State of the Industry

Inaddition to the introduction of our annual State of the Industry report, mycomments here should be of particular interest to this audience. At the close ofeach year, Inside Self-Storage speaks with several of this industry'smost knowledgable and respected insiders, asking their predictions for themonths ahead in relation to self-storage development, amenities, financing andmore. You'll find this year's insightful missive beginning on page 22.

More important, I thought you might like to know of some promising newdevelopments budding in this industry's political arena. Recently, the ISSstaff had the distinct pleasure of meeting with Self Storage AssociationExecutive Director Michael Kidd. It is no secret to those seasoned in thisindustry--particularly our suppliers--that there has been rather poorcommunication between our organization and the association. This has beenpartially attributed to the SSA's affiliation with MiniCo's rival publication,the Mini-Storage Messenger. But mostly, the weakness has stemmed from acomplicated political history we now recognize as irrelevant--and damaging tofuture industry progress.

Ithas been pointed out to both parties the necessity for more collaborativeefforts between the two groups, particulary in the area of industry tradeshowsand conferences. As self-storage witnesses what many predict will be a levelingof business, exhibitors as well as attendees are frustrated at having to splitannual budgets over numerous events just to keep up with the Joneses. Thequestion has been put to us: Why can't the organizations combine efforts, savingeveryone time, energy and money? And it's a great question--one we addressed inour recent meeting with Kidd.

In efforts to repond to the needs of our supporters, Inside Self-Storageis considering a consolidation of it's annual Las Vegas and Fall Expos into asingle, mega-tradeshow in Las Vegas. And that's just the beginning. ISSand the SSA will be looking to partner in other ways that will make access toinformation easier--and more economical--for all industry participants. You willsoon be seeing a dedicated page in the magazine each month for association newsand events. You'll also see links on both organizations' websites, joining thetwo resources. Other developments are in the works. (Feel free to contact theSSA for information on its own personal strategy.)

That's the real state of the industry. Our primary goal, asinformation and service providers to self-storage, is to be accessible,affordable and, above all, useful. It's time we see more unity betweenthe organizations our professionals rely upon. It's the only prediction I havefor the upcoming year, but perhaps the most significant.

Happy new year to you,

Teri L. Lanza
Editor
[email protected]

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