Joe DownsCEO & Co-Founder, Belrose Storage Group. Founder, Storage Moguls.

Retention Isn't Optional It's Operationally Critical

7 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In a 100-space boat or RV facility charging $175 monthly rent per space with $8,000 in fixed costs, you need at least 46 occupied spaces just to break even. Lose a few tenants and your facility goes underwater, making retention a survival issue, not a nice-to-have.

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This is the math that makes retention not just important, but operationally critical in this vertical. Losing 10 tenants in a self-storage facility is a manageable event. Losing 10 tenants in a 100-space boat and RV facility is a significant NOI event that you may feel immediately. So let's run the actual breakeven math on a 100-space facility so this isn't abstract. Assume 100 spaces at $175 per space per month average rent and $8,000 per month in fixed operating costs. Your break-even on that is 46 occupied spaces, 46% occupancy. Below that, your facility's running at a loss.