Building or Expanding: How to Avoid Expensive Mistakes from Concept to Lease-Up
with Lou Barnholdt and Mary Hunter, Universal Storage Group

• Feasibility and Market Analysis
• Unit Mix Strategy
• Design Decisions that Save (or Cost) Money
• Budgeting and Proforma Accuracy
• Operational Planning
• Marketing and Pre-Leasing
• Lease-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• Lessons Learned from the Field

Hidden Money in Your Facility: Revenue Leaks Most Owners Miss
JC Reed, All-Purpose Storage Management

Northeast operators face unique challenges including seasonal demand swings, older assets, staffing constraints, and competitive markets. This session focuses on how real operators achieve operational excellence without relying on “perfect” staff, ideal markets, or unrealistic systems.

Attendees will learn practical, repeatable strategies for improving occupancy, revenue, and customer experience through better processes, smarter pricing, and cross-functional alignment between operations, marketing, and revenue management. This session emphasizes what actually works in the field and how to implement it immediately.

The Self Storage Players Present: The Key to Poor Operations
Shannon Charbonneau of XPS Solutions, Gary Edmonds of The Storage Manager, and Stacie Maxwell of SecureLease

In this fast-paced and funny session, this team will act out the "bad" behaviors in storage management and operations and then speak to the correct methods. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

First Impressions - How to act when someone walks in the door
Connections - How to make the right connection without being "too much" or completely insensitive.
Difficult Conversations - All the ways we procrastinate on doing the hard things like collection calls or taking inbound sales calls.
Lead Tracking - Making sure that everyone knows if a "closing percentage" is 100%, you have a lead tracking issue.
Poor Behavior in the Office - What to do if your staff is behaving badly, stealing, or allowing other tenants to behave badly.
Cleanliness - How to make sure your units are presentable rather than relying on your previous tenants!
Handling "Preppers" - What does our lease say about food in units, again?
Too Scared to Operate - "But I don't want to raise their rates, or they'll leave," or "I want to be the lowest priced facility in my market."

And so much more!

Tradeshow and Reception

Celebrate the opening of the 2026 Northeast Storage EXPO with hors d'oeuvres and drinks in our expanded tradeshow hall. Take advantage of our full tradeshow hours to meet with every booth!

Late Night Happy Hour

Join us for drinks, networking, games, and a DJ at DRAFT KINGS! Free drink tickets will be given as first come, first served.

Free drink ticket or not, we hope everyone will come to hang out, catch up, and socialize outside of conference walls.

Registration and Breakfast

Enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet courtesy of our sponsors while catching up with your fellow attendees and exhibitors before the day's opening session.

Evolving Trends in Self Storage: Pricing Controls and AI Integration
Scott Zucker, Weissmann, Zucker, Euster, & Oblinger P.C.

This session will highlight the evolving legal trends in self storage relating to rent control and pricing restrictions as well as contract and regulatory issues regarding the integration and use of AI in the self storage business. Topics include:

1. Legislative Pressures on Self Storage Pricing
2. Use of Algorithmic Pricing in Self Storage
3. Junk Fee Laws
4. Data Privacy Liability
5. Clickwrap Contracts and Chatbots
6. Biometrics and Facility Security

Roundtables (attend three)

• Automate Your Storage Business with Management Software - U-Haul Self Storage Affiliate Network
• Getting Good Leads: How to Stand Out & Drive Traffic to Your Website - StoragePug
• Legal 2026! Q&A - Scott Zucker
• Modernizing Aging Facilities - Trac-Rite
• Optimizing Underused Space Through Tax-Advantaged Storage Solutions - Janus International
• Self Storage Tech Stacks: What Operators Get Wrong - The Storage Group
• Small Adjustments, Big Gains: What Actually Moves the Needle? - Universal Storage Group
• Smart Pricing, Higher Revenue: Choosing the Best Rates for Your Facility - StoragePRO Management
• The Top 3 Do's and Don'ts When Using AI in Storage - Uniti and All-Purpose Storage Management
• Truck Parking: What Is It and How Can It Help My Business? - Truck Parking Club
• Understanding Today's Self Storage Renter: Key Data Insights Shaping 2026 Operations - OpenTech Alliance
• Unlocking Unmanned P&Ls - Packed Planet Self Storage Management

Optimizing the Customer Experience: Cutting-Edge Tactics to Attract and Retain Tenants
Mark Cieri of StorageDefender, Gary Edmonds of The Storage Manager, Jessica Johnson of The Storage Group, and Rich Trott of Bomarc Self Storage

From digital innovations to personalized services, we'll examine how self storage operators can curate the ultimate tenant journey to create a deep sense of satisfaction and foster long-term loyalty. Panelists will discuss personal examples and experiences with:

• Leveraging technology to streamline processes and offer convenient, user-friendly solutions.
• Implementing customer-centric initiatives to address diverse tenant needs and preferences.
• Designing physical spaces and amenities that prioritize comfort, accessibility, and security.
• Integrating digital interfaces and promoting meaningful interactions to enhance the customer experience.