Surviving the Self-Storage Lease-Up Rush: Why Automation Is Your Secret Weapon
It's that time of year again—the phones are ringing non-stop, your parking lot is bustling with moving trucks, and your team is working overtime to keep up with the demand.
Welcome to lease-up season, the busiest time of year for self-storage operators.
If you're feeling the pressure, you're not alone. For many operators, May through August is their busiest time, when an estimated 43 million Americans move every year and a whopping 65 percent of those moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The question isn't whether your facility will get busy—it's whether you'll be ready to handle the rush efficiently and profitably.
What Makes Lease-Up Season So Intense?
The spring and summer months create a perfect storm of storage demand. Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for moving and booking self-storage. Spring is usually the time of year when people start to purge their belongings as a result of spring cleaning.
Here's what drives the surge:
Peak Moving Season: According to the Canadian Association of Movers, the period between mid-June to September makes up 70 percent of the country's moving industry, with the busiest weekend occurring around Canada Day. The same trend holds true in the United States.
College Students: May brings an influx of students needing storage between semesters.
Weather Factors: Better weather makes moving more appealing, and families take advantage of their kids' vacation to move into new homes.
Seasonal Items: Tenants are ready to start using their big "toys" again, like boats and RVs.
Spring Cleaning: The annual ritual of decluttering drives demand for temporary storage solutions.
The Manual Management Nightmare
During lease-up season, many operators find themselves overwhelmed by manual processes that worked fine during slower periods but become bottlenecks when demand surges.
Consider what happens during a typical busy day:
Move-in rushes: New tenants arriving faster than staff can process paperwork
Phone overload: Constant inquiries about availability and pricing
Documentation backlog: Rental agreements, insurance forms, and lease reviews piling up
Payment processing delays: Credit card transactions and cash handling creating queues
Unit turnover chaos: Coordinating cleanouts, inspections, and new tenant access
Delinquency management: Past-due accounts requiring attention while new customers wait
The result?
Longer wait times, frustrated customers, overwhelmed staff, and potentially lost revenue from prospects who walk away due to poor service.
How Automation Transforms Lease-Up Season
Smart operators are turning to automation to handle the lease-up rush more efficiently.
Automation often means creating more efficient ways for customers to interact with the business.
This frees up your employees to spend more time with those customers that prefer personal assistance when renting a self-storage units.
Here's how automation can streamline your busiest processes:
1. Online Reservations and Move-Ins
According to data from storage marketplace SpareFoot, customers who reserve a unit during off-hours are more likely to complete the transaction if a facility offers the capability to complete a lease and move-in completely online.
The Impact: Customers can secure units 24/7, reducing pressure on daytime staff and capturing demand outside business hours.
2. Automated Payment Processing
Digital payment systems reduces manually inputting payment info and speeds up transactions, essential when you have lines of customers waiting.
3. Smart Access Control
A software-based system that integrates with your facility management software is optimal for an unmanned operation. This way you'll be able to deliver active gate codes to new tenants through text or email, and automatically lock tenants out of the facility if they are delinquent.
4. Automated Communications
Manual tenant communications can consume significant staff time during busy periods. Automated systems can handle routine communications like payment reminders, lease renewals, and promotional offers through multiple channels including voice calls, SMS, and email. These systems can be programmed to trigger specific communications based on tenant status, payment history, or other predefined criteria, freeing staff to handle more complex customer service issues.
5. Real-Time Reporting and Analytics
Manually creating spreadsheets to analyze the state of your marketing, operations and financial situation is not the best use of your time. Smart management software analyzes and reports the data you want, when you need it in real time.
6. Automated Lien and Delinquency Management
During busy season, staff can't afford to spend hours chasing overdue payments or managing complex lien processes manually. Automated delinquency management systems handle the entire process—from initial payment reminders to final auction posting—while ensuring state-specific compliance.
The result? Faster resolution of delinquent accounts, reduced legal exposure, and staff freed up to handle the influx of new tenants during your busiest period.
Best Practices for Lease-Up Season Success
Start Preparing Early
Don't wait until Memorial Day to get ready. Just like preparing to move, there’s really no such thing as getting started too early. The same principle applies to your facility preparation.
Implement Flexible Pricing
During lease-up season, demand fluctuates rapidly—what's available at 9 AM might be gone by noon. Dynamic pricing tools help you capitalize on this demand while remaining competitive. These systems can automatically raise rates when occupancy hits certain thresholds (like 85% or 90%) and lower them when demand softens.
For example, if your 10x10 units are nearly full but you have plenty of 5x5s available, the system can adjust pricing accordingly. During peak moving weekends, rates might increase to reflect high demand, while mid-week periods could feature lower rates to attract price-sensitive customers. This ensures you're maximizing revenue during busy periods while maintaining competitive pricing when demand is lower.
The key is setting intelligent triggers that respond to real-time market conditions rather than relying on static pricing that may leave money on the table during peak demand or price you out during slower periods.
Streamline Move-Out Processes
Have clear policies for move-outs and pro-rated rent. The practice of prorating rent is fairly commonly understood by customers. In fact, many will expect it to be done even if they don't give proper notice of moving out.
Prepare Your Physical Space
Spring is also a good time to repaint your facility fire lanes, parking spaces and ramps. With the warmer temperatures and more sunshine, paint will dry faster. Also, fix any potholes in the parking lot.
Staff Accordingly
Consider temporary staff during peak periods, and ensure your team is trained on all automated systems before the rush begins.
Leverage Kiosks for High-Traffic Periods
For unmanned facilities, a self-storage kiosk is a must-have. Storage kiosks can also augment busy staff or allow you to conduct business after hours.
Real-World Success: How Automation Delivers
Storage operators who have implemented comprehensive automation report significant improvements during busy periods.
One district manager shared: "We transitioned to Ai Lean in January, and it has been very successful. Previously, we used three different platforms for auctions; now we have one central platform that sends all notices, posts auctions, and handles documents. Our sites are saving between 2-9 hours each time." (Randy, Director of Operations, FreeUp Storage)
Another operator noted: "Ai Lean saves me many hours every month and takes away the stress and worry. Having a second set of eyes looking over everything is invaluable. Whenever I have questions, I get responses within 15 minutes." (Carrie, Local Manager, FreeUp Storage)
The Competitive Advantage
Short-term rentals are on the rise, fueled by ongoing moves and housing transitions, and move-ins outpaced move-outs at a rate of 1.21 to 1 during peak periods. Operators who can efficiently handle this volume while maintaining excellent customer service will capture more market share.
The facilities that thrive during lease-up season share common traits:
Fast, efficient move-in processes
24/7 availability for reservations
Minimal wait times
Professional, stress-free customer experience
Consistent communication and follow-up
Don't Let Manual Processes Hold You Back
Lease-up season represents your biggest opportunity to boost occupancy and revenue. But only if you're prepared to handle the demand efficiently.
Manual processes that work during slower periods become significant bottlenecks when demand surges. Customers today expect speed, convenience, and professionalism—especially during stressful times like moving.
The operators who automate their core processes—from initial inquiry to move-in to ongoing management—position themselves to capture more of the lease-up demand while providing superior customer service.
As one industry expert put it: "The more automation tools they implement, the greater the benefits they experience in regards to everything from operational efficiency to demand generation".
The lease-up season is coming. The question is: will you be ready to make the most of it?
Ready to automate your self-storage operations for the busy season ahead?
Contact Ai Lean to learn how our comprehensive automation platform can help you handle peak demand efficiently while improving customer satisfaction and boosting your bottom line.
Other Resources
How to Get Sued in 4 Easy Steps: A Self-Storage Operator's Guide to Manual Lien Compliance
New Lien Law Pitfalls: How a 9pm Notice Could Cost You $1000
Automating Lien Compliance: The Secret Weapon for Self-Storage Profitability in a Tight Market
Lien Process Automation Readiness Checklist
Sources
Inside Self-Storage. "Marketing for the Self-Storage Slow Season." November 8, 2023.
Space Centre Storage. "When is the Self-Storage Busy Season?"
Storable. "Storage Monitor: How Big Will the Summer Busy Season Be?" June 6, 2023.
Inside Self-Storage. "Summer Spruce-Up: Getting Your Self-Storage Facility Ready for the Busy Summer Rental Season." June 2, 2022.
Self-Storage Talk Forum. "The Busy Season."
SpareFoot. "8 Things You Need to Do to Prepare For Peak Moving Season Now." April 21, 2024.
Storable. "12 Ways to Automate Your Self-Storage Business." January 29, 2025.
Storable. "Is Running an Unmanned Self-Storage Facility Right For You?" January 29, 2025.
StoragePug. "How to Prorate Self Storage Rent." March 14, 2025.
Absolute Storage Management. "Benefits of Automation for Your Self-Storage Facility." June 1, 2023.
Storeganise. "What to consider when automating your self storage facility."
Self-Storage Talk Forum. "Move Outs after the 1st."
RE Business Online. "Falling Rents, Shifting Demand Among Self-Storage Trends to Watch in 2025."
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