Short answer: Mark is in favor of rate increases, but strongly against the “bait and switch”: luring customers in with a low rate and then raising it sharply once moving out is difficult. He sees it as unfair to customers, damaging to the industry’s reputation, and a direct invitation to regulation. Smaller operators can stand out by being transparent.
What Mark objects to #
Low introductory rates followed by large, repeated increases that customers didn’t expect. To see it first-hand, Mark has rented units from large operators himself and tracked the increases, which in his experience far exceeded what he considers reasonable. National press coverage of customers seeing their rent multiply within a year reinforced his concern.
Why it matters to every owner #
- Regulation. Complaints are already producing rules and lawsuits. California now requires clearer disclosures in rental agreements, and New York City’s consumer-protection agency filed a lawsuit in February 2026 over bait-and-switch pricing. Mark points to late fees as a warning: ten years ago abuse led almost every state to define and cap them.
- Reputation. Self-storage has mostly stayed off the public’s list of least-trusted industries. Mark doesn’t want that to change.
- Customers. In his experience people want to be treated fairly by the businesses they use.
He welcomed U-Haul’s nationwide 12-month rate lock for new customers as a step in the right direction.
How smaller owners can respond #
- Be transparent about move-in incentives and how increases work.
- Tell customers you price fairly, and set yourself apart from operators who don’t. Mark’s advice is to say it on every inquiry call, in every ad and on your website.
- Be part of your local community; nothing is more local than self-storage.
- Through your state storage association, speak up against abusive pricing practices.
Related answers #
- Should a self-storage facility lower its rates when competitors cut prices?
- Why should self-storage operators sell benefits instead of competing on price?
- How can a smaller self-storage operator compete with REITs for customers?
Source: Mark’s posts A Big Shout Out To U-Haul, Three Ways a Smaller Operator Can Win the Customer Game Against REITs and The Dark Side of the Self Storage Industry
