charles Byerly, president and CEO for Westport Properties. “Considering the sale was not without mixed emotions for our entire team, it was very exciting to indirectly be a part of SpaceX's historic journey."

The SpaceX building location is attractive due to its proximity to the Hawthorne Municipal Airport, freeways, Los Angeles International Airport, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Founded in 1985, Westport Properties is a full-service real estate company specializing in self-storage properties. An affiliate of US Storage Centers, the company owns and operates 85 storage facilities in 12 states. Its portfolio of owned and managed properties comprises approximately 5.5 million square feet in more than 50,000 storage units.

Strategic Storage Trust was launched in 2008 and operates a portfolio of 126 self-storage facilities in 17 states and Canada. Branded as SmartStop Self Storage, the properties comprise approximately 80,000 units and 10.5 million rentable square feet of storage space.

The Self Storage Association of Australasia (SSAA) honored storage operators and suppliers during its recent 25th annual industry awards. Fort Knox Self Storage in Vermont South, Victoria, Australia, was awarded Facility of the Year, and Capital Self Storage of Canberra, Australia, was recognized as Small Operator of the Year.

The Vermont South location is the newest facility for Fort Knox, which operates eight storage properties. The facility offers indoor storage, elevators, individual door alarms, “tamper-proof” locks, smoke and motion sensors, and other security features, according to the company website.

Headquartered in Australia’s capital city, Capital Self Storage has served customers for 25 years and operates four locations, according to its website. In addition to traditional residential and business storage, the company offers archival and boat/RV storage services.

U-Store-It Self Storage, which operates eight facilities in South Australia, received the Upgrade of the Year award for its location in Keswick. The facility on Everard Avenue offers a range of unit sizes and vehicle storage.

Self-storage software provider Centreforce Technology Group Pty. Ltd. was given the SSAA’s inaugural Service Member of the Year award for its customer service and product excellence, according to a company press release. Based in Strathpine, Queensland, Australia, Centreforce is the exclusive international representative for SMD Software Inc.'s SiteLink Web Edition. The company offers its RapidStor online-reservations system to users in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It also provides Access Ezy access-control and digital-alarm systems, builds websites for self-storage operators, and provides mobile-technology services.

“This award is for all of our staff and suppliers who all work together to deliver tools for self-storage sites to make more money,” said Dallas Dogger, managing director of Centreforce, adding that the company has been building the SiteLink brand in Australia and Southeast Asia for seven years. “We have experienced solid growth in new websites as well, with many self-storage sites taking advantage of locally developed RapidStor’s online move-in technology delivering thousands of high-value move-ins via the Web.”

Centreforce was also a finalist in the Innovation Award category, which was won by National Storage for its initial public offering. National Storage operates 69 self-storage facilities throughout Australia. The company formed in December 2000, following the merger of Stowaway Self Storage, National Mini Storage and Premier Self Storage, according to the company website.

The SSAA represents more than 1,100 self-storage facilities across Australia and New Zealand, representing about 92 percent of the region’s available storage space, according to its website.

By Michael Sawyer

After rebounding from a tough recession, self-storage operators have looked to expense management as a main driver of profitability. At the same time, finding ways to break the 90 percent occupancy barrier and broaden market share is a major industry challenge. As self-serve solutions have become increasingly effective, many operators have deployed automated tools to help generate revenue, cut operational costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Incremental rentals are not the only motivator driving storage owners to integrate technology into their businesses. Fierce competition and the reality of losing rentals to competitors make automation a strong strategy. Facilities that use it can have a significant sales advantage and can expand their market, as neighboring properties rarely offer similar solutions.

Operators can ill afford to take a wait-and-see approach in providing customers with technological conveniences. The days of traditional self-storage buying behavior are gone. Today’s shoppers are selective and more informed than ever, thanks to increased rental opportunities and the ease of online research. As a result, purchasing and transaction models are being shaped to accommodate a faster-moving and unconstrained consumer.

Here are five automation trends that will help self-storage operators optimize sales, save money and improve service in the year ahead.

Trend 1: The Convenience Craze

Increasing the ease of doing business with self-storage facilities became an industry-wide objective in 2013. As stress-free renting has become a hot button for new tenants, many operators have implemented tools to conduct real-time transactions away from the counter, creating a competitive sales advantage. While the management office remains core to the business, onsite kiosks, online unit rentals and remote call centers are generating supplemental rentals and sustainable return on investment.

The purchase-trends data gathered last year by my company via its self-storage kiosks, call center and other technology solutions revealed an extraordinary development in consumer buying habits. In an industry that typically serves the public in person between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., more than 50 percent of new self-storage tenants chose to instead rent through automated channels when the counter was closed.

This is an interesting observation that should provide incentive for operators to offer a variety of rental channels—office counter, phones and website—on a 24-hour basis. Convenience has become a new focal point as facility owners try to stay ahead of the competition and better position themselves for sales growth. As market competition grows, a multi-channel strategy to supplement a facility’s counter sales will be critical for long- and short-term success.

Trend 2: Web Integration

Many operators are making an effort to conduct more business online by promoting website coupons or designing reservation features that help generate leads and appointments. Others are using social media or self-storage directory websites to market special offers.

While these are positive steps to increase Web presence, without software integration that connects to your available inventory, none of the above strategies allow consumers to complete a rental while using a home computer, tablet or mobile device. Going forward, facilities without a functional website will find it increasingly difficult to engage and serve a broader customer base through Web and mobile channels.

Having a website storefront that is open 24/7 means attaining a reservation or appointment is no longer a facility’s ultimate goal. Providing customers with a real-time, online buying experience rather than a shopping encounter has proven to be a very effective way to capture new business. With increasing frequency, self-storage operators are offering customers the ability to reserve an actual unit online, charging applicable fees, collecting payments and executing rental agreements all from their websites.

Trend 3: Call-Center Sales

Remote call-center use is at an all-time high. Emerging trends include more innovative sales processes and enhanced software upgrades. The implementation of individualized sales strategies enabled our call center to achieve an all-time high in reservation conversion rates in 2013. Many of these new strategies were developed from collaborating with self-storage owners and managers.

Last year, storage facilities that used a call center identified remote integration as a key factor in generating unit rentals. The number of facilities using rollover, after-hours and all-call services as a means to capture sporadic mobile users is likely to grow this year.

Customers are no longer willing to wait patiently on hold while a manager is occupied with a walk-in. They’re also less likely to leave voicemail messages when the office is closed and wait for a manager to return their call. Remote call centers are the most effective way to establish a sales dialogue with customers, regardless of where or when the conversation begins. As one independent owner said regarding his facility’s call-center use: “Respect your caller’s time by never missing [his] call. You won’t regret it.”

Trend 4: Onsite Automation

Automated stations continue to grow in popularity because of their ability to serve customers on the property with around-the-clock rental and payment options. Developments in kiosk technology include bilingual touch-screen prompts and two-way video conferencing that provide customers with day and night access to a live self-storage specialist when they need assistance. Leveraging video to bring storage experts to remote locations is another step in the evolution of automation throughout the self-storage sector.

This trend has led a number of facilities to manage tenant access and commerce largely through their kiosks. Self-serve stations have allowed operators to strategically reduce office hours during weekdays or weekends and improve their net operating income.

Trend 5: Pay-by-Phone Solutions

We’re hearing positive feedback regarding phone-based tools that help customers complete simple or recurring tasks that would otherwise end up with the self-storage manager. A pay-by-phone solution uses interactive voice response to effectively route callers through a custom-designed call flow based on each caller’s needs. For example, instead of first connecting with the manager, callers can make a payment or balance inquiry through interactive prompts using the touch-tone keypad on their phone, tablet or mobile device.

This type of automation can be used to reduce collections by offering tenants a 24-hour option to pay their bill. Pay-by-phone solutions also help relieve workload, enabling managers to better focus on sales and face-to-face interactions on site.

As the adoption of technology grows exponentially among facility operators, we’re seeing corresponding growth in the consumption of self-storage by consumers who use a variety of self-serve and automated tools. There’s never been a better time to leverage technology and realize the significant potential for new sales, cost savings and increased customer satisfaction.

Michael Sawyer is the director of marketing for Phoenix-based OpenTech Alliance Inc., which develops self-service rental solutions for the self-storage industry. The company offers a full range of INSOMNIAC products and services including kiosks, call-center services, website-rental applications and automated unit-security systems. It also provides the Open Self-Storage Cloud, which hosts industry-specific software applications including online Web and mobile rentals, accredited call-center and lead-tracking software, and licensed phone/voicemail programs. For more information, call 602.749.9370; visit www.opentechalliance.com.

MJ Partners Real Estate Services has released a 28-page report highlighting key performance metrics from the second-quarter 2014 financial results issued by the four publicly traded U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc. The report offers a market overview, including implied cap rates and investment activity for all four REITs, as well as chart data and side-by-side comparisons on self-storage facility performance. It also contains information from analysts on macroeconomic trends impacting the U.S. storage industry as well as a performance overview of publicly owned self-storage companies in the United Kingdom.

All four REITs reported healthy numbers, with each reporting occupancy levels during the second quarter of at least 91 percent. Public Storage achieved the highest occupancy, 94.7 percent, during the quarter, while Sovran, which operates the Uncle Bob’s Self Storage brand, showed the largest year-over-year occupancy gain, improving from 88.3 percent to 91 percent.

Sovran also tallied the largest year-over-year revenue gain for the second quarter, with an increase of 8.6 percent. Same-store net operating income was also up for all four REITs during the quarter, with Sovran having the largest gain at 10 percent, just ahead of Extra Space (9.9 percent) and CubeSmart (9.7 percent).

Public Storage garnered the largest rent per square foot from same-store locations at $14.52, followed by Extra Space ($14.41), CubeSmart ($13.76) and Sovran ($11.36).

The PDF report can be downloaded for free from the MJ Partners website. Inside Self-Storage also published a summary of second-quarter financial results for all four REITs.

Headquartered in Chicago, MJ Partners is a full-service real estate brokerage and investment banking company specializing in commercial real estate, mortgage banking and consulting services. The company's clients include major financial institutions, private equity funds, REITs, opportunity funds, insurance companies, pension-fund advisors, corporations, private developers and entrepreneurial businesses.

Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc. (SSGT), a private real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, redevelopment and lease-up of self-storage properties, has acquired a storage facility in Las Vegas and another in Fort Pierce, Fla., for $13.3 million. SSGT is a related entity to Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered, non-traded REIT that operates under the SmartStop Self Storage brand. This is the first acquisition completed by SSGT, and both assets will be rebranded as SmartStop locations, company officials said in a press release.

“Our goal for Strategic Storage Growth Trust is to capitalize on the next wave of development and lease-up properties that will become available over the next five years,” said SSGT Chairman and CEO H. Michael Schwartz, who holds the same positions with Strategic Storage Trust. “We acquired the Las Vegas and Fort Pierce facilities due to the properties’ low occupancies as compared to properties we currently own and manage in the same trade areas, which have higher occupancy levels.”

The two self-storage facilities comprise 260,000 net rentable square feet in approximately 2,000 units. Built in 1999, the Las Vegas property has 1,210 units in 14 buildings as well as a retail office and manager’s apartment. Purchased for $9.45 million, the facility is at the corner of East Russell Road and South Nellis Boulevard, adjacent to Interstate 515. It’s about two miles southeast of another SmartStop location and has 68 percent occupancy, according to the release.

The Fort Pierce property was built in 2008 and comprises 88,400 net rentable square feet in about 770 units. The three-story building features a retail office, climate control and ground-level, drive-up units. Purchased for approximately $3.85 million, the facility at 3252 N. U.S. Highway 1 is near St. Lucie Boulevard. It’s about 18 miles north of another SmartStop location and has 42 percent occupancy, officials said.

“These sites are perfect examples of the latest generation of self-storage buildings, especially the Fort Pierce site,” said Wayne Johnson, senior vice president of acquisitions for SSGT. “This site represents a great opportunity to purchase bank-owned real estate that has been through a management transition over the past two years. By incorporating these sites into the SmartStop management and advertising platform, we expect to grow occupancy to stabilized levels.”

All properties acquired by SSGT will be branded under the SmartStop operating name, officials said.

Launched in 2008, Strategic Storage Trust operates a portfolio of 126 self-storage facilities in 17 states and Canada. Branded as SmartStop, the properties comprise approximately 80,000 units and 10.5 million rentable square feet of storage space.