100% occupancy in 10 months
Custom solutions for European facilities
6Storage – 1 stop shop for self storages
With 6Storage: all our 78 Storage units were rented out in Switzerland
Upon researching the Canton Ticino region, I concluded that the self-storage business is not that widespread here and I saw a good investment opportunity. So in 2019, we built our storage facility, Deposito Ticino. It is small and has 78 units sized 3-20m².
Challenges Faced
We wanted to run the operations automatically while enabling us to manage them remotely. For this, we needed 1) a reliable Automated Gate Access System (24/7 entry with individual PIN) 2) A dependable Self Storage Software at a reasonable price that can be tailored to our needs. 3) A 3d Space Calculator and 4) a good website and social media marketing.
While searching online for a good “3D Space Calculator”, my wife and I came across 6storage. It was like a Swiss Pocket Knife, offering solutions for everything we’ve been looking for! So we signed up with 6storage.
Since 6Storage Implementation
The first few months were challenging. Setting up the necessary systems; getting familiar with it, testing & customizing it. There was too much information that required high-tech-level software knowledge, at least for us. But step-by-step, it got easier as there’s always a helping hand from the customer support team who’s ready to explain, demonstrate and help us in any moment or situation.
With 6Storage’s help, we cut short on our establishing phase, learned to use the software effectively and finally launched the business. Now we’ve been running for a year and our units get filled out often. We also have people on the waiting list, wanting to rent units with us.
“In 8 months and a minimum marketing budget, 6Storage’s marketing services helped rank our website on the first page of Google search results in our region. In 10 months, we were able to rent out all our 78 storage units of size 3-20 m²”
Your Experience With 6Storage
The software is in English but we needed Italian translation. Fortunately, 6Storage offers multi-language translation and this allowed us to have our client portal in Italian. It’s user-friendly.
We’re not computer savvy, but the 6Storage team has always been helpful. Professional customer service and useful help content. Be it on live chat, emails and phone calls – the team answers our queries promptly on time. They are patient in helping us learn about the software. Even in emergencies, someone was there to help us in a short time. On a scale of 1-10, I’d give 6Storage an overall rating of 9, in terms of the value it provides.
“I’ve never had any problem in talking to the 6Storage team during European time”
Open for custom solutions
6Storage is open for suggestions and providing custom storage management solutions, especially towards the European market. I really love this.
They have always been innovating since inception; Adding mostly requested features by the customers and simplifying storage operations.
For example, before we had a gate access system (Sentinel) that 6Storage had not integrated with. With our request and slight additional cost, the 6Storage team had integrated with Sentinel and made it possible for us to run our business.
Growing bigger with 6Storage
6Storage helps us to manage the complete rental process, including invoicing & reports and collecting payments online, thereby allowing us to work effectively. 6Storage’s automated solutions save time for self-storage operators like us in Europe.
They also built us a responsive self-storage website with the ability to rent units via the client portal. Hence, all our operational challenges were dealt with. Now we want to add the new 3d space calculator to our website once the minor issues have been resolved which the 6Storage team is working on.
“I thought self-storage online services were not popular in Switzerland. But no, more people nowadays book storage units and make payments online”
Curious: what’s your favorite feature
6Storage’s online booking is our favorite feature. Especially the client portal, automated invoice, email notifications and client database. All these features save us a lot of time in the general self-storage operations and help us to keep track of tenant status.
We’re waiting for the new software version. We have seen the beta version which looks innovative and with state-of-the-art technology. Hope it will be launched soon!!
Future Plans For Deposito
During our 1 year partnership with 6Storage, we have been helping each other grow. Few of our software suggestions are still work-in-progress and yet to be fully implemented. We’re looking forward to the transition to the new 6Storage version.
In Switzerland, real estate properties are expensive and labor costs are high it is hard to grow.
However, seeing the rising demand in self-storages in Switzerland and having 6Storage as our partner, we’re planning to add another 60 small units in the next 1-2 years.