Welcome and warm greetings to our members, vendors, sponsors, and of course anyone reading this article. While it seems the fall and winter holidays were a short time ago, it’s already nearing the end of March and the 1^st quarter of 2024.

Fortunately for most of us, this past winter was unusually mild with less precipitation, so my snow removal budgets reflect those savings. Soon spring clean-up will start as we prepare and refresh from winter.

The BIG news for your association is that 2024 marks the tenth anniversary of our EXPO. Not only is this a benchmark anniversary but the entire event has evolved over the years to become the place to be in the Northeast for storage education, an awesome tradeshow, and networking with both old and new friends. I often marvel at how far our industry has come since my first year in 1990.

Here are some important highlights for the 2024 Northeast Storage EXPO happening May 8^th and 9^th at Foxwoods Resort Casino:

• For our 10^th anniversary, we have welcomed our neighbors, NHSSA and MeSSA, as our new co-hosts as we continue to expand our events and improve our offerings to our local industry.
• For the first time ever, we have sold out our exhibit booth space two months early; you can view all of our exhibitors and sponsors on our website to set up meetings ahead of time at the EXPO.
• Our agenda is impressive this year with wide-ranging topics and some of your favorite speakers, along with a few new faces as well!
• I personally look forward to seeing you there!

We encourage you to stay on site at Foxwoods and join us for a late-night happy hour at The Scorpion Bar for drinks and karaoke. One of the best things about attending events is making not only professional connections, but friendships, with those in your industry.

The SSA legislative team is again working to improve the Rhode Island lien law requirements. NeSSA supports this work and encourages our RI members to get involved! If you want to assist with future hearings and testimonials, please email Courtney at cjkahler@nessa.org.

Our year of events is scheduled out. We hope to see you at our EXPO, webinars, and the September 24th Fall Retreat. You can stay updated on everything we offer at www.NeSSA.org/events.

In closing I would like to provide my impressions of our industry which continues to change and evolve post-pandemic. As I mentioned in my last newsletter message, the self storage business is evolving from the unusually robust period of 2020-2021, coinciding with the strongest period of the pandemic.

Demand for storage has declined due to several factors: 1^st many people who moved from the congestion of the cities have now found permanent housing, and 2^nd the economy and inflation have forced some discretionary customers to decide between the convenience of having a storage unit and the higher cost of goods and services. Anyone who has dined out or even purchased groceries can attest to these higher costs. And finally, 3^rd, the slow home sales market caused by the lack of available inventory and 7% mortgage rates has impacted demand. Statistically I understand this last market can account for up to 20% of your annual business.

When demand slows, the normal response is to reduce price to make vacant storage units more attractive. On top of that, most rates had become over-inflated during the extreme strong demand from 2020 into 2022. Nationally, some rates have been reduced as much as -18% from their recent all-time high but still in most current rates are higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

It’s important to keep in mind our industry is resilient and already showing signs of recovery in many areas marked by an increase in demand and rentals. I feel we can look forward to an improved summer rental season.

Yours for better storage,

Charlie Fritts
President of NeSSA