Business

The Self-Storage Industry and the Fluctuation from Corona Virus

Published

1 year ago

December 26, 2022

In recent years, the self-storage industry in the United States has been largely dependent upon what insiders call the four D’s: death, divorce, displacement, and disaster. However, the Coronavirus pandemic, combined with reckless expansion and aggressive competition, resulted in what seems to be a few recession-proof elements of the commercial real estate industry.

The industry has been at its peak of expansion since the last downturn because of the lockdown and quarantine period when companies and people increased their need for storage space. Gradual increases in demand and price made rivals eager to bring innovation into the industry by expanding technology and customer-focused services. For example, The Storage Group, one of the companies that provide self-storage feasibility and reliable services, was founded by Brian Pelski and Larry Hanks in 2010. Steve Lucas currently holds the charge of the CEO and managing partner. The company remained focused on innovation and brought its idea and a progressive way for succession through ClickandStor® Online Rental Suite. It was the first company to welcome the latest technology to the industry and created the first fully-integrated, online move-in platform available to the self-storage industry. As a result, The Storage Group collaborated and integrated with several companies, including Self Storage Manager, Storage Commander, Doorswap, Web Self-Storage, SiteLink, and Storage.

ClickandStor provides the most cost-effective and easiest way for the end user to rent storage and manage their online storage account. It enables the user to browse several facilities listed on its directory website clickandstor.com allowing customer access, storage rentals, reservations, payments, and more. ClickandStor is also provided on individual storage websites to make the rental process simple to navigate online. Whether customers visit the facility website or come through the online directory, ClickandStor allows them to register, digitally sign in and make all required payments without human interaction.

ClickandStor is transforming the way of self-storage businesses and their applications. With its new features and technology, users only need a cell phone or a computer to access the entire unit from the storage website, gateway access code, and payment schedules.

Value-added features of ClickandStor include a 3D value pricing map, 3D calculator, multi-lingual marketplace, enhanced security features, and more. The online rental tool provides daily 24/7 updates of inventory, units, and pricing in real time for tenants regarding reservations and rentals through integrating with the self-storage property management software systems.

Pandemic and Rents

Rents went to their heights during the pandemic. However, according to a research site, Yardi Matrix, the rates began to fall in June for new customers before one-time discounts for a 10×10 unit excluded heat and air-conditioning. To be sure, around 4.3 percent declined nationwide on an annual basis. Moreover, a fall of about 6.7 percent for climate control units was seen. Interestingly, this was the case in the pandemic only. Whereas coronavirus cases are halted around the country, the leaders are putting fewer restrictions on schools and businesses. Thereby, the industry of self-storage industry is under progress revival.

The self-storage industry started in the 1960s when consumers led businesses in America to buy more stuff than they had the capacity for. Ever since then, the industry has been in progress and steadily growing.

The rates of climate control units and without touched their height nationwide in the previous years after the demand ballooned. Americans with available income bought more stuff and realized the need for more storage places to store them.

According to IBIS World research, the number of self-storage facilities boomed nationwide and grew to more than 60,000 in 2020 from 47,000 in 2008. At the same time, the revenue increased 2.6 percent annually to $38.6 billion in 2019 from 2014.

The industry also faced numerous challenges during the pandemic, like any other business similar to the ones meant to protect residential tenants. Especially in Los Angeles, where in June, an ordinance was passed that deferring rent or late fees for self-storage will expel and ban the tenants.

Self-storage suppliers struggled with problems similar to other industries, like keeping surfaces cleaner. This varied from state to state. However, the lockdown orders were essential to follow for every business.

Revenue took a halt when rents stagnated. By the end of May, the average rent for the self-storage companies was about the same as the previous year, according to Green Street Advisors. But this did not stop self-storage companies from developing or taking a break. With the immense need, the valuation is expected to grow to $115.62 billion in 2025. According to this prediction, the compound annual growth rate would be 134.79% over the forecast period of 2020-2025, increasing the need for supportive self-storage businesses like The Storage Group.

Business

Turning Tragedy into Triumph Through Walking With Anthony

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Rosario Farell

On the morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell took a moment to admire the churning surf before plunging into the waves off Miami Beach. Though he had made the dive numerous times before, that morning was destined to be different when he crashed into a hidden sandbar, sustaining bruises to his C5 and C6 vertebrae and breaking his neck.

“I was completely submerged and unable to rise to the surface,” Purcell recalls. “Fortunately, my cousin Bernie saw what was happening and came to my rescue. He saved my life, but things would never be the same after that dive.”

Like thousands of others who are confronted with a spinal cord injury (SCI), Purcell plunged headlong into long months of hopelessness and despair. Eventually, however, he learned to turn personal tragedy into triumph as he reached out to fellow SCI victims by launching Walking With Anthony.

Living with SCI: the first dark days

Initial rehabilitation for those with SCIs takes an average of three to six months, during which time they must relearn hundreds of fundamental skills and adjust to what feels like an entirely new body. Unfortunately, after 21 days, Purcell’s insurance stopped paying for this essential treatment, even though he had made only minimal improvement in such a short time.

“Insurance companies cover rehab costs for people with back injuries, but not for people with spinal cord injuries,” explains Purcell. “We were practically thrown to the curb. At that time, I was so immobile that I couldn’t even raise my arms to feed myself.”

Instead of giving up, Purcell’s mother chose to battle his SCI with long-term rehab. She enrolled Purcell in Project Walk, a rehabilitation facility located in Carlsbad, California, but one that came with an annual cost of over $100,000.

“My parents paid for rehabilitation treatment for over three years,” says Purcell. “Throughout that time, they taught me the importance of patience, compassion, and unconditional love.”

Yet despite his family’s support, Purcell still struggled. “Those were dark days when I couldn’t bring myself to accept the bleak prognosis ahead of me,” he says. “I faced life in a wheelchair and the never-ending struggle for healthcare access, coverage, and advocacy. I hit my share of low points, and there were times when I seriously contemplated giving up on life altogether.”

Purcell finds a new purpose in helping others with SCIs

After long months of depression and self-doubt, Purcell’s mother determined it was time for her son to find purpose beyond rehabilitation.

“My mom suggested I start Walking With Anthony to show people with spinal cord injuries that they were not alone,” Purcell remarks. “When I began to focus on other people besides myself, I realized that people all around the world with spinal cord injuries were suffering because of restrictions on coverage and healthcare access. The question that plagued me most was, ‘What about the people with spinal cord injuries who cannot afford the cost of rehabilitation?’ I had no idea how they were managing.”

Purcell and his mother knew they wanted to make a difference for other people with SCIs, starting with the creation of grants to help cover essentials like assistive technology and emergency finances. To date, they have helped over 100 SCI patients get back on their feet after suffering a similar life-altering accident.

Purcell demonstrates the power and necessity of rehab for people with SCIs

After targeted rehab, Purcell’s physical and mental health improved drastically. Today, he is able to care for himself, drive his own car, and has even returned to work.

“Thanks to my family’s financial and emotional support, I am making amazing physical improvement,” Purcell comments. “I mustered the strength to rebuild my life and even found the nerve to message Karen, a high school classmate I’d always had a thing for. We reconnected, our friendship evolved into love, and we tied the knot in 2017.”

After all that, Purcell found the drive to push toward one further personal triumph. He married but did not believe a family was in his future. Regardless of his remarkable progress, physicians told him biological children were not an option.

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Purcell continued to look for hope. Finally, Dr. Jesse Mills of UCLA Health’s Male Reproductive Medicine department assured Purcell and his wife that the right medical care and in vitro fertilization could make their dream of becoming parents a reality.

“Payton joined our family in the spring of 2023,” Purcell reports. “For so long, I believed my spinal cord injury had taken everything I cared about, but now I am grateful every day. I work to help other people with spinal cord injuries find the same joy and hope. We provide them with access to specialists, funding to pay for innovative treatments, and the desire to move forward with a focus on the future.”