OpenTech Publishes 2010 Kiosk Usage White Paper
PHOENIX, Arizona – February 15th, 2011– OpenTech Alliance, Inc. announced today that it has exceeded the $48 million mark in rental fees collected by its INSOMNIAC kiosks. Approximately $18.8 million was realized in 2010 by self storage operators throughout the U.S. and Canada. In an ongoing effort to be a transparent company, OpenTech has released these detailed kiosk usage numbers giving the self storage industry the opportunity to see firsthand how consumers are benefiting from an on-site self service option. The complete 2010 Kiosk Usage White Paper is available for down load at the company website or by clicking here.
“By sharing the operating performance statistics from their kiosks, OpenTech brings much needed transparency to our industry. Self storage owners are facing serious challenges and risk, so they need as much information as they can get to make decisions. If more industry participants shared information, as they do in all other real estate sectors, the perceived risk in the minds of lenders and investors would be reduced and thus, everyone wins” commented Charles Ray Wilson, MAI, CRE, President of Self Storage Data Services, Inc.
During 2010, consumers used INSOMNIAC kiosks to rent 19,089 storage units, make 171,938 payments, and purchase 9,736 locks representing a total of $18.8 million in self service transactions. The two tables below illustrate the transactions of new rentals and payments made throughout 2010.
In 2010, on average across the country INSOMNIAC kiosks rented 3.4 units per facility per month. OpenTech attributes this 20% increase in rentals to the new Live! Megan service, offered at no additional charge, as part of the monthly Maintenance and Warranty Service (MWS) program. The company is not stopping at just providing service to kiosk users via the phone; at the ISS Expo in March they will be demonstrating their new two-way video conferencing service.
“Our internal goal is to reach an average of 6 rentals per kiosk per month as fast as we can. At the ISS Expo in March we will be demonstrating several new enhancements which we feel will help us reach that goal. We believe our solutions can help our customers rent more units than their competitors. Come see how we do it at booth # 220,” said Robert A. Chiti, President and CEO of OpenTech.
OpenTech has developed a Success Guide of “Best Practices” to help self storage operators get the most value from their kiosk. By leveraging these proven best practices, the top 100 performing kiosks processed 92,174 total transactions alone; this includes rentals, payments and merchandise purchases. These kiosks are already averaging over 6 rentals per month per facility.
OpenTech’s kiosks never take a day off, a huge benefit for customers needing to rent a unit or make a payment on a holiday. In 2010, INSOMNIAC kiosks rented 445 units on holidays. In total, the kiosks collected $492,429 in rental fees during the 11 major holidays proving self storage customers are active people that want to do business at their convenience.
The pie chart to the left illustrates how customers pay when they use a kiosk. With all three forms of payment being used, the need for providing consumers with an on-site payment option that supports all forms of payment is a must and a competitive advantage. While credit cards are the preferred method of payment, checks and cash still make up almost half of the total payments.
OpenTech products and services increase revenues, reduce operating costs and improve customer convenience for self-storage facilities. The company products and services include 7 models of INSOMNIAC self storage kiosks ranging from $5,500 to $18,000, INSOMNIAC Live! call center services and the INSOMNIAC Self Storage Network for online storage reservations and rentals. For more information on OpenTech, please visit www.opentechalliance.com or call (602) 749-9370.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: OpenTech Alliance, the OpenTech logo and INSOMNIAC are trademarks of OpenTech Alliance, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. INSOMNIAC is protected by U.S. patent number 5,946,660.
