Self-Storage Intelligence for the Smarter Operator

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the wrong hands can lead to the destruction of all mankind. Ok, that’s a bit over the top, but you must admit, it makes for great movies. Even so, that technology is here and becoming readily available. You may pride yourself for being on top of the technology curve, or being a smarter operator, but how can you put this Artificial Intelligence in place and actually use it to make a difference?

By now I’m sure you’ve heard the term or buzzword Big Data. Big Data essentially refers to large amounts of data collected and analyzed daily. Artificial Intelligence, however, actually does something with big data based on your specific needs. Imagine hiring someone to manage your data, analyze the trends, send out warning alerts, and essentially manage the entire process for you. The cost to do this may not be feasible for most small to average sized self-storage companies. Now imagine having a program with AI that does all of this for you, virtually and with little to no human intervention. This now becomes increasingly more feasible. But what does that mean to you as a self-storage operator?

Reduce Errors

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. A common, big issue we must acknowledge affects us all is that of human error. For example, District /Area Managers or Supervisors often have multiple locations to oversee and many responsibilities to manage on a daily basis. This busy and complex schedule can allow issues or concerns to be temporarily overlooked or even completely fall through the cracks. It is possible to use AI to reduce errors and streamline their workload.

Increase Revenue

Revenue Management is an extremely hot topic right in the Self-Storage Industry, and for good reason. Everyone wants to maximize the money coming in (and reduce what is going out), but staying on top of it all can get a little tricky. This is an area where Artificial Intelligence can really shine, use it as a virtual revenue manager.

Let’s say you have a store that was discounting units aggressively over the past two years to fill up occupancy, and you are now actively raising rates on existing tenants, but your manager has permission to override the increases and may be doing so too leniently. Certainly, this should be caught during an audit, but what if it was missed? Remember, with many locations and many other duties, missing a business metric is quite possible. Using Artificial Intelligence, the virtual revenue manager would be monitoring for these types of red flags, and if detected, send immediate alerts to those necessary making them aware of the situation to act accordingly. Gathering Big Data is simply the collection of information, storing it for you to access and analyze. Artificial Intelligence manages, analyzes, and alerts. Which would you prefer?

There are many options out there today for using Big Data and using Artificial Intelligence. Do you want to collect and store the data, or do you want the data to work for you (or both)?

Article Contributions by: Scott Styer - Director of Marketing and Technology at The Nicholson Companies

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