Over the years, the self-storage industry has not been really proactive about implementing the latest technological innovations. As a result, we have always looked at warehousing and self-storage as something straightforward that doesn’t require much other than electricity, locks, and lots of empty space.
However, things have changed over time. Today’s self-storage business operators and owners have a completely different mindset. In the current business landscape, a successful self-storage business involves management, marketing, maintenance, accounting, leasing, and several other critical tasks. More and more of these businesses are now keen to become more efficient by embracing advanced technology.
Many self-storage companies now offer technology-based solutions such as biometric security, self-serve kiosks, online reservations, HVAC units, and much more. These solutions are highly popular amongst the contemporary tech-savvy customers and save both time and money for the operators.
Mentioned below are the most important high tech innovations in the self-storage industry.
Mobile Applications: It is often said these days that there is an app for everything and it is also true for self-storage. Looking at the extreme popularity of mobile apps, many self-storage units now offer mobile apps for controlling and managing access to their respective units. This relieves the customers from the task of keeping track of a designated access card or key. Using mobile apps, they can manage or access the unit via mobile devices.
Mobile apps also allow self-storage businesses the freedom to update access codes, make payments, start and renew leases, and communicate with their customers.
Self Storage Kiosks: These modern storage units provide the ultimate level of convenience to the customers. These facilities can be accessed by the tenants at all hours. In addition to better customer experience, this helps managers reduce their workload by eliminating routine customer interactions.
Self-storage kiosks utilize software that is specially designed and integrated with the facility’s property management systems. All actions initiated by the customers gets loaded to the databases and reported immediately without any involvement of the property manager.
Convenience is the key deliverable in the self-storage industry. Companies that have invested in a self-storage kiosk have understood the value of these advanced tools. Most importantly, working in tandem with a mobile app, they can almost eliminate the need for personal interactions.
Biometrics: One of the most fundamental necessities of the self-storage industry is a sound security system. With the advent of biometric technology, it is now possible for businesses to provide secure access that can be almost impossible to breach.
These systems utilize facial recognition technology to measure many different unique characteristics and measurements to maximize security. Access is provided based on scanning these characteristics and matching them with customer records.
Remote Monitoring: More and more self-storage companies have now understood that HVAC units provide an excellent opportunity for them to maximize profit as well as customer experience. However, they often tend to give up because of the hassles involved in managing and maintaining HVAC units. This is where remote monitoring can make all the difference for them.
These advanced solutions can sense system issues instantly and inform a service provider so that the problem is addressed immediately. This integrated technology streamlines the management of time-consuming activities such as sourcing, scheduling, and sending contractors.
Robotics: Like many other industries, the self-storage space has also started making use of robotics to become more efficient. A French engineering company has already developed a robot that allows facility operators to interact with their customers. These robots are more interactive compared to standard kiosks and help resolve customers’ issues by connecting them to live advisors.
If you own or operate a self-storage facility, you may contact KeepSafe Self Storage to find out more about the recent high tech innovations in this industry.
