First of all - this facility was designed and constructed almost 25 years ago - at that time it was popular to put smaller units on an inside hallway protecting them from the dust that flies in this high desert area.

Now they are a thorn in our side!!

At present I have (as of today) 22 5x5, 33 5x10, and 33 10x10 - all on a inside hallway! All but three of my outside units are full (and they just came available this week!!)

The owner insists that they are good because of the price per sq/ft, but what good is that it they are EMPTY!!!!

We have tried everything to rent them - 1/2 off, 2 for 1 -- what ever we can think of.

The real problem is they are located on an inside hallway - most people (especially guys) want an outside drive up for easy access! They don't really care about the dust and dirt.

Any suggestions out there for moving these?

Thanks.

I know what you mean....I hate lockers!!! When we ran a U-Haul storage facility,we had what seemed like a million 3 x 3 x 3, and 3 x 4 x 3 lockers....and they were never more then 50% occupied. I mean who would bother renting a 3 x 3 x 3 locker? It was only $9.95 a month...but unless you were hiding paperwork or something from those you live with....I never saw the use for them.

We have inside non-climate hallway units here. Our price structure is such that the climate controlled units are the highest, then then drive-ups, then the inside non-climate. We actually have an easy time renting the inside non-climate. When we notice we have a potential customer that is particularly cost-conscious...we quote them the climate control price first, then the drive up, then by the time we get down to the inside non-climate price, they think they are getting a real deal. Having carts throughout the property helps a lot too.

Though 5 x 5's of any type don't seem to be in big demand...it's another case of the fact that most people can find someplace in their house or apartment to put that small an amount of stuff, under a bed or on top of a closet. We have had luck renting those to the Homeowner's associations to put their holiday decorations and community garage sale signs and other assorted paraphanalia that no individual homeowner wants to keep in their garage.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks Lisa -- these things are all 9' tall, but it is still an over sized closet!

Every chance I get I tear down a wall and try to combine an inside unit with a smaller outside unit. I have already created 4 10x30's and a few 10x25's, but you can only do so much depending upon your layout!

I may try some inside 5x20's or 5x15's to see if they sell.

Anyone else got an idea this fine Saturday morning?

Wayne..any university/college or schools close to were you are?

They would love to occupy small cheap units and they also may want to have some brochures from you for students.

We have alot of 5x5's but I get them always rented thru my contacts with schools.

I wish!!

But thanks anyway.

Autodoc,

Try putting some shelfs in the smaller units and go after the local doctors' offices for off-site records storage. An "over-sized closet" may be just what they need to make more room in their own offices for current records. There may also be an opportunity to sell them the records boxes.

Thanks Steve

Got about 10 of those already! Worked that angle, looking for more!

To give you a better idea of what I am up against -

- I have a total of 158 of the 5x10 -- just can't seem to get rid of the last 32!!
- I have a total of 70 5x5 -- also can't seem to get rid of the last 22.

they are all on inside hallways -- we provide carts and dollies to help moving, but most everyone wants something on the outside drive for convenience.


this is very frustrating!!

Hello!
You said that your drive-up units are all rented. I would switch it around and raise the price on the drive-up ones just a tad to make the hallway ones seem more appealing.
Our other property has the same issue but they are two story! Hallways and 2nd level
We did some unit conversions for some bigger sizes because that is what was in demand. Also we did the local college campus flyer handout thing as well. Seems to be doing good now. And lowered the rates on the inside ones.

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Thanks for the input 4A -- problem is that all the outside are the larger units - no small units on the outside! If that were the case I would jack the heck out of the outside and sell all the inside, but no such luck!

I am gonna start playing "Let's Make A Deal" -

Maybe once we get our RV parking project completed (probably sometime next year) we can start renting them to RV tenants.

Autodoc, the way to tell a boy from a girl, is that the boys like outside units and the girls like the inside (they are usually cheaper, cooler, cleaner).

So for your guy customer, perhaps converting some of those large units to smaller units would do the trick. Square footage wise you will make more money since you can get more per square foot for the smaller units.

Of course, "Let's make a deal" works until you can do the conversion.