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You Never Know What You Might Find If you have ever driven past a self-storage facility and wondered what could possibly be hidden behind the securely locked doors of the individually numbered units, you probably imagined they were filled with old furniture for which the owners no longer had any room, reams of paperwork from the archives of small companies or perhaps valuable antiques left there for safekeeping. However, as the winners of auctions for abandoned containers in storage units have discovered for themselves over the years, the reality can be far more interesting than anything you could possibly imagine. [...]

Perth Now Offers an Outdoor Activity Guide for October   The hot season is approaching in Australia, and even if it hasn’t started yet, people are already thinking of what to do outdoors—maybe taking their caravans out for camping or their boats for a sailing adventure. With this in mind, Perth Now has provided a list of activities adults and children can enjoy this October. Some of the Best Perth Outdoor Activities to Take Part In Champion Lakes Boating Club Holiday Programme (Champion Lakes Regatta Centre/October 7 and 9) Provided with all the necessary gear, juniors will be given beginner [...]

The Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show 2014 Caption: Gorgeous boats will be lined up at the biggest boat show in Western Australia. The Mandurah Ocean Marina will once again see a huge crowd of boat lovers and families in the 2014 Mandurah Boat Show. Show director Peter Woods said that even months before the show, they already saw exhibitor interest rising high, where a huge percentage of the exhibition space already sold out. He expected another successful event with many big names returning and new exhibitors joining. “The 2013 Show was extremely successful – exhibitor feedback from last year was [...]

Hiring Out Private Boats in Western Australia Could Cost Owners Caption: Think twice before renting out your private boat in Western Australia. Image Credit: Michael_Spencer, CC BY 2.0 Using private boats for commercial purposes might cost owners big time from paying more than $20,000 for a fine by the WA Department of Transport (DoT). A spokeswoman from the department said, “Under the national law for domestic commercial vessels, penalties for using a private vessel commercially can exceed $20,000.” She added, “The Department of Transport urges all boat owners to contact DoT’s Commercial Vessel Safety section before renting their vessels out, [...]

New Facility Development and Expansion Guides for Self-Storage Owners and InvestorsCaption: Conferences are good places to gather information on bringing businesses towards success.Image Credit: Dirk Tussing, CC BY-SA 2.0A new whitepaper, published by online self-storage marketplace SpareFoot, was offered at the Online Self-Storage Developers Conference hosted by Inside Self-Storage (ISS) to guide facility owners and investors to developing and expanding their businesses. Entitled “How to Build, Buy and Expand with Confidence”, it examines the common mistakes related to self-storage real estate and development. The paper also provides tips on financing, feasibility, marketing, facility amenities, construction management and due diligence. “In [...]

Report on the Drivers of Self Storage in Australia Released   The Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne has released a report on the drivers of the Australian self-storage industry through their “Journal of the National Centre for Sustainability”. Authored by Guy Arundel, “The Costs of Convenience: Unpacking the Self-Storage Industry” examines the proliferation and corollary effects of consumption of self-storage services in the country. It concludes that the drivers of the industry’s growth are consumers’ inability to dispose of belongings and their excessive buying. “The relentless consumerism driving the growth in self-storage facilities appears to stem from, and be [...]

Tolls for Every Australian Road, Federal Report Suggests   The Australian federal government has commissioned a review of competition policy, which contains recommendations on various areas, including pharmaceutics (opening up new pharmacies), trade (removing restrictions on work hours), energy (deregulating power prices) and media (adjusting what Australians pay for software, music and books to world prices). However, one recommendation gained the attention of Australians the most—that is cost-reflective pricing for all roads. What the Review Panel Say About Implementing Road Tolls Ian Harper, University of Melbourne economics professor and review panel chairman, told News Corp Australia, “We now have the [...]

Marketing Cloud Platform for Self-Storage Operators Launched Caption: Self-storage operators will find the DXM Marketing Cloud very useful. Image Credit: Scott Meyers, CC BY 2.0 (file image) Provider of digital experience management (DXM) software and other marketing solutions for self storage, G5, is set to improve the industry with a new platform called DXM Marketing Cloud. With 8 product and service modules for different areas—customer information, property data, content and search optimisation, services, support, social media, websites and training—the product will help self-storage operators by driving good customer experience across key digital touch points. It’ll also increase leads and eventually [...]

Guinness World Records Confirmed Smallest Caravan   There have been questions whether the QTvan owned by Yannick Reed is really the smallest caravan. Now, Guinness World Records has finally confirmed it! Manufactured by the Environmental Transport Association and measured in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, the QTvan measures 2.39 metres in length, 1.53 metres in height and 0.79 metres in width. Despite its size, the owner said the small caravan is surprisingly comfortable; he’s been towing it to parks and spending his mini-breaks in it. He said people are amused by seeing him do it and now plans to make other “smallest” related [...]

The Growth of the Self-Storage Industry in Australia Image Credit: Scott Meyers, CC BY 2.0 Caption: People in Australia are seeing self storage as a cost-effective and convenient solution to storing their belongings and valuables. Forty years ago, self storage was an alien concept in Australia, but since its introduction into the country in the 1970s, the industry has continued to develop and, from the early 1990s onwards, has continued to grow rapidly. The market is made up of smaller and larger operators, and the growth of the sector has seen a diverse range of options, including mobile self-storage options [...]