Executive Vice President of Operations, Cubesmart
Search every verified Guy Middlebrooks interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Guy Middlebrooks, Executive Vice President of Operations at CubeSmart, appeared on NYSE TV Live on April 17, 2025, to mark the company's 20th anniversary as a publicly listed company. He described the self-storage industry as having evolved beyond life-change events into a year-round business, with customers using storage as an extension of their homes. Middlebrooks stated that the company plans to continue investing in its platform, people, and technology, and noted that self-storage has been resilient through economic downturns and the pandemic, serving as a low-cost solution for consumers facing uncertainty. In a September 2023 interview, Middlebrooks, then Vice President of Third Party Management, discussed the normalization of vacate rates after the pandemic and the seasonal nature of self-storage. He emphasized the importance of data in understanding market dynamics, the risks of oversupply in development, and the industry's rapid adoption of contactless rentals during the pandemic. In a 2019 preview for the Arizona Self Storage Association conference, Middlebrooks, who had been with CubeSmart for 13 years, outlined plans to share data on how new supply affects occupancy and rental rates, advising operators to stay educated on local market conditions and prepare for new competitors.
“We're so excited about our 20-year anniversary. It's not just the business that we do, but it's our people. It's the culture. It's our teammates, over 3,000 teammates around the country that work at CubeSmart serving our customers, living out that culture, providing genuine care, unparalleled service.”
“Self storage is an interesting industry. It's been somewhat discovered at this point and folks are aware of it. People use self storage now as an extension of their home. Builders are building smaller dwellings, and they need a place to put their things year-round. So, it's turned into a year-round business.”
“We're going to continue to invest and reinvest in our platform and our people and our technology and we have to constantly focus on where do we need to meet our customers? Where do they want to be met in their journey of needing self storage and we're going to continue to do that.”
“When you think about self storage, it's been somewhat resilient. So when you do think about the different economic situations and the recession and the pandemic, there's been a needs and a use case for self storage customers through it all and we expect that to continue.”
“When there are concerns with the consumer and consumer confidence, self storage is actually a solution for them. It's an inexpensive place to put their things when they don't know what's next. So, sure, they have questions, but self storage is a needs-based business, and there's continues to be a need.”
“We manage approximately 750 storage facilities around the country for other owners like Legacy and other companies, and we own approximately 650 storage facilities as part of the publicly traded REIT CubeSmart. We're the third largest self-storage operator in the country, operating in about 30 states.”
“During the 2008 recession, self-storage saw a dip in occupancy and revenue, but it was much less severe and shorter-lived than other real estate types. Some customers vacated to cut expenses, but downsizings and foreclosures created new demand, helping balance the industry.”
“In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, self-storage was quickly deemed an essential industry, allowing facilities to stay open. This helped stabilize occupancy as customers slowed vacating, and the industry adapted rapidly with innovations like contactless rentals.”
“The biggest risk in self-storage development is oversupply. When too many facilities open close together in time and location, rent rates and occupancies suffer. Developers must do their homework to understand local market supply and demand dynamics.”
“Self-storage is a three-mile radius business, with about 80% of customers living within three miles of the facility. In dense urban areas like New York City, that radius shrinks to about a mile and a half, which is critical for understanding market saturation and competition.”
“Getting greedy with rate increases can be dangerous. Even when occupancy is high, it's important to be measured and smart about rent increases to maintain long-term customer value and retention.”
“The self-storage business is more complicated than most realize. It involves legal aspects like delinquency and auctioning customer goods, sophisticated operations, and requires trusting professional management companies to run day-to-day business effectively.”
“The pandemic accelerated the rollout of contactless rental processes, allowing customers to find, sign leases, and access storage units entirely online, which was a significant advancement for the industry.”
“Different markets require different unit mixes; for example, urban areas like New York City favor multi-story, climate-controlled, smaller units, while suburban areas have a mix of climate-controlled and non-climate units with larger sizes.”
“When considering a management company, it's important to find one that fits the specific opportunity and market. Sometimes multiple managers are used for different sites, and it's crucial to avoid having multiple stores of the same brand too close together to prevent internal competition.”
In this week's video Thad interviews Guy Middlebrooks who is the Vice President of Third Party Management for CubeSmart.
If you're in Arizona...or want to make a quick trip - I'll be speaking at the upcoming AZSA conference for a few hours. As part of this ...
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