Edition 110 – November/December 2019

Insider M AG A Z I N E O F T H E S E L F STO R AG E A S S O C I AT I O N O F A U ST R A L A S I A

110

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

LET THE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS BEGIN

FACILITY OF THE YEAR

Fort Knox Self Storage – Coburg

A MARKET BLIP OR LONGTERM TREND?

Urbis State of the Market Report

DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS Increased competition in the storage industry

EXPENSE FRAUD

Whether your facility is large or small, you can fall victim to fraud

M E E T SSA A B OA R D M E M B E R S | T R A D E D I R ECTO RY | H O L I DAY C H EC K L I ST | 2 0 2 0 EV E N TS

CONTENTS | 03

9 SSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman – Ivor Morgan Jim’s Self Storage, Victoria Michael Alafaci Storage King Group, New South Wales Shaun Bain Keepsafe Storage, Western Australia Ryan Coom National Mini Storage, New Zealand Martin Coote Lock Distributors, New South Wales

16

Ned Coten City West Storage, Victoria

8 MEET THE SSAA BOARD 17 EXPENSE FRAUD

Wayne Dade Glenelg Self Storage and Western Self Storage, South Australia

Whether your facility is large or small, you can fall victim to fraud

David Daddow Able Self Storage, South Australia

18 SSAA CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Andrew Eastwood U-Store-It, South Australia

20 WHAT’S YOUR POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Rachel Grant Storage by the Fox, New South Wales

LIFETIME MEMBERS Mark Bateman Frank Cooney Elaine Coote Liz Davies Dallas Dogger John Eastwood Simone Hill Neville Kennard

Sam Kennard Bob Marsh Jim Miller Jon Perrins Phil Robbie Mark Snooks Richard Whalan

SSAA STAFF Susan Phillips CEO Michelle Stokes Reception/Administration

22

24

Finding your value proposition

22 Q&A WITH NEW BOARD MEMBER, NED COTEN From Sunshine Self Storage

REGULARS 4 Chairman’s Report 6 CEO’s Report 10 Industry News 12 Out and About 35 HR Central 36 OHS Tips

24 FACILITY OF THE YEAR Fort Knox Self Storage – More than 500 Units

26 FAMILY BUSINESS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND SSAA announces a new alliance

28 A MARKET BLIP, OR A LONG TERM TREND?

Vanaja Thomas Membership

37 Service Member Profile

Andrea Bowman Paralegal

38 Member Services Update

30 HANDY RESOURCE LIST

40 Trade Directory

32 STATE OF THE NATION

Melinda Wyper Accounts Bryan Furtado Marketing & Events

www.selfstorage.org.au TOLL FREE – AUS: 1800 067 313 TOLL FREE – NZ: 0800 444 356 T: +61 3 9466 9699 F: +61 3 9466 8081 Address: Unit 4/2 Enterprise Drive, Bundoora Vic 3083 E: admin@selfstorage.com.au Connect to our Social Media via our website

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42 New Members

Urbis Storage Index results

Digital marketing trends in Australia and New Zealand

Insider is published and edited by: Social Ties / E: vforbes@socialties.com.au Designed by: Keely Goodall / E: keely@itsallgood.net.au Advertising and sub editor: Bryan Furtado / E: marketing@selfstorage.com.au Printed by: Homestead Press / E: printing@homesteadpress.com.au Insider magazine (Insider) is published bi-monthly by the Self Storage Association of Australasia Limited (ABN 23 050 341 725).

This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express, prior written permission of the publisher. While every care has been taken in the preparation and publication of Insider, none of the Insider’s publisher, editor nor any of the publisher’s employees, sub-contractors or contributors give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of the publication’s content, nor do any of them assume any responsibility or liability for any loss, damage or expense which may result from, or arise in connection with, any inaccuracy or omission in the publication.

The views or opinions expressed in Insider are not necessarily those of Insider’s publisher or editor. Furthermore, Insider has the right to accept or reject any editorial and advertising material. All letters addressed to Insider will be regarded as ‘for publication’ unless clearly marked ‘Not for Publication’. All submissions to Insider may be edited for reasons of space or clarity and opinions expressed in letters published in Insider are those of the author, not of Insider’s publisher or editor.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

| CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 04| DINK 4

Ivor Morgan, Chairman SSAA

W

ith the 2019 Convention now well and truly behind us, the planning and preparation for the 2020 Convention is in full swing. Melbourne will be host to the Self Storage Association of Australasia’s (SSAA) 2020 Convention, which will include our 30th Anniversary year celebrations. I encourage all members to get in early and take advantage of the early bird specials for this momentous occasion and in turn, will assist the Association in planning the best event yet (see page 43). I’m sure we will all be in for a real treat with the 30th Anniversary Year celebrations. I would like to thank all members who completed the 2019 Convention feedback survey.

Your feedback will assist us with fine tuning all events, guest speakers and Convention matters that are important to you for 2020.

I took the time recently to have a chat with David Blackwell, Director of Urbis – Real Estate and Advisory in

relation to the state of the industry.

David reported that Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and even Adelaide has seen a lot of new development, which is around a 10% increase in supply.

The big challenge is for the industry to fill this space. He believes that this extra supply, has resulted in greater discount pricing and large concessions being offered by operators in several locations. When you add this increased supply to a constrained economy, we could see a tough couple of years in revenue growth for some owners and operators.

On a positive note, David is seeing strengthening property yields, but did preface this with the fact that even though your business may be worth more based on continued yield compression, the income may be flat or even slightly backwards for the short term. If we take a realistic viewpoint, the industry fundamentals are still ok and the long-term outlook is still optimistic. There are more details on pages 28 and 29.

As we sign off on another busy and successful year, I would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. l

Melbourne will be host to the Self Storage Association of Australasia’s (SSAA) 2020 Convention, which will include our 30th Anniversary year celebrations.

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06 | CEO’S REPORT

Susan Phillips, CEO SSAA

I

n this edition of Insider, we are officially launching our 30th Anniversary celebrations. The 30th Anniversary Committee has several activities planned throughout 2020 that will culminate in a great night of celebration at the Convention in Melbourne on 25 to 27 August.

Speaking of the Convention, it was interesting to read the feedback. I thank those delegates who took the time to let us know what they liked

and where they saw improvement could be made. Feedback on content is keenly sought to guide decisionmaking by the Convention Advisory Committee as they shape the program for 2020. Some of the comments included group workshops; sessions on facility re-design and upgrades, energy efficiency, specialised storage, e.g. firearms/wine/documents/boats, and going paperless. Sales training and team motivation was a must-have topic on the agenda.

Improvements to process and the necessity to save on time and money the SSAA have re-examined ways to present the Convention moving forward. With all our lives becoming busier than ever some delegates have been requesting that the SSAA publish its forward schedule for Convention locations well

in advance. To that end, the board have taken the decision to not only publish the locations but will be working with Convention venues for return visits to allow for consistency with planning and presentation of the event.

The Melbourne Convention is at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park from 25 to 27 August 2020.

2021 – Gold Coast (24-26 August) 2022 – Melbourne (23-25 August) 2023 – Auckland (22-24 August).

Work has also commenced to scope out the State of the Industry study to be undertaken by the SSAA in 2020.

This is the last publication of the Insider for the year. I take this opportunity to wish all members a safe and happy festive season and look forward to a prosperous and productive 2020. l

SSAA 2020 EVENTS

NETWORKING FUNCTION 12 March 2020 BRISBANE

NETWORKING FUNCTION 30 April 2020 ADELAIDE

SSAA CONVENTION 25-27 August MELBOURNE

NETWORKING FUNCTION 15 October 2020 SYDNEY

NETWORKING FUNCTION 22 October 2020 PERTH

NETWORKING FUNCTION 10 November 2020 CHRISTCHURCH

NETWORKING FUNCTION 12 November 2020 AUCKLAND

NETWORKING FUNCTION 26 November 2020 MELBOURNE

TRUSTED BY

8 | MEET THE BOARD

Meet our Board Directors who help govern and guide the SSAA

I

n last month’s issue of Insider we introduced you to the new Board Directors. In this issue, we would like you to meet the entire Board.

The Directors of the SSAA Board are elected by the members and play an important role as the leadership group for the SSAA. The Board is primarily responsible for governing, overseeing the affairs of and making strategic decisions for the SSAA on behalf of its members. Board Directors are elected as representatives of their membership category, however as Directors they are responsible to all members. A Directors duty

IVOR MORGAN – CHAIRMAN Ivor has been the Manager for Jim’s Self Storage for over 20 years and is well known for his passionate drive for the self storage industry and positive attitude. His expertise has seen him also develop and oversee the implementation of Jim’s Self Storage successful business and marketing plans achieving impressive sales and business growth results. Ivor has a unique ability to transform potentially negative situations into positive customer experiences through his tact and positive approach. His managerial philosophy is that there are never any problems, instead there are issues that arise from time to time that need to be fixed.

DAVID DADDOW – BOARD MEMBER David has been involved in the self storage industry for 32 years. In his role as board member David is keen to see and help storage businesses grow from small to medium facilities. Along with his wife Sheryl, they built Able Self Storage in Adelaide in 1987. In the year 2000, the business expanded with its first remote site at Victor Harbor of 76 units. This was followed by Goolwa in 2007, Encounter Bay in 2008 and then the Adelaide CBD facility in 2016. In 2019 another facility opened in Mile End. Developing removals, packaging and box manufacturing companies has complemented their business model.

of loyalty means that they must strive to advance the best interests of the Association and its members without regard to any personal gain or advancement.

The Board meets six times each year. Two meetings are face-to-face whilst the other four meetings are via video conference. Various sub-committees also exist and members of these committees will meet usually by video conference as required.

For more information please view our website www.selfstorage.org.au/about-us/board-of-directors

RACHEL GRANT – BOARD MEMBER Rachel has been involved in the self storage Industry since 2007. Rachel is an owner-operator of the independent facility, Coastline Storage & Removals. In 2014, Rachel identified that there was a demand in the market to provide additional services to her clients requiring storage. Therefore, Fox Enterprises was born, incorporating several companies that support the storage industry. These include removals, box manufacturing, cleaning, home maintenance & styling.

RYAN COOM – BOARD MEMBER Ryan is the Operations and Marketing Manager for National Mini Storage, Auckland, New Zealand. During his 16 years in the industry he has gained experience and skills across a wide range of the business, both at facility level and head office management level. Working on the frontline has afforded Ryan the opportunity to understand the basics of the business, from customer service and customer complaints through to upper management where he has been involved in contract negotiation with suppliers, branch management, general operations, marketing, staff training, data analysis and statistics, pricing strategy, IT and new facility layout.

SHAUN BAIN – BOARD MEMBER ANDREW EASTWOOD – BOARD MEMBER Born into the storage game, Andrew was sweeping units at the age of 10 and serving customers at 14yo. Wishing to carve his own identity, Andrew set-up sport stores before discovering a love for hospitality which allowed him to seek other opportunities and travel overseas – only venturing home to set-up new storage facilities at the request of his family. He has used his extensive executive education to position himself as Managing Director @ U-Store-It, Adelaide’s largest self storage company and Managing Director @ gobox Mobile Storage a new and world first storage solution. He brings marketing, customer relationship and development experience from both a small and larger operator perspective to the board.

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

Shaun Bain is a Managing Director who specialises in the development and growth of businesses. He manages multiple teams across several businesses to help them focus on the key drivers unique to each business. He brings over 12 years of experience in the finance industry from GE Capital in a range of roles including sales and marketing, New Business Approvals, Regional Manager, Branch Manager and Head Office Project work.

More recently, Shaun co-founded KBH Group, a private equity group which focuses on applying a unique approach to the development and growth of storage facilities and marina leasing in Western Australia.

www.selfstorage.org.au

MEET THE BOARD | 9 MARTIN COOTE – BOARD MEMBER

NED COTEN – BOARD MEMBER

Martin grew up around the self storage industry and the SSAA. His late father, Robert, was SSAA President in 2000 and mother, Elaine, was made a Life Member in 2018. Martin has been personally active in the SSAA, attending conferences and regional meetings in Australia and New Zealand, presenting at O-Days, and contributing to Insider magazine. He brings to the board this knowledge of the SSAA and the industry, as well as previous board experience as director and chairman.

Martin is Director of Lock Distributors Pty Ltd and has a diverse background covering business, law and the creative arts. Lock Distributors is a wholesaler of specialist locks for the self storage and vending industries, and operates a group of locksmith and security companies in NSW. Under his direction the company resumed direct control of its distribution in New Zealand and acquired two more businesses in 2017.

Ned has been involved in the self storage industry since 2004, when he purchased a fledgling self storage business in the suburb of Sunshine, Victoria. In the following years, he moved the business to a new site, expanded the operations and developed systems and processes to allow the business to be run entirely under management. In late 2017, he completed negotiations for the purchase of a property in Altona North for a second business – City West Storage – which is now up and running.

Ned’s involvement in the industry has spanned all aspects of strategic planning, development application, build, marketing and management across his businesses.

He has been a member of the Self Storage Association of Australasia since 2004 and is excited at the opportunity to represent other owners to assist in the growth and development of the industry.

MICHAEL ALAFACI – BOARD MEMBER WAYNE DADE – BOARD MEMBER For approximately the last 15 years Wayne has been the co-owner and director of two self storage businesses in South Australia – Glenelg Self Storage and Western Self Storage. As a new Director Wayne is ready to give the association and the membership his time and energy to ensure the association continues to provide all members with the facilities and support that they need. Wayne also volunteers his time as a business mentor.

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fresh beer.

Cleanliness The hotel manager said it was a matter of looking after his keg room, glass cleaning equipment and presenting the taps nicely and, of course, pouring the perfect beer.

These simple measures have

The Barker Hotel duty manager Amy White.

helped The Barker claim the best draught beer quality in the State in both 2017 and 2019 before securing the National award.

“It is about how you maintain and present the system and

10 | INDUSTRY DINK NEWS

The Barker Hotel manager John Dinan.

the way the staff are educated in pouring the beer correctly,” he said. “To win the award wasn’t a stretch for us because we are consistently on top of it throughout the whole year.

“This is a reflection on the way

Success stems from support

that we run our hotel. We clean our beer lines fortnightly, we strip and clean our beer glass washes every week, we have a complete maintenance program for all of our beer dispensing equipment, and we do a lot of

of selling drinks the freshness of beer is what you are searching for.”

Mr Dinan is allowing people to judge the best beer in Australia for themselves on Friday, October 4, where The Barker is hosting a free tasting between 4pm and 7pm.

Congratulations again to Mark Callins U-Store-It Mt Barker who was awarded the Manager of the Year Award and Facility of the Year at our recent Self Storage Association of Australasia 2019 Awards of Excellence. Mark was unable to be there on the night but luckily for him the team had him on Facetime when the Awards were announced so he and his family could find out his success live.

Afterwards there was a fantastic write up in The Mt Barker Courier and it is good to see the community supporting their local businesses.

Congratulations to Roshni Vastrad, Project Manager at and Harding, Jane Sullivan will draw readersR6 intoDigital a nostalgic trip Joel through their favorite memories at her book release event in the Stirling Library.

Director at Crafted Media on their marriage in August in Brisbane. They married the Ms Sullivan’s process for the

By Anna Christian bibliomemoir includedwith noting best way possible a big down all the books she could Cosying up with the latestIndian wedding. remember reading between the adventure at bedtime and age of seven and 11 and what Roshni & Joel met just over sneakily reading well into she remembered of them. the night by torchlight undertwo She then tracked copies years ago in down Brisbane the covers are memories that and re-read the books to find that Joel, much of mutual what she friends. remembered resonate with many who werethrough was wrong and – to her shock avid readers as children. a –business owner and Enid film that she now thought Author Jane Sullivan dressed Blyton’s writing was terrible. as director, Alice from had Lewisalways Carroll’s dreamed of marrying someone The response from readers of tales for a school parade and Storytime has brought up some with a huge culture, and little did he know he would tried to enter another world by getting into a cupboard in the titles which Ms Sullivan had end up integrating into the beautiful indian culture. attic, just as C.S. Lewis’ Pevensie never heard, but had featured readers’ memories, and family began theirand journey.

Roshni Joel hadina mix of a western and Her bibliomemoir Storytime – a also many unexpected similar experiences. recounting the books she Indianofwedding at read Brisbane City Hall, followed by a as a child and the impact they Worried reception have had on herat – Howard will be theSmith Wharves. Hundreds of “The one I was most worried subject of a book release in the relatives andwas from and it theoverseas chapter on Little Stirling Libraryflew whichinterstate will take about Women because I really didn’t visitors a nostalgic wason a week to bejourney remembered.

The half Bollywood, like it at all when I read it and through these memories. a fairly book,” she The uses her most it’swas halfbook Australian wedding, full popular of colour, light memorable childhood reads explained.

“But some people have said and dancing. to develop a theory as to what children need from a book to feel that they felt the same way Roshni has been with R6 it.

Digital for 13 months, a about a thrill from reading. had a few people say that “The idea Marketing crept up onfirm me in “I’ve Digital Brisbane who are service gradually because I thought I’ve they read my book all in one sitting because they couldn’t putwith been reading books members of and the writing SSAA. She has worked closely about them all my life but none it down and other people say read a bitnew before they go to the SSAA on the refresh, member’s of the books I’ve read as anwebsite adult they have made as much of an impact bed each night. portal, andasongoing marketing “People and haveIT needs. been very as those I read a child,” Ms generous and warm in response.”

SullivanAs said. an aside, Roshni mentioned if anyone An “in conversation” event “I’d read a few bibliomemoirs with Adelaide author Peter but needs hadn’t spreadsheets, read one that wasrun sheets or templates she about children’s books so I Goldsworthy will be part of the managed to pull offthat the book largerelease, scalewhich wedding will beplanning held thought that was a gap on September 20 from 6.30pm. needed to be filled.” in eight months and would be happy to assist.

A look back in fondness

Mt Barker U-Store-It manager Mark Callins claimed the manager of the year and facility of the year awards at the 2019 Self Storage of Australasia Association Awards of Excellence in Cairns.

By Josh Teakle Supporting and engaging with the local community has helped Mark Callins turn a “simple business” into a national award winner.

The Mt Barker U-Store-It self storage facility claimed two awards at last month’s 2019 Self Storage of Australasia Association Awards of Excellence in Cairns, including Manager of the Year and Facility of the Year.

“It is a simple business, but with a lot of businesses there is an opportunity to do it as best as you can,” Mr Callins said.

“There is a great sense of pride about being a part of the Hills community and we tried to ‘plug in’ with the Mt Barker business group, we sponsor about 15 community sporting clubs, Lions Clubs and we can provide a leg up with charities or someone that has a need.

“We deal with people who are in stressful situations, some are in relationship breakdowns, some are moving house, so there is an opportunity to help people when they’re under some stress.

“That’s when we can step up if needed.”

The facility has about 350 undercover storage units, a free move-in truck and a community board room, and Mr Callins said there was plenty of space to expand.

The Mt Barker U-Store-It business opened its doors about 18 months ago and Mr Callins took on the managing role, after spending the

last 12 years in the automotive industry. “The business’ values are closely in-line with my own values,” he said.

“For U-Store-It to go out of metropolitan Adelaide and into a regional area is very new and it is evident that there is a lot of loyalty in the Hills.

“If we were going to be successful here we had to engage with the community.

“The awards highlight that we have done a good job with that.”

General manager Andrew Eastwood was thrilled with the result and said while Facility of the Year was an overall award, it all came back to the work of Mr Callins.

“There are a lot of parameters of winning such an award from customer service, site presentation and the displays, so when you look at it 80% of it comes back to Mark and the team,” he said.

“It is extremely rare to win two awards and we are very fortunate for it and to win the Facility of the Year is the pinnacle.

“What Mark and the facility has won – in what is a regional town on a national stage – is unique.

“There are numerous examples as to why Mark has 50-plus five-star Google ratings – he waits back for the truck if there is a difficult circumstance, or he will let someone in early if they need it, and that is what goes the extra mile.

“People don’t remember the units, features or benefits, they remember how they were treated when they came and went.”

INDUSTRY NEWS | 11

NATIONAL DRAGON BOAT RACING WINNER In December 2018 Ray Curran from Storage King Balmain was selected to represent Australia as a member of the ‘Aurora’s National Dragon Boat Racing Team in the Senior ‘C’ Division (over 60 yrs) at the World Nations Dragon Boat Championships.

These which were held in August 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand.

Ray was selected as the Male Captain for the Aurora Senior C’s and from his six events in Thailand he won two Gold, one Silver and three Bronze medals and the Senior C Team podiumed in all events entered. This was his 3rd World Championships having competed in 2015 in Welland, Canada

(one gold, four silver, one bronze), 2017 in Kunming, China (medalled in all events but no gold sadly).

Ray has had an amazing time with Dragon Boat racing, as he started at the end of 2006 and has represented three States (SA, NT and NSW) since then. He has also represented Australia in the World Police and Fire Games in 2007 (Adelaide – Gold), 2009 (Vancouver), 2011 (New York) and 2013 (Belfast).

The awards continue as he also competed in the World Club Crew Championships in 2008 (Penang), 2010 (Macau – Gold), 2012 (Hong Kong – Gold) and 2014 (Ravena, Italy).

CONGRATULATIONS TO JACKSON RUSSELL NEW ZEALAND AS THIS YEAR MARKS 175 YEARS OF PRACTICE Founded in 1844 by Englishman Frederick Ward Merriman, the firm officially changed its name to Jackson Russell in 1864. Over the years they have grown from humble beginnings, to take pride of place in the centre of Auckland, in Shortland Street.

Jackson Russell has evolved into a modern legal firm where its present day teams specialise in

their respective fields and provide a collaborative approach to achieve optimum client service and works closely with the SSAA.

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12 | OUT AND ABOUT

WOLLONGONG OPEN DAY The Wollongong Open Day was held at the Sage Hotel in Wollongong. It was attended by a good mix of members and non-members who are interested in becoming part of the self storage industry.

During the visit attendees were taken on a facility tour to Permian Self Storage, hosted by Fiona Donnelley who was fabulous with the walk through. She also organised refreshments using one of her units – everyone was in awe and thought it was a creative use of the space.

Christie Peters, HBP Storage with Jason Keane, Sentinel Storage Security & Mark Greig, StoreLocal.

Javier Rezzonico, Storcad with Carmine Cifelli.

Susan Phillips, SSAA with Tod Cornell, Jervis Bay Storage.

Anthony Giacon , BGOC Pty Ltd with Jason Suarez, PTI Security Systems.

Permian Self Storage.

Fiona Donnely & team, Permian Self Storage.

WISHING ALL OUR SELF STORAGE CUSTOMERS PRESENT AND FUTURE, ALONG WITH ALL SSAA MEMBERS

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14 | OUT AND ABOUT

NETWORKING DINNER SYDNEY Dinner was held at the Vibe Hotel Rushcutters Bay which was a beautiful setting for the dinner. Linda Sharkey from URBIS gave a presentation and a run through on the Self Storage Interactive Platform (SIP) for everyone.

Javier Rezzonico, Storcad, Brennan McLoughlan, IBidOnStorage, Adrian Rostirolla, Ad Tech & Jake Kompani, Holloway Removals & Storage.

Shay McQuade, USC with Elaine Coote, Lock Distributors.

Susan Phillips, SSAA with Linda Sharkey, URBIS.

Michael Alafaci, Storage King with Patrick Mulcahy, URBIS.

Andrew Holloway, Holloway Storage & Jason Suarez, PTI Australasia.s

Ben Parsad, PTI Australasia, Thomas Whalan, Rent A Space, Andrew Koorey & Gavin Koorey, Hills Self Storage.

OUT AND ABOUT | 15

NETWORKING DINNER PERTH October Perth networking function was held at the Rendezvous Hotel in Scarborough. It was a great night where industry and suppliers got together to mingle.

Melinda Vaughan, Guardsman SS (centre) with Ashley Hunt and Rob Jenkinson, Visy Boxes and More.

Vanessa Dancer and Simon Kingsley, Airport Self Storage.

Susan Phillips, SSAA with Shaun Bain, KeepSafe Storage.

Jason Suarez, PTI Australasia with Phil McClements, Bunbury Self Storage and Rebecca Phillips Cockburn Central Self Storage.

Kyle Gray, Forrestfield SS with Mark Greig, StoreLocal and Rod Dowding, Storage King.

16 | OUT AND ABOUT

In October, SSAA CEO Susan Phillips, travelled from Melbourne to Perth and caught up with some of our Perth members in their facilities.

KeepSafe Storage, Balcatta.

Max Shearer and Sally Wright, AAA Storage & Removals, Wembley.

Koala Storage, O’Connor.

Courtney Gildersleeve and Melinda Vaughan, Guardsman Self Storage.

Hugh and Eileen Smith, Forrestfield Self Storage.

Rebecca Phillips, Brianna Finlan and Jenny Miskelly, Cockburn Central Self Storage.

Tara White and Jamie-Lee Bartholomew, KeepSafe Storage Balcatta.

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

www.selfstorage.org.au

FRAUD | 17

Expense fraud WHAT IS FRAUD? Fraud is broadly defined as an act on behalf of a person that is deceptive or deceitful in some way in that it causes them to receive a benefit that they are not entitled to. This way some other person or organisation to suffer some disadvantage.

Keeping your organisation safe from expense fraud requires strong internal controls, a commitment to investigate and respond to allegations of fraud and a fraud-awareness culture.

Unfortunately, it’s not about harmony and resonance – it’s about attitude, awareness and discipline Whether your facility is large or small, you can fall victim to fraud.

Considering the frequency and range of fraud that is possible within the storage business, especially for those which are remotely managed, knowing what to look for is key to any preventive effort. Though many of these schemes often deduct only minor amounts of money from a business’s total assets, these small numbers can add up to serious losses. Knowledge is the first step to prevention.

Fraud in business is on the rise, which leads us to ponder the big question – why?

What leads to expense fraud in a business?

The formula for fraud to be committed boils down to three key factors – pressure, opportunity and rationalisation.

PRESSURE Pressure is what motivates the perpetrator in the first place. This motivation sometimes stems from personal hardship or addiction.

Other times, it is for more selfish reasons, including career, revenge, or lifestyle.

OPPORTUNITY Opportunity relates to the method to commit the fraud. Usually, this is an abuse of a perpetrator’s position of trust. This is usually with a view to concealing their act and minimising the chance of being caught.

www.selfstorage.org.au

Keeping your organisation safe from expense fraud requires strong internal controls, a commitment to investigate and respond to allegations of fraud and a fraudawareness culture.

RATIONALISATION Rationalisation is the third ingredient – this is how a fraudster justifies or excuses their actions. Whilst some rationalisations appear “innocent” (e.g. “I was only borrowing the money…”, “I had to steal to feed my family…”), perhaps more surprising is that there is sometimes a sense of entitlement (“I’ve been underpaid for years…”).

ignore the risk entirely (“It won’t happen to us”).

Research has shown that the “tone at the top” and an effective internal control environment are vital in preventing and deterring the risk of fraud. From our experience as experts in this area of business, fraud is a LOT more prevalent than you would ever imagine, and most business owners are unaware of it until an audit is done on the business.

AUDIT AND ASSURANCE TO MINIMISE YOUR RISK Bishop Collins Audit have the experience to review and assess your internal controls, provide insight and assistance to develop a “fraud awareness” culture, and help you identify and manage your exposure to fraud risks. l

FRAUD IN BUSINESS IS MORE COMMON THAN YOU THINK Sadly, organisations often neglect their fraud risk exposure through downplaying the value or the risk.

For example, labelling fraud as petty theft (still technically fraud) due to the purported insignificance in value.

Alarmingly, some organisations

Contact SSAA Member, Bishop Collins Chartered Accountants – (02) 4353 2333 urgently if you need assistance in transitioning to STP reporting and compliance.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

18 | SSAA 30TH ANNIVERSARY

SSAA – Celebrating 30 years

O

ver the next 12 months the SSAA will be celebrating 30 years since its formation.

It all started back in May 1990 when a handful of Facility operators gathered in the Swagman Room at the Hotel Lawson, Ultimo, Sydney and held the inaugural meeting of the proposed Australian Self Storage Association.

There will be lots of exciting things happening over the next year to mark this milestone, culminating in the 2020 Melbourne Convention in August 2020.

Did you know that on 28 September in 1990 the first trade show was held at the Hotel Lawson with a cocktail party on opening night?

The infamous John Singleton gave the keynote speech “Marketing Self Storage in the 90s”.

The next morning the steering committee was appointed and 32 foundation members were welcomed, including Jim Miller, Bob Marsh,Frank Cooney, Richard Whalan, Neville Kennard, Ian Oliver, Lee Cameron and Liz Davies. All familiar names we know today.

How can you help?

Do you have any information, images, and stories from the last 30 years? We would love you to share them with us. You can mail them, or scan them and email them to marketing@selfstorage.com.au The more memories and mementoes we can gather the better. These will all help celebrate and commemorate all the achievements and growth the industry has had over the last 30 years.

Did you also know that in September 1993 The AGM was held in Canberra and Mark Bateman requested the Association change its name to include New Zealand?

This was moved firstly by Neville Kennard and seconded by Jim Miller.

Overall it was a unanimous decision by the board.

As a result The Association changed its name immediately and became The Self Storage Association of Australasia.

As the 30 year celebrations gather momentum we would love all members participation to make this celebration worth celebrating. l

Keypads, CCTV, Office Alarms and more Don’t let computer failures paralyse your facility. With Sentinel’s da Vinci’s you’ll experience freedom from the fear that your facility will never be inconvenienced. The latest da Vinci model keypads are designed to retain all valid storer codes and operate without a PC. YOU’LL NEVER NEED TO WORRY ABOUT PC FAILURES AGAIN!

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20 | MARKETING

What’s your point of difference?

By Andy Pudmenzky Big Budda Boom

W

hile a large self storage facility (or multi-facility group) has the scale, finances and capacity to outsource a lot of their needs, staff at smaller facilities are often left wearing many hats filling all kinds of roles – salesperson, marketer, cleaner, taker-of-payments, chaser-of-bad-debts... the list goes on.

Some of these roles and associated tasks can, of course, be outsourced to your existing software platform. Take Storman Cloud as an example – it can manage leads for you, run your online unit rentals, securely take and chase payments and so on – but other tasks require some additional research, planning and execution – particularly if you also have to justify additional spend and devise a method of showing return on investment.

Marketing is one such example. Many of us work in our businesses day to day and should all generally know what

our key selling points, strengths and weaknesses are – but sometimes we need to look to our competitors to find our true point of difference and create an awesome value proposition. After all, your value proposition is the reason people buy from you.

FINDING YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION In my marketing workshop at the SSAA’s recent Convention in Cairns, I covered a broad range of topics – everything from video to social media, but if you were there (PS: sorry if you missed out on a seat – it was a packed room!) you may recall I also covered the POD, POP, POI framework.

This is a great way to find your value prop through the analysis of what you and your competitors offer, and compare it to what storers actually want. It comprises of three parts – POD (Points of Difference), POP (Points of Parity) and POI (Points of Irrelevance).

HOW TO BUILD YOUR MATRIX Start by writing down all of your PODs; the things you offer but your competitor does not. Some examples might be that you have covered driveways and a courtesy move-in truck.

Then, write down all of your POPs; the things that both you and your competitors both have. Some examples might be the fact that you have many unit sizes, regular pest control or an on-site box shop. These are nice to have on your website and in your marketing, but they should not by the focus.

Finally, write down all of your POIs; the things you have but your storers aren’t really fussed about. Some examples might be your nice landscaping and gardens, or the fact that storers can pay their invoice online. You should mostly ignore these in your marketing.

Now that you have your PODs, POPs and POIs, focus on the PODs in your marketing. These are your key selling points and should form your value proposition in all of your marketing moving forward. Happy marketing!

Find out more: Did you miss my marketing workshop at the SSAA Convention in Cairns? Download a copy of my slides at bigbuddaboom.com.au/ssaacairns l

BIG BUDDA BOOM

Andy Pudmenzky has been working in the self storage industry for over 13 years and is the managing director of Big Budda Boom Pty Ltd, a self storage marketing company specialising in websites, advertising, photography and video production.

Big Budda Boom currently works with self storage facilities around Australia and New Zealand.

Read more at bigbuddaboom.com.au WEB ▪ PRINT ▪ AUDIO ▪ VIDEO ▪ STAGE

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

www.selfstorage.org.au

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22 | FOCUS ON

Q&A WITH NEW BOARD MEMBER Ned Coten FROM SUNSHINE SELF STORAGE

N

ed is a busy man as he juggles storage facility ownership along with his other passion as Chairman of Basketball Australia. We sat down with Ned to find out more about his Facility along with how the learnings of a sporting background can be applied to the storage business

Q

How long have you been in the industry?

We bought the Sunshine Storage facility in Melbourne in 2004, l saw it advertised in the Trading Post. It was fairly run down at the time and pretty basic, but the goal was to improve it and grow it.

Our facility is a lower cost, lower service model which works for us but is not for everyone. We offer a no-frills, down-to-earth, simple storage facility.

Q

How big is your Facility?

On the block, we have 80 units on a 2,000 square metre site. We have recently completed our new location in Altona, which is 12,000 square metres with 300 units with additional land at the rear for future growth opportunities.

Q

What were some of the greatest difficulties to start?

The number one issue we had was dealing with difficult clients and bad debts. We worked a way around this after being burned several times and asked for three months’ rent up front, and if they baulked at that, you knew there would be trouble in the future.

Q

How has this changed since you started?

The type of customer has changed, with eBay, Amazon, etc. we are seeing people doing business from their

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

storage units. They are importing and storing goods for sales. Also, more people are working from home and need additional storage space for their work goods, be it documents to machinery.

Q

How do you see the current growth in the industry and your Facility?

I am very fortunate as the Chairman of Basketball Australia to be able to see where growth in Melbourne is happening. Currently, there are more people playing basketball than ever before, and Australia now has 13 players in the NBA in America which is a record. From the enrolment into basketball, l can see what areas the growth is coming from, and the Western side of Melbourne is increasing at a rapid rate and has become a growth corridor. As a result, even land prices in industrial areas have increased significantly over the last few years.

More people are living in smaller houses and apartments these days.

However, they still like to have their possessions but can't fit them into these areas. That is where storage facilities are making a significant impact these days.

Q

What business improvements have you implemented over the last 12 months?

Our site is mostly managed remotely, l only go there once a week. Security is essential and we have increased security with online systems to monitor the site.

That way l can sleep at night. We also keep improving the web site and looking at constant improvements in marketing.

I have a marketing background, so this is very important to me.

You also need to stay on top of technology and move with the times.

Clients want to deal with you online more than face to face, they want quick responses and answers. We have upgraded all of our storage systems, which make it easier for clients to pay and interact online.

Q

What advice would you give someone looking at coming into the self storage business?

Many years ago in Perth, l started a basketball team from scratch, and that gave me a lot of business experience on how to run a business. I found the key is to focus on the customer you want to attract, what they want. In Sunshine there are a lot of trades people in the area, so we concentrated on them.

www.selfstorage.org.au

DINK | 23

More people are living in smaller houses, apartments but still like to have possessions which can’t fit in these areas, and that is where storage facilities are making a more significant impact these days.

The key, aside from having all of the systems in place, is teamwork and l know with a sporting background everyone says that, but it is important.

You can’t do it alone.

Something else l learned is if you do have other responsibilities – like myself with basketball –when you are starting out, you do need to put in the extra time and effort. I wish l had spent a bit more time because

www.selfstorage.org.au

by doing that, the business pays you back in spades.

Another thing is perseverance.

It is very easy to see other similar businesses and think they are doing better than you and it is all easy, but once you start talking to people, you realise every company has its issues and together you can work out solutions.

That is where the SSAA came in so handy in the beginning through them l

was able to network with other facility owners, find out legal information, marketing tools. I have dealt with a lot of industry bodies over the years, and l can honestly say that the SSAA is one of the best ones to deal with and what you get out of them regarding help and information is second to none.

The other thing is customer relations. Most of the time you are storing peoples goods because they are moving which is a stressful time. So by having staff that are supportive, friendly and willing to assist, gives customers that little bit extra which works well for future referrals.

I always say the biggest danger is to stand still and do nothing. In the storage business you can easily do this but you will fall behind the game. l

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

24 | FACILITY OF THE YEAR

2019

SSAA

ANNUAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

WINNER

2019 FACILITY OF THE YEAR More than 500 units

FORT KNOX SELF STORAGE

COBURG VICTORIA

O

n July 30th, 2018, the Fort Knox Self Storage family opened the doors to the newest addition in their portfolio, a fabulous purpose-built storage facility situated on Sydney Road, Coburg North, Melbourne. It is the 10th self storage location added to their growing family and their first facility servicing the northern suburbs of Melbourne. With its grand stature, this eye-catching state of the art self storage centre it is, without a doubt, a worthy winner of the prestigious SSAA Facility of the Year Award.

Fort Knox Coburg North site is conveniently situated on Sydney Road close to both the Western Ring Road & City Link. The site is merely 13 minutes from Essendon Airport and just 15 minutes from Tullamarine airport, providing easy access for travellers. Currently, they have only opened stage 1, and future developments will see the site having over 1050 units available, by the end of 2020.

To ensure customers receive the best value for money, Fort Knox Coburg has over 20 different sizes of spaces on

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

offer. Because of this, customers don’t pay for any excess storage space that they do not need. The facility itself boasts a large boardroom for commercial clients to utilise free of charge, a lovely waiting room with complimentary tea coffee and refreshments for all customers, removalists and visitors alike.

Fort Knox Self Storage Coburg prides itself on cleanliness and a pristine storage environment. The team at the site complete a full walk around audit daily and make sure that the facility is in perfect condition. Hallways are swept, rubbish removed, and the extensive audit regime is completed and documented daily. During the construction of the building, a ‘concrete densifying agent’ was applied, so there is no concrete dust, and the floors remain entirely sealed for the life of the facility. This ensures and assures clients that their goods are in the same condition when they leave as what they were when they arrived.

When designing the Coburg North facility, the Fort Knox team worked closely with the engineers and designers to incorporate numerous innovations and measures to improve environmental strategies. They are committed to monitor efficiencies and look for opportunities that will enhance environmental performance. Their environmental policy is reviewed on an annual basis or as required. The Coburg facility has been built on the premise of reducing the carbon footprint, where possible. Thus ensuring it is a self storage facility of choice, especially for environmentally conscious customers. Some initiatives include:

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l Movement sensors that control energy-efficient LED lighting. l Lights turn off after 20 minutes of no movement. l Roof Solar System to be installed Q4 2019. l Rainwater tanks that water our gardens l Rain garden to catch rainwater at the front of the property. l 6sqm recycle bin for customers at no charge. l Selling of cardboard boxes that have used recycled products. l Paperless move-in process and no filing cabinets.

At Fort Knox Self Storage, they take security seriously!

They have designed a unique locking mechanism which provides additional security and peace of mind for clients which prevents bolt cutters being used to force entry as it completely encloses the shank of all padlocks on site. All the units at the Coburg facility are fitted with individual door alarms, which are activated/deactivated through Sentinel double pin entry/exit system to the site.

The facility itself has 29 high definition security cameras, back to base movement sensors on all external access doors and external/internal PIR sensors to detect movement outside and inside of the building. When accessing the premises, clients use their PIN to gain access through the main gate. They also need to use their PIN again to access inside the building. Access into the building is through 3 unique ‘Albany fast roller doors’ that open in under 2 seconds. Internally there are three large goods/ passenger lifts which were installed by Safetech. These have a huge 3m x 3m loading deck and, given their size, move clients between levels quickly. Opting to operate from 6.00 am – 9.00 pm enables the site to be fully secure overnight for 8 hours, which has been specifically designed to deter undesirables from being onsite overnight. Fort Knox believes that all self storage should have a period that they ‘lockdown’ overnight and facilities with 24-hour access may attract some customers, that aren’t ideal.

The site has been constructed in 6 sections, separated by fire-rated compartments, which in the event of a fire,

www.selfstorage.org.au

Fort Knox believes that all self storage should have a period that they ‘lockdown’ overnight and facilities with 24-hour access may attract some customers, that aren’t ideal.

seal each section. There’s a fire panel fitted with hard-wired smoke detectors which alert fire authorities on activation.

In addition, there is a 10,000-litre rainwater tank to ensure there is plenty of water on hand for emergency services while minimising environmental impact.

The office is fitted with a duress alarm in the event the team have a personal threat which automatically calls the security monitoring company and Police. They have also implemented several security checks to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all team members if they are onsite alone.

Fort Knox Self Storage Coburg is a magnificent purposebuilt state of the art facility. Ensuring customers have a brilliant storage experience has been the driving force behind many aspects of the design and construction process. With A-grade security measures, paperless move-in system, ease of access and complimentary beverages, these all add up to ensure every customer is treated like gold.

Kris, Connie and the team at Fort Knox Self Storage Coburg truly understand the overwhelming prospect that storing your precious items can evoke. Understanding this, they deliver exceptional customer service providing all customers with peace of mind knowing that they will take care of their personal belongings and value them as much as they do. Fort Knox Coburg offers the latest in global self storage advancements, making it a superb representation of the quality that the Fort Knox Self Storage Group offers and the high bar that is being raised

by Australian storage facilities. l

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

26 | SSAA ALLIANCE

Family Business Australia and New Zealand

T

he SSAA is excited to announce to members an alliance has been established with Family Business Australia and Family Business New Zealand (FBA/FBNZ) – the association that for over 21 years has been successfully helping family businesses along the path to success.

The alliance will see collaboration between the two associations to bring our members an expanded range of services for family owned businesses, which make up approximately 85% of our membership.

All SSAA family businesses will be entitled to: l Use the FBA/FBNZ Associate logo (depending on your location). l Use the Family Owned Australian or New Zealand Business emblem to promote to your market that you are a family business (There are unique logos for Australia and New Zealand). l Education programs designed to help you succeed as a family business – including the Family Business Essentials Workshop.

l Access to over 300 Accredited Business Advisors who can help you with specific family business issues as they arise. l Free attendance to FBA Family Business Insider events – getting a sneak peek into the operations of other successful family businesses. l Access to the Family Business Diagnostic Tool to help you identify those areas of your business which need some focus. l Access to FBA’s Resource Centre with blogs, articles and research reports which may give you a fresh perspective on your family business. l Plus lots more …

forward to sharing more of the benefits with you in coming months.

Further communications will provide specifics for the upcoming Family Business Essentials workshops.

As an example your SSAA membership will allow one person from your business to attend, at no cost.

Subsequent attendees will be charged a very reasonable rate of $95. This is great value for a four hour workshop!

Below are the dates for the first round for next year to pencil in your diaries. As more dates for 2020 are finalised they will be placed on the SSAA website and FBA’s website. l

HOW WILL IT WORK? All SSAA Members received a joint communication from the FBA and the SSAA providing links to the FBA Associate logo and the FBA emblem.

You can download the links and follow the instructions for the correct usage of the logos.

This is an exciting new partnership for SSAA members, and we look

AUSTRALIA www.familybusiness.org.au/calendar NEW ZEALAND www.familybusiness.org.nz/ upcoming-events

AUSTRALIA Family Business Directors Course

QLD

Tuesday, 17 – Wednesday 18 March 2020

Family Business Directors Course

VIC

Wednesday, 25 – Thursday 26 March 2020

Succession Planning for Family Business

WA

Monday, 30 March 2020

Financial Essentials for Family Business

VIC

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

NEW ZEALAND Family Business Breakfast with Brian White, Chairman, Ray White Real Estate

AKL

February 2020

Simon Sinek LIVE in partnership with the Growth Faculty

AKL

30 March 2020

Family Business Directors Course

AKL

April 2020

Family Business Insights (1 Day Conference)

AKL

4 June 2020 3 compulsory workshops

Emerging Leaders Program (4 month program)

AKL

10 - 12 June 2020 11 - 24 July 2020 9 - 11 September 2020

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

www.selfstorage.org.au

RegisBuilt recently handed over the latest stage for Jim’s Self Storage in Williamstown, Victoria. The latest stage was recently awarded ‘Best Expansion / upgrade 2019’ in the 2019 SSAA Annual Awards for excellence, once again proving collaboration between RegisBuilt and the owner delivers award winning facilities.

For your next project, collaborate with us for a seamless design and construction project.

1300 388 224

info@regisbuilt.com.au

regisbuilt.com.au

28 | MARKET UPDATE

A market blip, or a long term trend?

By Patrick Mulcahy, Urbis.

The team at Urbis continually monitor the self storage market and share their insights through the Urbis Storage Index and the Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker.

JUNE 2019 URBIS STORAGE INDEX RESULTS For the first time in 11 years we’ve seen negative growth in storage fee rates in all markets tracked over the six months to June 2019. Linda Sharkey’s report in the June 2019 edition of The Insider magazine outlined signs of a slow down in storage fee rate growth and constrained levels of occupancy growth in 2018. The latest Urbis Storage Index showed a continuation in this slowing trend, with average storage fee rates across Australia and New Zealand falling by 2.24% over the six months to June 2019 and 0.51% over the 12 months to June 2019. While the results are unfavourable, they weren’t unexpected, as factors such as new self storage supply and a slowdown in the residential market have contributed to these results (see graph below right).

UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF NEW SUPPLY New self storage supply is one of the main contributing factors we see affecting self storage performance.

Since the inception of the Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker in March 2018, Urbis has been actively monitoring new self storage developments occurring in main metropolitan markets. Over the past 12 months, the largest increase in self storage supply levels occurred in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, with results showing an increase of 11.2%, 9.2% and 6.7% respectively. However, over the next 24 months, the highest levels of new supply are expected to occur in Sydney and Melbourne, with planned increases of 13% and 9.5% respectively, as shown in the graph on the opposite page.

This increase will represent an unparalleled level of new self storage

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

supply in these markets. We expect that while this new supply is being absorbed, storage fee rate growth will continue to be constrained with the potential for further negative growth in some markets due to the increased competition.

markets have started to regain positive momentum, we are not expecting the same high levels of market activity as seen prior to mid-2017 in the medium term.

SLOWDOWN IN THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Fee rate growth and occupancy levels have had a significant impact on self storage markets, however other monitored changes include the rise in concessions and declining ‘other income’ (sales of merchandise, insurance and collection of late fees).

Urbis regularly monitors these changes across different operators in various markets.

We sampled 16 self storage facilities in Sydney from a variety of operators and measured the aforementioned changes over the 2016, 2017 and 2018 financial years with the results as shown in table on opposite page.

OTHER TRENDS IN THE SELF STORAGE MARKET

The slowdown in the residential market sector has also contributed to the constrained performance results.

Auction clearance rates in late 2018 and early 2019 were some of the lowest on record. For example, in December 2018, auctions clearance rates in Sydney fell below 40%, which was the lowest result since July 2008. There is a significant flow on effect for self storage markets, with fewer people moving between houses and requiring interim storage space. While there are certainly positive signs that residential

AVERAGE STORAGE FEE RATE GRAPH $430.00

$380.00 $363.49

$380.40 $369.63

$395.64

$393.74

$397.48

$315.26

$314.72

$320.97

$293.19

$297.03

$265.84

$269.43

$241.16

$238.39

$370.77

$330.00 $304.66 $288.14

$293.36

$280.00

$254.77 $230.00

$296.27 $271.41

$261.06

Jun-15

$301.34 $278.45

$282.76

Dec-15 Sydney

$289.73

$266.85

$264.18 $262.32

$389.16

$381.26

$263.90

Jun-16

$263.34

Dec-16

Melbourne

$260.64

$247.99

$312.76

$288.42

Jun-17

Dec-17

Jun-18

Brisbane

Perth

Auckland

Dec-18

$267.32

$238.15 Jun-19

www.selfstorage.org.au

MARKET UPDATE | 29 20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00% Adelaide

Auckland

Brisbane Last 12 Months

Melbourne

Perth

Sydney

Next 24 Months

*The base line at 0% represents early to mid 2018 storage unit levels for each of these markets.

WHY ARE WE SEEING A DECLINE IN ‘OTHER INCOME’?

The decrease in merchandise sales is one of the biggest contributing factors to the fall in ‘other income’, with the increase in retailers such as Bunnings, Officeworks and the rise of e-commerce retailers saturating the merchandise market. These retailers now offer products such as boxes, locks and other items traditionally sold at self storage facilities and have proved attractive for consumers due to competitive price points and convenience. Merchandise sales generally represent circa 50% of ‘other income’ in established self storage facilities, so in order to combat the growing availability of these products, new self storage facilities are placing greater emphasis on the display of merchandise to better attract customers.

In addition, the increasing supply of self storage facilities themselves appears to be further exacerbating the decline in ‘other income’.

Concessions, or customer credits, have also grown significantly over the past three years. Concessions have become an increasingly important component of a self storage facility valuation at Urbis. We are now seeing instances of concessions and arrears write-off representing 4%-5% of total gross storage revenue. In highly competitive markets, this rate can be much higher. We predict concessions are likely to continue to rise as attracting new self storage customers becomes more competitive. Higher

www.selfstorage.org.au

ITEM

% CHANGE BETWEEN FY 2016 & 2018

Late Fess

2.11%

Merchandise

-9.40%

Insurance

-6.25%

Total Other Income

-2.34%

concessions and arrears write-off in the order of 4%-5% of gross income will likely become the new norm in some markets.

SO, WHAT’S THE UP-SIDE? While storage fee rates and occupancy growth has been constrained, we are still seeing strong levels of capital growth for established self storage facilities. Over the past 12-18 months we have observed a compression in capitalisation rates of approximately 50 basis points across the Australian and New Zealand market. This has been driven by strong demand for self storage facilities from both institutional grade and second tier investment groups. The current low cost of debt as well as the greater level of initial return that self storage offers when compared with other real estate sectors, has meant that demand for storage has strengthened considerably.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

experience strong levels of capital growth primarily due to continued market yield compression. The question remains, are the poorer performance results that we are seeing just a small market blip, or are we going to experience a further claw back in performance metrics as the market continues to mature and absorb new self storage supply?

My prediction is that while interest rates remain low, demand for storage assets will be strong with investors seeking higher returns. This will likely result in further yield compression, albeit at slower rates than we have witnessed in recent years. While new supply is absorbed, fee rate growth will be constrained. However, signs of a positive turn around in the residential market will likely support stable occupancy levels. Let’s wait and see what results are delivered in the Urbis Storage Index over the next 12 months to truly understand what the long term trend is telling us. l

While Urbis research shows a retraction in storage fee rate growth and constrained levels of occupancy growth, owners of self storage facilities in established markets continue to

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

30 | RESOURCES

Handy Resource List Over the summer months many people like to take a break, so it is always handy to have a contact list available in case anything happens around your Facility.

LIST THE CONTACT DETAILS OF THESE CONTRACTORS FOR QUICK REFERENCE ✔ Insurance company ✔ Site Clean-up, building repairs & labour

✔ Water Removal and disaster recovery tools

✔ Electrician ✔ Fire Equipment Services – Fire servicing company

✔ Waste Removal ✔ Computer replacement / repairs / Phone issues

✔ Tree Removal ✔ Glass Repairs ✔ Storage Unit Repairs ✔ Removals ✔ Packing Supplies ✔ Goods Lift Repairs ✔ Roller Door and Gate Repairs ✔ Security reinstatement & after-hours onsite security guards

✔ IT / Database Support ✔ Call centre or phone answering centre

HANDY CHECKLIST ✔ Insurers notified ✔ Contract Labour contacted ✔ Staff contacted ✔ Management plan activated ✔ Strategy plan activated ✔ Site made safe for entry ✔ Affected clients notified ✔ Contractors organised to fix any systems

✔ Recovery tools organised –

✔ Create a statement of what happened

Shovels, bins, safety equipment, dehumidifiers, drying machines, water vacuums etc. ✔ Rubbish removal arranged ✔ Building rectification works organised ✔ Ongoing management and meetings taking place ✔ Master client contact spread sheet created so all notes are recorded.

Remember only 1 version to be worked on – not multiple copies ✔ Additional staff in central call answering centre to handle queries ✔ Create a folder for all expense receipts and invoices ✔ Organise credit card details to pay for all services, if required on the spot ✔ Is this a natural disaster? Does the client insurance cover clients? Is the storage company at fault?

for customers to give to their insurance companies. This should be checked by lawyers before sending ✔ If the company is at fault a lawyer needs to be engaged immediately before any statements are given to clients, media or insurers ✔ Has a detailed incident report being written including all details of person responsible and or witnesses? ✔ Copy security footage of incident to a USB for file ✔ Check stock of amenities to ensure enough supplies for extra personnel onsite ✔ Order extra stock of boxes, tape and packing supplies for customers / recovery team to use for repacking ✔ Conduct a post incident meeting to discuss what could have assisted or made it easier for future reference l

Best wishes for a safe & HAPPY festive season from all the TEAM at

1300 01 SSAA

Farewell JJ In September we said good bye to Jeannette Jones (JJ) who has been working with the Self Storage Association for the last five years in the Admin/Reception role.

She was the first port of call for members and was always at the ready to assist members. Over the past five years JJ has assisted thousands of queries regarding membership. She even went above and beyond with assisting members to reset their website passwords, downloading

documents, navigating computer functionality on their end so they can login and use SSAA resources.

JJ along with her hubby of more than 50 years and the two Maltese terriers Bonnie and Teddy are moving from Melbourne to Perth where their daughter lives.

We have all heard the stories that once storage is in your blood it is there for life. No truer words – on her last day JJ requested to be added to the mailing list for the Insider magazine so she could stay in touch with the storage industry.

We will all miss her happy, bubbly and professional manner and wish her well for her new life in Perth.

Matt Walsh Highway Frontage Real Estate 0411 880 054 | 1300 661 950

SELF STORAGE FACILTY OWNERS

L1. 146 Chapel St, St Kilda VIC 3182

To find out how to maximise the sale result of your facility, contact Matt Walsh for a confidential discussion.

mwalsh@highwayfrontage.com.au / www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au HIGHWAY FRONTAGE ARE SSAA MEMBERS

32 | DIGITAL TRENDS

STATE OF THE NATION Digital marketing trends in self storage in Australia and New Zealand by Michael Dogger R6 Digital.

T

he Digital marketplace is more competitive than ever with an increase in competition and spending in the storage industry.

While advertising spend on digital advertising has increased in all industries, spending in the storage industry has increased at a higher rate than the average – there seems to be increased awareness of the need to spend money on digital marketing after a slower start and larger operators in the industry have increased their digital spend to meet the market.

Larger storage operators tend to blanket broad areas, meaning smaller sites can get caught in the crossfire.

For example, large players might bid a high cost per click for a whole area, so a small site in a relatively small area needs to spend big to get number one ad placement in their area. No different to any other big versus small business approach.

Will a slowdown affect digital marketing?

Despite early warning signs of a global economic slowdown, the possibility of a recession is not keeping advertisers up at night too much. Advertising spending has continued to rise across the globe, with digital driving most of the growth.

“Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting at Zenith Media says ‘The advertising market is underperforming the economy, but we don’t think that’s because advertisers have stopped investing. Instead, we think they’re investing in other areas like advertising technology, data and ecommerce.”

In 2019, worldwide digital ad spending is projected to rise by 17.6% to $333.25 billion and for the first time, digital spend will account for roughly half of the global ad market.

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

Australia is over the average with 57% of all ad spend going to digital, and New Zealand is close behind at 54%. Self storage still works even in a downturn, it did in the GFC and will again when business does slow down and it will someday.

Google ranking There has been some big changes this past year in the way that Google ranks websites. For a long time Google has had a few indexes that it used to rank websites – there was a desktop ranking and a mobile ranking algorithm. For the first time – the mobile ranking algorithm is the main ranking factor for websites. Most websites moved to this index earlier this year, meaning how your website looks on mobile actually determines your desktop ranking. If your website is still not mobile friendly then you will expect to drop in Google rankings. This is because mobile views are continuing to rise. For example, in July 2019 mobile visits doubled, and up to now, over 65% of all visits to storage facility websites are from a mobile phone.

Http vs Https.

Websites need a digital certificate to authenticate the website and if your website still starts with http:// then it does not have a digital security certificate. Sites with a certificate

outrank sites that google considers “not secure”. Sort that out with your web developer today.

Ads with phone number extensions generate 36% more phone calls than those that have no number on the ad.

People might call on the website itself but at a much lower rate.

There has been a global increase in ad blocker usage from 142 million to an estimated 615 million devices.

Interestingly this doesn’t seem to be impacting ad views, as 65% of people click on Google ads versus organic. AdWords remain as a key lead generator and whilst some may advocate search engine optimisation only, without an effective Adwords campaign funded and running could lead your business to miss up to 65% of traffic. Rentals in self storage from AdWords are still on the increase.

Self storage learnings Google Ads with offers in the main heading achieve a 3-4% increase in Click Through Rate (CTR). If you have an offer like – “50% off first month”, 3-4% more people click on that ad than a more generic Ad listing “Self storage space available” etc. Make sure your Ads have an offer to instantly increase the amount of people that will click though to see your offering.

The average increase nation-wide for CPC or cost per click advertising has

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DIGITAL TRENDS | 33

risen by 21% and is higher in capital cities, driven by two factors: 1. Larger groups have increased their budgets using the blanket campaigns to bid a high cost per click over larger areas.

2. More competition – extra sites now promoting on the AdWords platform.

Self storage cost per move in There has been approximately a 70% increase in cost per move in in 2019, whilst cost per click (CPC) is only up 21%. Sites with effective digital campaigns have enjoyed more inquiries coming in, but the conversion rate of facilities has dropped overall.

With increased discounting, increased competition and customers shopping around getting more quotes, a decrease in conversion rates for facilities can be expected. An unintended consequence of the factors of competition and growth of the industry.

It’s not all doom and gloom though! There is a strong correlation between the number of leads a site receives and the amount invested on ad spend. Many operators have a set ‘budget’ for ad spend, which is a concept drawn from non digital advertising, our research shows that there is plenty of interest for self storage spaces and taking a “I am only going to spend XYZ” for ads can mean that there are leads missed.

When sites adopt a “cost per move in” model, consider how fast you want to grow. For example, if it costs $150 per move in and you are ok with that, then you might spend as much money as you can to get as many leads as you can at that price. This can mean a doubling or even tripling the ad spend, but with double to triple the leads, filling up your facility will happen faster. You can control growth with advertising spend.

www.selfstorage.org.au

The percentage of leads coming in from AdWords compared to SEO is on the rise

RapidStor Online move in insight

booking. Some facilities get as high as 4% when they fine tune compelling offers. There alone is the key takeaway – offers work.

On average, customers take twice as long to do online bookings on computer, having sorted their rental with real intent to rent as distinct from phone calls To conclude, self storage operators are selling space in an increasingly competitive and more expensive digital marketplace. Reliance on leads generated digitally is increasing and is a function of the strong growth of the industry. Reliance on discounting rather than unique offers and selling points and targeted digital advertising will continue to impact investment returns. l

Mobile views of online pricing have increased from 40% to 60% in the last year and there was a corresponding reduction in desktop views. More people are looking to book self storage online on their phones than ever before.

Average page views sit at around 1.5%, i.e. 1.5% of people that view prices complete a full reservation or

R6 Digital(r) is a full service digital agency based in Brisbane and is a SSAA service member with key staff with many years of self storage experience.

For more information contact sales@r6digital.com.au or visit the website.

We think a combination of SEO and AdWords is important as part of the overall digital mix. Whilst AdWords as a percentage of leads has risen from 44% to 54% in the last year, the trend of Adwords growth continues which ensures the Google AdWords platform isn't going away anytime soon.

From the owner perspective many hope that their investment in their organic rankings will eventually mean they don’t have to spend on AdWords, Search is dominated by google and it is increasingly unlikely that organic ranking will deliver the results.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

Leading supplier of

GOODS HOISTS FOR SELF STORAGE

Call us today on

1800 244 787 Pleased to announce our Principal Partnership with Self-Storage Association of Australia

sales@southwell.com.au www.southwell.com.au

HUMAN RESOURCES | 35

Show me the money!

Advice.

Awareness.

Connect.

Collaborate.

HR HELPDESK 1300 01 SSAA / 1300 017 722

By Cath Grawe, HR Central Communications Officer

T

here are a few essential HR requirements that every employer, regardless of industry, must address. The main areas are: l Paying in line with or above the correct award and being classified correctly within that award. Ensuring so helps avoid underpayments – which are a serious breach of workplace law, resulting in not only paying back monies owed, but also risking fines and loss of reputation; l Ensuring that you are “employing” correctly. Part time/Full time Permanent? Casual? Contractor?

It is essential that every employee receives the correct entitlements for their work type and it pays to know the difference; and l Providing safe working conditions so employees are not at risk of physical or psychological harm. Not only preventing physical dangers such as dangerous equipment, faulty wiring, lack of safety wear and safety procedure is not acceptable, so too is harassment, bullying and discrimination which can have serious detrimental effects on an employee. l No doubt most of you are aware of the above, and have appropriate procedures and processes in place to ensure that you are compliant with workplace law, but there is another, equally important but less considered, HR function to be added to the list. The humble pay slip…

Do I have to provide a pay slip to my employees?

Yes. If you employ people under Commonwealth Workplace laws, you are required to keep accurate and complete pay records for all your employees and issue them with a payslip.

How often do I have to provide pay slips?

You must provide a payslip to all your employees within one working day of their payday, even if the employee is on leave. These days many

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employers deliver payslips online and electronically via email, but legally you can provide the payslip in electronic or hard copy form. It should be in easy to follow or plain English. Payslips should be accessible to employees, so for those who don’t have ready access to email i.e. those working in remote locations or in a manufacturing environment, you may need to issue hard copies of pay slips.

At the end of the financial (EOFY) you must also provide each of your employees with a PAYG summary (Pay as you go statement). This is an extra pay statement required by the Australian Tax Office to document the full year’s pay paid by you to the employee.

What information must I include on a payslip?

Payslips must include the details of any payments, deductions and superannuation contributions made for each pay period including the following: l The name of the employer and your ABN (if you have one) l The name of the employee l The date of the payment and the pay period which is being covered. If the employee is being paid an hourly rate, then you should cite that rate l Details of any payments made – both the gross and net amounts l Details of any loadings paid (including casual loadings), any monetary allowances or incentivebased payments or bonuses, penalty rates or any other entitlements that can be separately identified l Details of any deductions taken from the employees’ pay including the amount and details of the deduction, and the name and number of the fund or account that the deduction was paid into l Superannuation contributions paid for the employee’s benefit including the name and or the number of the superannuation fund the benefits

are paid into and the amount of the contributions being made during the pay period It is not obligatory to include your employee’s leave on a payslip however it is generally considered to be best practice.

How long do I need to keep time and wage records for?

You must keep your employees’ time and wage records for seven years. The records of an employee are private, and access should only be given to the employee, employer and payroll staff or the accountant. You must also make those records available to a Fair Work inspector upon request for them to verify whether an employee has been paid properly.

What happens if I don’t comply with these requirements?

If you don’t include the right information on a pay slip or issue it within one day of the employee’s pay day you can be issued an ‘infringement notice’ by Fair Work Australia. Fines can be up to $1260 per breach per individual or $6300 for a corporation. Fair Work will take into account the circumstances of the breach when deciding whether to issue an infringement notice. They may opt to not issue an infringement notice but may assist the employer to fix the problem.

If you have any questions about payslip information, or on any of the above, you have the offer as an SSAA member to call the HR Help Desk for some free advice! Sometimes it pays to check… l Cath Grawe is the Chief Communications Officer at HR Central. When she is not writing, talking or representing all things HR Central, she can be found attached to the stove cooking for her 14-year-old 6ft son!

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

36 | OHS

Step 1 for workplace safety

By Action OHS Consulting

C

raig Salter from Action OHS Consulting attended the SSAA Convention in Cairns. He walked away feeling that members had good intentions to meet their legislative health and safety duties. However, there was still some uncertainty about where to start. He shared this information to get the ball rolling.

THE BEST STARTING POINT IS SAFETY: 1. Make a list of how people – you, your staff or your customers – could be injured in your workplace.

Then make a list of the things you are doing and what you could do to prevent these injuries from occurring.

2. Take regular facility walks to identify hazards and ensure that controls remain in place.

3. For businesses with multiple employees, set-up a meeting with your people. Invite them to share “anything that makes them feel unsafe at work”, or “how things could be done more safely”. Then listen. At the end of the meeting, discuss how hazards and incidents can be reported in future.

Remember, if you require support, there are some great free resources

available exclusively to SSAA Members: l SSAA Health & Safety Handbook l SSAA OHS Help Desk l Cloud-based OHS Software via Safety Champion’s GO FREE Plan www.safetychampion.com.au

SSAA WELCOMES MEMBERS TO THE OHS HELP DESK OHS Help Desk – contact number is 1800 067 313 The SSAA encourages compliance with all members to ensure health and safety requirements are met, and to ensure this, offers members with complimentary access to safety support – an OHS Help Desk.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Contact the OHS Help Desk if you have a health and safety enquiry on 1800 067 313 or email admin@selfstorage.com.au The SSAA will verify your membership and will forward your enquiry to Action OHS Consulting.

Action OHS Consulting will respond to your enquiry within 1 business day.

Please note that if the enquiry is outside the scope of the Help Desk, the member is advised and offered assistance on a fee for service basis.

Your call will be confidential.

WHAT OHS SERVICE IS FREE WITH MEMBERSHIP? With a team of trusted and experienced safety consultants, Action OHS Consulting are available to support members to improve their health and safety program confidently. Your free access includes: l Regular webinars on industry-specific health and safety topics l A Health and Safety Handbook, which can be downloaded and configured to your needs l A Hazards and Risks Register (coming soon!) l A telephone and email-based health and safety advice line, providing you with access to useful “5 minute” safety advisory conversations.

You can view our website for the Health and Safety Help Desk Framework which provides a table of information on the free services as part of your membership and services that require a fee. l To improve the SSAA’s body of OHS knowledge, Action OHS Consulting are in the process of building a SSAA specific hazards and risk register. All member contributions would be greatly accepted, to contribute, contact the SSAA OHS Help Desk.

new standard storage agreement* now available! *only available to financial members

putting ink on paper since 1977 3 Paterson Parade Queanbeyan NSW 2620 PO Box 624 Fyshwick ACT 2609 tel: 02 6299 4500 email: printing@homesteadpress.com.au SSAA SERVICE MEMBER SINCE 1999

www.homesteadpress.com.au

SSAA SERVICE MEMBER PROFILE | 37

ASSA ABLOY

FALLON VALUERS Fallon Valuers provide their clients with confidential, ethical, and independent property valuation and advisory services, having recently dedicated its staff entirely to the self storage industry. Fallon Valuers have extensive local and international experience and can help SSAA Members with financial feasibilities (utilising estate master), first mortgage security finance, rental reviews and determinations, asset reports for accounting/taxation purposes, GST valuations, rating valuation advice and transaction management services (acquisition/disposal).

The company was founded by Martin Fallon, a third generation property professional who became a certified practising valuer in 2005 and subsequently gained qualifications as a chartered surveyor and licensed estate agent. Martin’s experience encompasses 16 years valuing, managing and advising on commercial and residential property both here in Australia and overseas for the world’s leading brands including CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle and PPB Advisory (now part of PwC Australia). Martin is always available to SSAA members to provide initial guidance and support for any property related matter.

ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions is the global leader in access solutions, dedicated to satisfying end-user needs for security, safety and convenience.

Under iconic brands such as Lockwood and Yale, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions develops innovative opening solutions for commercial, industrial and residential applications.

Our strength lies in our brands, which include some of the best-known and most trusted names in security. Each of our brands complements the others, allowing us to offer tailored end to end solutions for all our clients.

Lockwood is the leading brand in the Australian locking industry.

With a well-established reputation for high quality products, this iconic brand provides a wide range of locking solutions to residential housing, commercial building and industrial application market.

We are proud to become members of the SSAA and although new to the association, Lockwood padlocks have a proud history with everyday Australians; securing their belongings since 1934 when the Lockwood brand was born. More impressively Yale padlocks have been around since 1879, with the Yale product portfolio now including leading digital smart locking solutions. Walking through your own storage compounds I am sure you will find both ASSA ABLOY brands.

We are proud to be a part of the SSAA as we like to align our brands with industry leaders and professionals in their field. Our first Convention was a great experience meeting storage owners and service members.

We have a national sales team with two dedicated employees looking after SSAA members being Peter McLean and Daniel Kovacs; both attended the Convention in Cairns.

We also offer a door hardware scheduling service for new builds.

www.fallonvaluers.com.au.

www.selfstorage.org.au

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

38 | MEMBER SERVICES UPDATE

Importance of covering

By Graeme Armstead, Principal, Hunt & Hunt Lawyers

So the storer has packed all their boxes and moved every asset they own into your facility.

The unit isn’t big enough to compact their entire life into the unit so they have decided what to keep and what to throw out, meaning the goods they have in a specific unit, are of great value to them. The next step is managing the risk.

INSURANCE CONSIDERATIONS – RISK MANAGEMENT Customer Goods Insurance is an exceptionally inexpensive way to create peace of mind for every storer. Using the SSAA Standard agreement as a basis, there are three differing options for each storer to consider: l Insurance provided by the Facility; l Storer’s own insurance; or l Self insuring of the goods.

Each option has positives and negatives to consider prior to ticking that small box, and it is imperative to provide storers with this knowledge at the time of entering into the agreement.

WHAT IS IT? Put simply, self storage insurance is both the facility’s and storer’s safety net in case anything happens to goods stored in a storage unit. In reality, the likelihood of something happening to the goods in a secure unit is low. Most facilities are purpose built for the job of secure storage with additional security measures. However, it is this small chance or when something simply goes

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

wrong that the investment of insurance becomes your greatest idea yet.

Customer Goods Insurance covers specific and defined events that will sit outside the control of the facility. When signing up to an insurance policy, the Product Disclosure Statement must be reviewed to ensure that not only is there adequate coverage, but that you are not excessively covering events that will increase your premiums – there is no need to have a policy that covers damage from a volcanic eruption in Australia for example.

Similar to the standard agreement which the facility utilises to sign up a storer, there a range of exclusions which may be evident in insurance policies.

These can include exclusions for damage arising from vermin, mould, mildew, spontaneous combustion and climatic changes.

LAPSING OF A STORER’S POLICY Where the storer has elected to take out their own insurance, they will be named in the policy. In normal circumstances, an insurance policy will continue to run unless it is not renewed. Where

a storer has indicated that they are purchasing their own insurance, it is the responsibility of the storer to ensure that premiums are paid when due and that the policy does not lapse.

FACILITY’S CONCERNS FOR BUILDING AND CONTENTS INSURANCE Whilst the standard SSAA template agreement provides for protection from certain claims, it does not remove the facility’s liability entirely. Acting as the General Legal Counsel of Self Storage Australia, we have encountered a number of claims involving potential breaches of the Australian Consumer Law and alleged incidents of negligence.

It is important to note that the Australian Consumer Law holds a number of guarantees to ensure the service being provided is free from defects and fit for purpose. These guarantees are non-excludable, meaning they cannot be removed by way of a contractual agreement.

With reference to negligence, claims of this nature will arise where the facility

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has failed to provide the service in an adequate manner. Where the facility falls into disrepair or an error of the facility causes damage to the storer’s goods, the facility may be liable for the damage.

The SSAA attempts to reduce the liability faced by Facilities where a claim under the Australian Consumer law or in negligence is bought against the facility by limiting liability under the SSAA template agreement. The SSAA AU standard template agreement contains the following clause:- Unless specifically itemised and covered by insurance the storer must not store goods that are irreplaceable such as currency, jewellery, furs, deeds, paintings, curios, works of art and items of personal sentimental value or items worth more than $2000 AUD in total.

INSURANCE FOR CUSTOMERS In the event that anything ever goes wrong and a customer’s goods are

lost or damaged it is obviously to the facility’s advantage if that customer has their own insurance. In such circumstances it is likely that any claim will be managed by the customer’s insurer with little if any involvement on the part of the facility. Clearly this is preferable to the facility having to manage claims made by storers whose goods have been lost or damaged. Furthermore it minimises the risks of a claim being made directly against the facility.

The standard agreement contains a clause that is designed to focus the customer’s attention on the desirability of them having proper insurance coverage in respect of their goods. One of the options is to obtain insurance that has been arranged by the facility owner. Due to very strict laws relating to the sale of insurance and the provision of advice concerning financial services great care needs to be exercised by the facility when discussing these matters with the customer.

Insurance can only be sold by those who are licenced to do so and without proper training any form of financial advice cannot be provided. This includes advice as to the comparative merits of different policies and advice as to the personal needs of customers.

However, it remains possible to provide simple factual advice relating to the general availability of insurance. In practice this means that once you go beyond enquiring whether a customer has insurance and they are directed to the availability of insurance for them you begin to stray into areas that should be avoided.

It is anticipated that the Association will be offering training in this area over the coming months. l

THE KINGS OF

SELF-STORAGE Partner with the industry’s largest and most recognised storage group and enjoy the many benefits: • • • • • •

Experienced Management Team Industry Leading Marketing Support Site Acquisition or New Development support Comprehensive Staff Training Leverage group buying power Over 150 Stores and growing

THE KINGS OF STORAGE, MOVING & MORE. For more information contact Martin Richards martin@storageking.com.au or +61 2 9167 8210

STORAGEKING.COM.AU

40 | TRADE DIRECTORY – TRUSTED SUPPLIERS TO THE SELF STORAGE INDUSTRY ACCESS CONTROL, FIRE & SECURITY AD-TECH Security Adrian Rostirolla T: 1300 30 60 90 E: sales@ad-tech.com.au www.ad-tech.com.au –––––– AlarmQuip Security Systems Evan Richardson T: +61 7 5492 3242 E: evan@alarmquip.com.au www.alarmquip.com.au –––––– PTI Australasia Pty Ltd Ben Parsad T: +61 7 3216 5524 E: sales@ptiaustralasia.com www.pti.com.au –––––– QueAccess Pty Ltd Kevin Hannagan T: +61 488 279 918 E: kevin@queaccess.com.au www.queaccessw.com.au –––––– Sentinel Australasia Jason Keane T: +61 3 9988 2035 / 1300 852 117 E: jason@storagesecurity.com.au www.storagesecurity.com.au

ANCILLARY SERVICES PACKAGING VISY BOXES & MORE Ralph Inglese T: +61 3 9554 5600 E: vbm_vic@visy.com.au visyboxesandmore.com.au Branches across Australia and New Zealand

CLEANING Sweepers Australia Michelle Maxwell & Vaughan Rose T: +61 3 9562 7533 E: michelle@sweepersaustralia.com.au www.sweepersaustralia.com.au

FREIGHT Jetta Excess Baggage Pty Ltd Lyle Honess T: 1300 300 688 E: sales@jetta.com.au www.jettaexcessbaggage.com.au

LOCKS ASSA ABLOY Peter McLean T: +61 2 8745 7016 E: peter.mclean@assaabloy.com www.assaabloy.com.au –––––– Lock Distributors Australia Martin Coote T: 1800 28 77 24 E: service@lockdistributors.com.au www.lockdistributors.com.au

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

PRINTING Homestead Press Joe Barbaro T: +61 2 6299 4500 E: printing@homesteadpress.com.au www.homesteadpress.com.au –––––– Pros On Print Pty Ltd Garth Bannister T: +61 7 3148 2241 E: sales@prosonprint.com www.prosonprint.com.au

STORAGE AUCTION iBidOnStorage Brennan McLoughlin T: +61 2 4302 0605 E: info@ibidon.com.au www.ibidonstorage.com.au

TELECOMMUNICATION URL Networks Ashley Breeden T: 1300 331 178 E: support@url.net.au www.url.net.au

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION STORCO STORAGE SYSTEMS Jonathan Layton T: +61 2 6391 2800 E: jonathan.layton@storco.com.au www.storco.com.au UNIVERSAL STORAGE CONTAINERS (USC) Shay McQuade T: +61 438 256 541 E: shay.mcquade@universalstorage containers.com www.universalstoragecontainers.com Austra Energy Project Kek Koh T: +61 3 9314 4746 E: info@austraenergy.com.au www.austraenergy.com.au –––––– B & D Australia James Tyson T: +61 7 3883 0248 M: +61 417 702 636 E: james.tyson@bnd.com.au www.bnd.com.au –––––– Corporate Construction Group Matthew Moulsdale T: +61 2 9231 3691 E: admin@corporateconstruction.com.au www.corporateconstruction.com.au –––––– G&M Stor-More Michael Watson T: +61 2 4733 5048 E: michael@gmstormore.com.au www.gmstormore.com.au –––––– Gliderol Garage Doors Tom Ainscough T: +61 8 8360 0000 E: tainscough@gliderol.com.au www.gliderol.com.au

Kiwimark Construction Ltd Travis Morgan T: +64 7 576 5494 T: +64 7 576 5491 E: travis@kiwimark.net.nz www.kiwimark.net.nz –––––– RegisBuilt Group Anthony Regis T: 1300 388 224 E: anthony.regis@regisbuilt.com.au www.regisbuilt.com.au –––––– Steel Storage Pty Ltd Stephen Boxall T: +61 7 3865 1600 E: sales@steelstorage.com.au www.steelstorage.com.au –––––– Storcad Pty Limited Javier Rezzonico T: +61 447 566 988 E: info@storcad.com.au www.storcad.com.au –––––– Taurean Door Systems Adrian Valente T: +61 3 9721 8366 E: adrian.valente@taureands.com.au www.taureands.com.au –––––– Total Construction Pty Ltd Steven Taylor T: +61 2 9746 9555 E: stevet@totalconstruction.com.au www.totalconstruction.com.au –––––– Vulcan Fire Engineering Ltd Gillian Stopford T: +64 216 38844 E: gillian@vfe.co.nz www.vfe.co.nz

FINANCIAL SERVICES Bishop Collins Pty Ltd Phillip Keenan T: +61 2 4353 2333 E: mail@bishopcollins.com.au www.bishopcollins.com.au –––––– Harzed Finance Pty Ltd Zoran Malesevic T: +61 419 442 555 E: zoran@harzedfinance.com.au www.harzedfinance.com.au

HR SERVICES HR Central Cath Grawe T: 1300 717 721 E: cath.grawe@hrcentral.com.au www.hrcentral.com.au

INSURANCE SERVICES AON Risk Services Darren Clauscen E: darren.clauscen@aon.com T: +61 2 9253 8350 www.aon.com.au/storage –––––– AON Risk Services NZ Jeffery Nathan T: +64 9 362 9535 E: jeffery.nathan@aon.com www.aon.co.nz

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TRADE DIRECTORY | 41 GSA Insurance Brokers Carlo Gentili T: +61 2 8274 8130 E: carlog@gsaib.com.au www.gsaib.com.au –––––– Midland Insurance Brokers Gilda Mihran T: 1300 306 571 E: storage@midlandinsurance.com.au www.midlandinsurance.com.au –––––– Wallace McLean Ltd Insurance Brokers and Risk Advisers Simon Keenan T: +64 9 358 7233 E: simon@wallacemclean.co.nz www.wallacemclean.co.nz

LEGAL SERVICES Hunt & Hunt Lawyers Graeme Armstead T: +61 3 8602 9200 E: garmstead@huntvic.com.au www.hunthunt.com.au

LIFTS & HOISTS SOUTHWELL LIFTS AND HOISTS David Head T: +61 2 4655 7007 E: sales@southwell.com.au www.southwell.com.au Safetech Lifts & Hoists Tony Krlevski T: +61 3 5127 4566 E: sales@safetech.com.au www.safetech.com.au

MANAGEMENT SERVICES Kennards Self Storage Management Services Fiona Harding T: +61 2 9764 9815 E: fiona@kss.com.au www.kss.com.au –––––– Storage King Management Services Martin Richards, Australia/ New Zealand T: +61 2 9460 6660 E: martin@storageking.com.au www.storageking.com.au –––––– StorAssist Sally Chodan T: +61 403 533 640 E: sally@storassist.com.au www.storassist.com.au –––––– StoreLocal Mark Greig T: 1300 099 022 E: partners@storelocal.com.au www.storelocal.com.au

www.selfstorage.org.au

OHS SERVICES Aurion Solutions Liz Brooke T: +61 439 004 406 E: liz@aurionsolutions.com.au W: www.aurionsolutions.com –––––– OHS Action Consulting Craig Salter T: +61 409 772 499 E: craig.salter@actionohs.com.au www.actionohs.com.au

REAL ESTATE & VALUERS Box Commercial Estate Agents Robert Stanley-Turner T: +61 4 1898 2000 E: rob@boxcom.com.au www.boxcom.com.au –––––– Colliers International Holdings (Aust) Ltd Dylan Adams T: +61 2 9257 0222 E: dylan.adams@colliers.com www.colliers.com.au –––––– Collins & Associates Malcolm Collins T: +61 3 8456 5134 E: malcolm@malcolmcollins.com www.malcolmcollins.com –––––– Fallon Valuers Martin Fallon T: +61 3 9674 0374 E: martin@fallonvaluers.com.au www.fallonvaluers.com.au –––––– Highway Frontage Specialist Estate Agents Matt Walsh T: 1300 661 950 +61 3 9944 9350 E: matt@highwayfrontage.com.au www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au –––––– Jones Lang LaSalle Paul Ben-Nathan T: +64 9 366 1666 E: paul.bn@ap.jll.com www.ap.jll.com –––––– Landmark White Pty Ltd Paul Robbins T: +61 7 3226 0000 E: paul.robbins@lmw.com.au www.lmw.com.au –––––– m3property Strategists Jeremy Hoffman T: +61 7 3620 7912 E: jeremy.hoffman@m3property.com.au Ross Perkins T: +61 7 3620 7901 E: ross.perkins@m3property.com.au www.m3property.com.au –––––– Urbis David Blackwell M: +61 409 771 310 E: dblackwell@urbis.com.au Linda Sharkey M: +61 410 902 116 E: lsharkey@urbis.com.au www.urbis.com.au

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS EZIDEBIT T: +61 7 3124 5500 E: sales@ezidebit.com.au www.ezidebit.com STORMAN AUSTRALIA Andy Shaw T: +61 7 3319 1522 E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com STORMAN NEW ZEALAND Andy Shaw T: +64 9 280 3393 E: sales@storman.com www.storman.com Centreforce Technology Group Pty Ltd Dallas Dogger T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: sales@centreforceit.com.au www.centreforceit.com.au –––––– Prodigitas IT Services Kaustubh Deshmukh T: +91 9764 009 848 E: kaustubh.deshmukh@prodigitas.com www.prodigitas.com –––––– Sitelink Michael Dogger, General Manager T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: support@sitelinksoftware.com.au sitelinksoftware.com.au

STORAGE CONTAINERS BOS Containers Australia Elise Kelsey T: +61 3 9720 4455 E: ekelsey@aimhire.com.au www.aimhire.com.au –––––– BOS NZ Limited Justin Dempsey T: +64 0 800 226 769 E: info@bosnz.co.nz www.bosnz.co.nz –––––– Havener Enterprises Alan White T: +1 815 935 8383 E: alan@havenerent.com www.portablestoragebox.com –––––– Royal Wolf Trading Craig Baker T: +61 2 9482 3466 E: removals@royalwolf.com.au www.royalwolf.com.au

WEBSITE DESIGN Big Budda Boom Pty Ltd Andy Pudmenzky T: 1300 660 937 E: info@bigbuddaboom.com.au www.bigbuddaboom.com.au –––––– R6 Digital Michael Dogger T: +61 7 3889 9822 E: sales@r6digital.com.au www.r6digital.com.au

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019 INSIDER 110

42 | NEW MEMBERS ADDITIONAL FACILITIES Hills Self Storage – Rouse Hill 324 Annagrove Road Rouse Hill 2155 NSW T: +61 2 9679 2290 E: rousehill@hillstorage.com.au –––––– Keepsafe Storage Mandurah 34 Thornborough Road Green Fields 6210 WA T: +61 8 9583 3999 E: mandurah@keepsafestorage.com.au

FACILITY MEMBERS Adamstown Storage 91 Bailey Street Adamstown 2289 NSW T: +61 477 566 999 E: paul555101@gmail.com –––––– Fyansford Storage 60 Hyland Street Fyansford 3218 T: +61 428 661 530 E: bowengeelong@gmail.com

SERVICE MEMBERS Austra Energy Project Unit 6, 640-680 Geelong Road Brooklyn 3012 VIC T: +61 3 9314 4746 E: info@austraenergy.com.au –––––– Kennards Self Storage Management Services 7 Khartoum Road, Macquarie Park Sydney 2113 NSW T: +61 2 9764 9815 E: fiona@kss.com.au –––––– Storcad Pty Limited PO Box 47 Mount Victoria 2786 NSW T: +61 447 566 988 E: info@storcad.com.au

MEMBER BENEFITS Legal, HR & OHS Help Desks: We have your back! Members can contact our

Help Desks for practical and confidential business-related advice and support on any legal, human resources and OHS matters. The SSAA has partnered with industry experts to provide assistance and as an escalation point for members.

SSAA Convention, training & events: Learn and Network! The SSAA training

and events are designed to teach, inspire and motivate whilst keeping members up to date with the latest in the industry. The SSAA Annual Convention brings together industry leaders, members and suppliers under one roof to share ideas, experiences and encourages industry related connections.

StorerCheck: Reduce your risks by identifying problem storers! StorerCheck is a tool available to members with the purpose of identifying problem storers. StorerCheck contains information such as storers who have defaulted in their agreements, missed payments, abandoned goods and with behavioural issues. Visit www.storercheck.com.au or www.storercheck.co.nz Publications & e-news: Keep up to date! All Facility members receive subscriptions to the SSAA bi-monthly Insider magazine, and the monthly e-news STOReFLASH. Packed with information, latest news and industry updates, these are your go-to resources.

Trade Directory & supplier offers: Exclusive member only offers and access to the trade directory that consists of suppliers from a wide range of businesses such as security, ancillary services, design & construction, insurance, legal, management services, software and much more.

SSAA Awards & recognition: Members are eligible to participate in the SSAA Awards. Being nominated and winning SSAA Awards encourages recognition, raises your profile, promotes excellence and celebrates achievements of individuals and storage facilities.

My Storage Finder Online Directory: Let us promote your facility! All Facility members are listed on the My Storage Finder online directory. My Storage Finder is a tool designed to amplify facilities online presence, improve visibility, strengthen reputation and help promote your business. Visit www.selfstorage.com.au.

SSAA Member Logo & Certificate: Members can gain recognition and credibility by using the SSAA Member Logo in marketing collateral such as emails, stationery, website and social media. Upon renewal each year, members will receive a membership certificate that can be used to display at their storage facilities to acknowledge professional status.

Mystery Shopping: The SSAA assists members by providing a mystery shopping service through a performance monitoring company. Mystery shopping can be used by members to assess customer service and sales skills against a proven method. Members receive a special rate.

Code of Ethics The Self Storage Association of Australasia’s Code of Ethics are fundamental to the values of the SSAA and essential to achieving its mission to lead the storage industry in Australasia by promoting the highest standards of ethics and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of all members and customers.

4. Members will undertake to report any suspected criminal activities to the relevant authorities.

As a SSAA member, you are required to follow the Code.

6. Members will use a current approved SSAA storage agreement or develop an alternative that delivers the equivalent contractual agreement.

1. Members will ensure that their workplace is a safe environment for employees, customers and other visitors to the site.

2. Members will treat all employees, customers and visitors to the site with respect.

3. Members will promote the positive image of the industry through ethical and honest advertising and business practices.

INSIDER 110 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

5. Members will comply with all relevant local, state and federal government laws and regulations regarding a self storage business.

7. Members will ensure that staff are competent in their duties and complete appropriate training in current industry practices.

8. Members will participate honestly, cooperatively and transparently with any investigation by the SSAA into any alleged breach of this Code of Ethics.

www.selfstorage.org.au

SSAA CONVENTION 2020 MELBOURNE 25 – 27

AUGUST

SAVE THE DATE

THE LEARNING EVENT OF THE YEAR! CELEBRATING 30 YEARS Pullman Melbourne On The Park #SSAA2020 EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

Closes 15 December Call +61 3 9466 9699 or email admin@selfstorage.com.au to make your booking.

Contact STORCO to discuss your storage requirements P 02 6391 2800 E sales@storco.com.au