The Inside Self-Storage World Expo kicked off today in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel and Resort. The action-packed conference begins with four education tracks on a variety of topics including self-storage marketing, financing, sales, green improvements and much more.

In the first session in Day-to-Day Facility Management, ISS columnist Linnea Appleby discussed how older facilities can revamp their sites to attract more renters. Linnea is highlighting how her company, PDQ Management Solutions, turned one facility around.

The facility had been damaged by weather, neglected by the property managers and was in pretty bad shape. Many unit doors were broken, the office had no system for tracking rentals, and some tenants had rigged their units with their own security systems. Can you imagine? Just the clean up for the facility costs thousands of dollars. 

For more on improving older facilities, check out the ISS archives on Facility Refurbishing. There are a number of great articles on improving curb appeal, adding green elements, updating the office and more.

Other sessions today include how to use the Internet to streamline self-storage operations with Sean Cargo of QuikStor; Neal Gussis of The BSC Group will talk to attendees about the capital market; Jamie Lindau of Trachte Building Systems will cover effective site design; and Brad North will lead two sessions on marketing and sales.

The education seminars continue tomorrow, followed by the opening of the Exhibit Hall at noon. This year’s show includes a wide range of vendors including builders, brokers, finance experts, online marketing companies, retail suppliers and more. The Exhibit Hall will be open Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon.

It’s not too late to join us. You can register on site. If you can’t make it, please check Storage Speak for updates, follow us on Self-Storage Talk or Twitter at SelfStorageMag. We’ll be sending out regular updates all week long.