Your PMS is the hub of your self storage business. How do you know which features matter most for your facility? We'll explore the different PMS systems, what they do best, and how operators are using them to run their facilities.

Featured Speakers: Steven Jeffers, Brian Ward, & Erika Weidman
Moderators: Melissa Huff & Tommy Nguyen

Category: Operations & Technology
Focus: Owners & Operators
Aired: March 24, 2022
Duration: 1:19:38

Overview

If you don't have time to watch the whole Session, here are some of our favorite parts:

• At 08:52, Steven, Brian, and Erika discuss the parts of their Property Management Software (PMS) that they love
• At 14:35, the panelists talk about which parts of their PMS they would change or improve
• At 21:17, the panelists each break down how their PMS assists in the online rental process
• At 31:27, Steven and Brian share how they implemented online rentals using their PMS, prior to the need for contactless trends in recent years
• At 36:17, our experts share how they handle tenants labeled "do not rent" when they rent online
• At 41:16, the panelists discuss how they handle access control through their PMS, including password management
• A 47:55, Erika shares how her PMS has integrated with her lock system
• At 51:27, the panelists break down how each of their PMS systems helps communicate with tenants
• At 57:43, the panelists talk about which reports they think are important and look at regularly
• At 01:03:34, Steven, Brian, and Melissa share their experiences of switching to different PMS systems
• At 01:12:21, our experts answer the Question of the Week!

Question of the Week

We asked our experts: What features does your property management software have that you couldn’t live without?

"It can seamlessly take the tenant through our entire rental process and send them automatically their email of all of their information, it can capture their ID, it can get everything done without us having to do anything. We will check in with them later, but people can roll up to our parking lot, scan our QR code, fill out all of the stuff, and move right in." - Erika Weidman

"When Sitelink came out with eSign, that was a game changer, not only for how many trees we don't have to cut down to running eSign through online leases. Being able to take a phone call and instead of saying, 'Well, I'll be in tomorrow' and you can potentially lose that sale, you can automatically capture that sale by sending it to them right now." - Brian Ward

"For Sitelink, it's the shortcut to merge accounts. For StoreEdge, the texting within the system because people check their texts a lot more than they check their emails. We get higher A/R conversions than sending out emails, instead we can just send texts right out from the system." - Steven Jeffers

Gabfocus Takeaway

Your property management software plays a key role in your self storage operation. While the options may seem overwhelming, it is important to keep your customers and managers in mind when choosing. Think about communication with tenants, reporting, and ease of use from a manager's perspective. No matter your choice, our experts agree, that the system can't do the work on its own. Your hand in managing the software will ensure the success of your business!

What are Gabfocus Sessions?

Gabfocus Sessions are virtual workshops for self storage owners, managers, and operators. Brought to you by the team behind Gabfest: StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Each session features hand-picked industry pros who will dive deep into relevant topics surrounding our industry, share best practices, and explore trends in the market. It's our hope that these sessions help you navigate your self storage business better during these uncertain times.

Want to learn more about self storage? Join us on select Thursdays for Gabfocus.