To specify the research problem and understand the problem
background, we visited 61 self-storage warehouses (see the Ap-
pendix, Table 6 ) in the USA, Europe, and Asia, between Decem-
ber 2007 and June 2013.
We collected price, design, and demand information, and interviewed managers, customers, and laborers.
It appears the operation modes are highly dependent on the geographical location. According to the 2013-2014 self-storage fact sheet
report , “the distribution of U.S. self storage facilities (Q4-2013) is as
follows: 32 percent urban, 52 percent suburban and 16 percent rural” (see selfstorage.org).