Day 44: Amenities That Pay Air Rinse Station Vacuums Propane

Welcome to day 44 of the Boat and RV 100 series. I'm Joe Downs with the Storage Moguls, and today I'm going to walk you through the 4 amenities that tenants call about, talk about, and switch facilities over in exactly that priority order. The operators who get this right achieve success more easily and with less friction. And if you'd like to be one of them, you should probably join storagemoguls.ai. Members of our community are becoming Storage Moguls not someday, right now. And we're real people just like you. Just looking for a better way. Made up of couplepreneurs, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs, and we're actively evaluating deals under $2 million. Why? Because they're financeable and there's lots of ways to finance them, and they're the kind of deals you can actually close. And if you want everything in this series backed by a community doing the same work, you know what to do. Join storagemobiles.ai. You can start for free, go at your own pace. But back to today, because knowing which amenities actually move the needle in this vertical is the difference between capital you spend tenants notice and the capital you spend on things that they don't. Here's something worth understanding before we get into the 4 amenities. When a boat and RV tenant is choosing between 2 facilities at comparable prices and locations, they're not comparing square footage or lease terms. They're comparing the experience of actually using the facility. That experience is built almost entirely, entirely around what happens when they show up. Can they air up their tires? Can they rinse the salt or mud off their boat before they store it? Is there a vacuum for the boat's interior? Can they fill their propane tank without leaving the property? These 4 amenities are the ones that come up on Google reviews, on Facebook groups, on, uh, for boaters and RV owners, and in conversations at the marina and the campground. They're operational features that become marketing assets. If you have them and you know how to talk about them, They differentiate you. If your competitor has them and you don't, you're explaining that gap on every inquiry call. Number 1 amenity is air. This is the most requested amenity in the vertical, full stop. Every tow vehicle, every RV, every trailer needs air. Tenants show up, they've driven to the facility, they're about to take out their boat, and if a tire is low, they need to fix it right there. High-quality air compressor with a digital gauge isn't a luxury. Those are table stakes. Install it near the entrance or along the main drive aisle, somewhere tenants can pull up without blocking traffic. You can charge for it via credit card pay station or include it as part of facility access. Either way, it's used constantly. The cost of installation and maintenance is minor relative to retention value. We've seen tenants specifically mention air access as the reason they chose our facility over another. It's that simple. Number 2 is a rinse station, but water only, not a wash station. I want to be clear about that distinction because we're going to cover it in full tomorrow, day 45. A rinse station is a hose bib or a dedicated rinse bay where tenants can spray down their boat or RV before they store it. Salt from coastal use, mud from lake launches, road grime from travel— tenants want to get that off their vehicle Before it sits in storage for days or weeks or even months. It's important to them. Their boat or RV represents a significant financial and emotional investment, and they want to care for it properly. Providing the infrastructure to do that builds loyalty. It also keeps your facility cleaner. Rinse station positioned at the exit of the facility so tenants rinse on the way in, not on the way out, keeps mud and debris off your drive aisles. That's a facility maintenance benefit that pays for itself. Number 3 are vacuums specifically for boat interiors. A boat and RV tenant who just came back from a weekend on the water has sand, fish scales, food crumbs, and general lake debris all over their boat. They don't want to store it in that condition. A commercial-grade vacuum mounted at a dedicated station similar to what you see at a car wash gives them the ability to clean up before storage. You can charge per use through a coinless pay station. Typically $3 to $5. At a facility with 150 spaces and moderate usage, that's meaningful ancillary revenue over the course of a season. The cost of installation is low, the maintenance is manageable, and it's another amenity that shows up in reviews and referrals. One operator I know specifically mentions vacuum stations in his Google My Business listing and tracks that as one of his top reasons new tenants stay or say they choose to stay. Number 4 is propane. This one has meaningful revenue component. The others don't. Propane is a consumable tenants need for their RVs and sometimes for boats with propane-powered appliances. If you have a propane fill station on site, you're capturing that spend instead of sending them down the road. You buy wholesale, you sell at markup, and the margin is pretty consistent. The installation cost for propane fill station with proper safety equipment and compliance certifications Is more significant than the other 3 amenities though, so plan accordingly. But the ongoing margin on propane sales can meaningfully contribute to ancillary revenue over a full season, particularly at facilities serving a heavy RV mix where propane consumption is higher. Operational note here, you need to understand your state and local requirements for propane dispensing, including certification, safety equipment, and permitting. Don't assume this is a drop-in installation. It requires a little planning. Let me give you 2 ways to think about pricing these amenities. The first model, free access, includes— included in the rent. Every tenant gets air, rinse, vacuum, and propane at no additional charge beyond their monthly rate. Argument for this model is simplicity and differentiation. You're not nickel and diming tenants who are already paying premium rates, but I'd make sure they're paying premium rates first. You market the amenities as part of what sets your facility apart, and you price your spaces to reflect the amenity level. The second model, premium tier access, creates a base rent and a premium tier. The premium tier includes unlimited amenity access— air, rinse, vacuum, propane— at per-use rate, in addition to potentially better space placement or covered storage access. This model generates ancillary revenue and creates a natural upsell opportunity. The model you choose matters less than the consistency with which you execute it. Mixed signals— some amenities free, some with fees, inconsistent application— creates tenant confusion and maybe complaints. Pick one approach, communicate it clearly, stick to it. Here's the frame. These 4 amenities are not features, they're signals. They tell a tenant whether you understand what it means to store a high-value recreational asset or whether you're running a gravel lot that happens to have a fence around it. Next up, day 45, the rinse station versus the wash station distinction. Every appara— every operator gets it wrong. This one comes up on almost every call with a new boat and RV operator, and the wrong answer can cost you in maintenance liability and facility appearance. Like this video if the priority order gave you clarity on where to put your amenity capital first. Subscribe so you don't miss day 45. The rinse versus wash station episode is short specific, and will save you from a decision that looks right on paper and causes problems in practice. Share this with a boat and RV operator who's wondering what amenities actually matter to tenants. This is the list. StorageMongols.ai has the full operations framework for boat and RV facilities, including amenity installation guides and ancillary revenue calculators. It's free to join. StorageMongols.ai. Build the facility tenants brag about. Give them a reason to stay. See you tomorrow.