Lessons Learned in 2025 | Self Storage Virtual Workshop

Gabfocus Episode 79 | Lessons Learned in 2025

This self storage trends session is one of our favorite episodes every year - it’s fun, fast, and a great way to wrap up the year. If you like talking about self storage with like-minded industry pros, this is the one to watch! We invited some of our favorite self storage experts to share what they learned in 2025, what they’re looking forward to in 2026, and what self storage trends matter most to YOUR business!

Featured Speakers: Jane Sauls, Heather McCombs, & Shannon Charbonneau
Moderators: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Category: Trends
Focus: Owners, Operators, & Managers
Aired: December 18, 2025
Duration: 1:09:30

Overview

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

00:00 - Introduction
7:20 - How would you rate the current health of the self storage industry?
12:00 - What self storage customer trends have you noticed in 2025?
16:00 - What trends are you seeing in the reasons people need self storage?
21:12 - What industry surprises did you notice in 2025?
23:40 - Is a unit more likely to go to auction if someone has lost their job?
26:30 - Did you have to make adjustments to your operations this past year?
29:00 - What self storage challenges do you expect in 2026?
33:20 - How do you expect occupancy trends to change in 2026?
41:20 - What do you think will be the big self storage technology topic in 2026?
45:40 - What should operators focus on when preparing for 2026?
55:20 - What’s one piece of advice you’d give any owner or operator for 2026?
1:01:10 - What’s the best part about the self storage industry?

Gabfocus Takeaway

We've seen a lot of change in the last year, and that change will likely continue into 2026. Change can be both positive and negative, but a lot of it is your perspective on the change and how you adapt to it. In 2026, revisit your operations, strengthen your foundations, and focus on providing the best customer service to your tenants. 2026 will not be the year to put your head in the sand and let your business run itself.

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 Lighthouse Storage Solutions.

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.

Questions Answered in this Session

How would you rate the current health of the self storage industry?
What self storage customer trends have you noticed in 2025?
What trends are you seeing in the reasons people need self storage?
What industry surprises did you notice in 2025?
Is a unit more likely to go to auction if someone has lost their job?
Did you have to make adjustments to your operations this past year?
What self storage challenges do you expect in 2026?
How do you expect occupancy trends to change in 2026?
What do you think will be the big self storage technology topic in 2026?
What should operators focus on when preparing for 2026?
What's one piece of advice you'd give any owner or operator for 2026?
What's the best part about the self storage industry?

Jane Sauls

Sauls Commercial Real Estate

Website: https://www.saulscre.com/
Email: jane@saulsstoragegroup.com

Heather McCombs

Heather McCombs

Spacebox Storage

Website: https://www.spaceboxstorage.com/
Email: heathermccombs@spaceboxmanagement.com

Shannon Charbonneau

Shannon Charbonneau

XPS Solutions

Website: https://www.xpsusa.com/
Email: scharbonneau@xpsusa.com

Resources from this session

Awesome Quotes

“Once your operation is in place, you can become more dynamic with your pricing, but that requires data. You need some method of being able to record the data that you need to know whether your price is in the right place - whether you need to move it up or start giving some concessions.” - Warren Lieberman

“I never want to downplay to what someone else is doing. I'm better than they are, then I'm going to be worth a higher price. That's what value is. If you go out to a restaurant and get really good service, would you go back? Yes! What if it was pricier? You'd still go back because you got better service and a better product.” - Jim Mooney

"It's good to be informed on your competition. I don't want to ignore them, but I don't want to respond too strongly to them either." - Warren Lieberman

"We did a survey of 10,000 facilities on their pricing. We found out that two-thirds of those operators didn't change the price of a single unit of the course of a month." - Warren Lieberman

“Rate increases and value pricing are the number one ways to grow your revenue.” - Jim Mooney

"Tenants in more convenient units tend to be less price sensitive." - Warren Lieberman

"The size of the unit is only one aspect of what people are willing to pay for." - Warren Lieberman

Highlights

Foundational marketing strategies to have in place - whether leasing up or stabilized:

Website
Set up listings (Yelp, Google My Business, Apple Maps)
Social Media
Establish Local Partnerships

Lease up marketing strategies:

Lead Generating Strategies (like digital ads)
Aggregators (Sparefoot, Storagefront, etc.)
Awareness Campaigns (like billboards, flyers, and sponsorships)

Your average customer value
Find the average stay length of all tenants. Next take your economic occupancy and divide by how many units you have. That will tell you what the average customer pays.

Multiply the average length of stay by what the average customer pays, and that's the average value of a customer.

For example, if a customer stays for 12 months and pays $100 per month, then their value is $1,200.

Your average lead value

Figure out your closing rate (or conversion rate) i.e. how many leads do you turn into tenants? Multiply that by your average customer lifetime value to figure out what your leads are worth.

Pro Tip: see which lead sources are converting the best. It may be that certain sources have a higher conversion rate, so those leads are worth more to you than a source that barely converts.

Typical Lease-up timeline

According to our panelists, it's typical to see a 3-4% increase each month, putting your facility at 36% after the first year, and 72% after the second.

Alternately, you can look at your lease up goals through the lens of your units, aiming for 20 units rented per month.

For Nick and StorageMax, they pro forma their economic occupancy at 85% with their sweet spot at 92%.