U.S. Self Storage Operators Ignore Call Conversion Metrics

Self-storage facilities typically convert 60 to 70 percent of revenue into net operating income, yet many operators are leaving money on the table. Antoni Watts, founder of Fuji Lane and creator of the analytics platform Storage Laser, says phone calls generate the majority of new business for most facilities — but operators are not tracking how those calls are handled or whether they result in rentals.

“I have spoken to operators where 70 percent of their customers are coming from calls, but they don’t know any of the key metrics,” Watts says. Most operators have no system in place to track how quickly staff answer the phone or how many callers become renters.

Operators Overlook Internal Performance Gaps

Many operators blame underperformance on external factors such as oversupply, competition from REITs, or development pressure. Watts argues that this focus on outside forces masks persistent internal problems, especially in call management. Most facilities have little or no visibility into response times, conversion rates, or lead quality.

Without these metrics, operators cannot tell whether low occupancy stems from weak marketing, mispricing, or a failure to convert inbound interest into leases. Facilities often underperform even in markets with strong demand.

“Headwinds and tailwinds exist in the economy, but there’s an opportunity to grow by focusing on the business itself,” Watts says.

The gap goes beyond unanswered calls. Many operators also lack real-time data on unit-level pricing, competitive position, or the effectiveness of promotions such as first-month-free offers. Without this information, operators cannot respond quickly in competitive markets where pricing and availability shift rapidly.

Higher Margins Reward Small Gains

Self-storage has relatively fixed operating costs once construction and staffing are in place. This means most additional revenue flows directly to profit.

“If you can generate an extra ten dollars in revenue, you’re keeping six of that as profit, which pushes the asset value,” Watts says. Few other property types offer this level of return from incremental revenue gains.

Small improvements in conversion rates, pricing, or customer retention can produce significant increases in net operating income and property value. Raising the call-to-lease conversion rate from 20 percent to 25 percent, for example, can generate tens of thousands of dollars in additional annual revenue with little added expense.

A straightforward business model, strong margins, and lower tenant risk than residential real estate make self-storage a highly efficient revenue engine — one that most operators are not fully using.

“Most people don’t fully grasp how all of that fits together to make it a revenue machine,” Watts says.

Data First, Then Technology

Watts built Storage Laser on a core principle: operators must first measure performance before they can improve it. The platform automates the collection of call handling, marketing, operational, competitive, and demographic data, then uses algorithms to recommend actions based on occupancy levels and market trends.

The system includes an AI interface called Ray, but Watts is clear that the AI only explains recommendations produced by the platform’s underlying code. Strategic analysis and calculations are handled by traditional algorithms, not generative AI.

This approach targets the root problem directly: operators cannot improve what they do not measure. By centralizing data that once required manual collection — including call performance data most operators have never tracked — Storage Laser allows operators to adjust pricing, marketing, and promotions daily rather than weekly. The key question for the industry is whether operators will fix internal processes or continue blaming external market conditions.