{"id":2212,"date":"2020-05-15T01:42:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T08:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2020-05-15T01:42:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T08:42:58","slug":"how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The self storage industry is in a better spot than other sectors such as brick and mortar retail or tourism, which have been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

As college students were forced to pack up their stuff and leave campuses at short notice, and many young people decided to return to their parents\u2019 homes for the quarantine, a self storage unit became the best place to deposit their belongings. Moreover, millions of employees needed to create space for a home office, which also resulted in an increased demand for self storage.<\/p>\n

Under such circumstances, it\u2019s essential for self storage businesses to ensure safe, high-quality services and to demonstrate that they are dedicated to the community they serve. Here are some of the things self storage operators can do to help their customers during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

<\/span>1. Ensuring that the facilities are safe and healthy for customers and staff<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Self storage is an important service for millions of customers throughout the United States, but in order for operators to be able to keep facilities open under pandemic conditions, they need to ensure a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Measures such as disinfecting all the surfaces and the equipment, plus training employees on how to reduce the risks of transmitting the virus, are mandatory.<\/p>\n

Colin Treat, a representative of Doorage.com, an operator providing self storage units in the Chicago<\/a>, Milwaukee<\/a> and Madison<\/a> areas, details how they are managing the current situation: \u201cGiven the evolving situation around the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are taking active measures to ensure client and team safety. All facilities have been given specific instructions on reducing the transfer of the virus from surfaces.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAll trucks and equipment are being sanitized multiple times every day. All warehouse and field team members have been given proper supplies such as sanitizing sprays, hand sanitizer, and gloves. All field employees have been given specific instructions to avoid transmission of COVID-19 including distancing, avoiding all physical contact, and self-reporting any health concerns,<\/em>\u201d added Doorage.com<\/a> representative Colin Treat.<\/p>\n

<\/span>2. Supporting customers through discounts, waivers, and more<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

For many Americans, this situation is sensitive not only in terms of health, but also from a financial perspective. Tens of millions of people lost their jobs, and many others are worried about the future. Under these circumstances, gestures such as leniency about payments or postponing auctions go a long way to helping people out, and you might gain your customers\u2019 loyalty in the long term.<\/p>\n

Extra Space Storage, a nationwide operator providing self storage units in Washington, DC<\/a>, Puerto Rico and 40 US states, announced on their website that they will be delaying any auctions and are encouraging stores to be lenient about late fees during this time.<\/p>\n

College students needed self storage this spring more than ever. Due to safety measures being taken by most universities, many families have found themselves in difficult situations. Many students have been instructed to leave campus within a week, leaving them with a short and unexpected window in which to deal with all their stuff.<\/p>\n

Making sure they had enough time to store their belongings but also offering discounts was how many self storage operators decided to help this category of customers. \u201cWe have expanded hours to 7:30 am until 8:30 pm CST. We have added an additional delivery and pickup window of 7 pm to 10 pm on top of our standard service windows. All student orders are going to be 10% off,<\/em>\u201d added Colin Treat from Doorage.<\/p>\n

\"Safe<\/p>\n

<\/span>3. Promoting social distancing measures<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Social distancing measures recommended by authorities are our main weapon against the coronavirus pandemic, and the public and all businesses, self storage included, need to follow them as closely as possible. Self storage operators must instruct their employees to report any health-related concerns and to stay home if they show any symptoms of respiratory disease. It\u2019s equally important to let customers know they have to postpone any visits to a self storage facility if they have been exposed to COVID-19 or if they have any symptoms typical of it.<\/p>\n

Other measures that can be taken during this period include installing kiosks that limit the need for customers and employees to interact, and providing face masks, gloves and disinfectants for both staff and visitors. In case direct communication with a customer at the facility is necessary, it should be done from a distance of at least 6 feet and from behind some type of acrylic sneeze guard.<\/p>\n

<\/span>4. Going online as much as possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Facilitating online operations is another way that self storage operators can help their customers during the coronavirus pandemic. The vast majority of facilities already allow renting a self storage unit online and paying the monthly rate the same way. Self storage operators that don\u2019t yet have a strong online presence could also dedicate some time and resources to improving this side of their business.<\/p>\n

Being connected to customers\u2019 and communities\u2019 needs and taking steps to provide safe and uninterrupted services will help the self storage sector navigate the uncertain waters we\u2019re dealing with successfully and emerge stronger from this crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The self storage industry is in a better spot than other sectors such as brick and mortar retail or tourism, which have been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":2214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everything-storage","category-covid-19"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSelf Storage Operators Can Help During Pandemic | StorageCafe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"StorageCafe Blog - Your Go-to Source for All Things Self Storage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-15T08:42:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maria Gatea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maria Gatea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/\",\"name\":\"Self Storage Operators Can Help During Pandemic | StorageCafe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-15T08:42:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61ef570d30be80dee10d19e65a97ea02\"},\"description\":\"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg\",\"width\":1170,\"height\":515},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Everything Storage\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/category\/everything-storage\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"StorageCafe Blog - Your Go-to Source for All Things Self Storage\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61ef570d30be80dee10d19e65a97ea02\",\"name\":\"Maria Gatea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/04\/Headshot-Maria-1.png?w=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/04\/Headshot-Maria-1.png?w=96\",\"caption\":\"Maria Gatea\"},\"description\":\"Maria Gatea is a Senior Editor & Research Writer for Yardi with a background in Journalism and Communication. After covering business and finance-related topics as a freelance writer for 15 years, she is now focusing on researching and writing about the real estate industry. You may contact Maria via email.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/author\/mariagatea79\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Self Storage Operators Can Help During Pandemic | StorageCafe","description":"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic","og_description":"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/","og_site_name":"StorageCafe Blog - Your Go-to Source for All Things Self Storage","article_published_time":"2020-05-15T08:42:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1170,"height":515,"url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maria Gatea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maria Gatea","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/","url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/","name":"Self Storage Operators Can Help During Pandemic | StorageCafe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg","datePublished":"2020-05-15T08:42:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61ef570d30be80dee10d19e65a97ea02"},"description":"During this trying period, self storage businesses must ensure safe, high-quality services and show they are dedicated to the community they serve.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg","width":1170,"height":515},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/how-self-storage-operators-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Everything Storage","item":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/category\/everything-storage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/","name":"StorageCafe Blog - Your Go-to Source for All Things Self Storage","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61ef570d30be80dee10d19e65a97ea02","name":"Maria Gatea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/04\/Headshot-Maria-1.png?w=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/04\/Headshot-Maria-1.png?w=96","caption":"Maria Gatea"},"description":"Maria Gatea is a Senior Editor & Research Writer for Yardi with a background in Journalism and Communication. After covering business and finance-related topics as a freelance writer for 15 years, she is now focusing on researching and writing about the real estate industry. You may contact Maria via email.","url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/author\/mariagatea79\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2020\/05\/storage-operators.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2216,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions\/2216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}