It’s getting colder around the U.S., and many parts of the country are getting hit hard with inclement weather. During this time of year, extreme weather conditions can impact tenants' access to storage properties as well as impact the items they are storing.  

It’s typical for move-ins to slow down during this time of year, and many facilities find themselves having to limit or reduce their physical office hours. 

The good news for operators who have wrapped their business with technology, such as a property management software (PMS) like Hummingbird or e-commerce website like Mariposa, is that their business or office hours don’t have to slow down. 

Operators that equip their business’ with a cloud-based property management software and fully online transactional websites have a full arsenal of tools to ensure they’re ahead of the game during the cold weather season. 

Tool 1: Instantaneous Seasonal Promotions

Let’s say you notice that your occupancy begins to reach a lower level than you’re comfortable with during the cold-weather months and you want to incent more tenants to rent from you.. 

Hummingbird, our property management software, allows you to create and assign special rates or promotions for your various unit types once they reach a certain occupancy threshold (like lower than 90% occupied). 

If you’re also using our e-commerce website Mariposa, then Hummingbird will automatically push those adjusted promos or rates to your website to instantly show your customers those new rates and promotions. 

And to make sure your tenants see these rates and promotions, you can use one of our most popular features, our top page banner. This banner lets you place a message at the top of your website that will show up on any page your customer visits, so they’ll always see your special rates and promotions. 

Tool 2: Bulk Messages to Inform and Help Your Tenants

If you find out that there will be road closures in your community, whether it’s near your property or not, you can send out bulk messages to all your tenants to update them about those closures. 

You can also easily, and quickly, update them if you’ll have to temporarily close your property due to weather. 

Hummingbird’s bulk messaging capabilities allow you to reach your tenants through email or text, and the best part is that you don’t have to send out those hundreds or thousands manually, one-by-one, you can send them all out in one simple click. 

Read here to see how a Storelocal self storage property helped when a tornado struck its community. 

Tool 3: Quick and Simple Online Claims for Tenants

Operators using the Storelocal Tenant Protection have a quick and easy process for allowing their tenants to file a claim if an item stored in a space is damaged (per the stipulated covered causes of loss) or stolen, and if the tenant chooses to purchase coverage through this great program. In addition, tenants have no deductible!

All a tenant needs to do to is file their claim on the operator’s Mariposa website page through the tenant’s account, message the insurance adjuster, and then the tenant will receive a tracking number for their reimbursement check all from the safety, security, and comfort of their own home, without having to brave the inclement weather.. 

These are just a few ways that technology can help your business during harsh weather. If you want to find out additional ways your business can benefit, scroll below to schedule a 1-on-1 consultation.