Now Storage: Running a Multi-Site Self Storage Operation on HubSpot

Industry: Self Storage
Scale: ~20 sites | Centralised operations | Low on-site headcount
HubSpot Stack: Marketing Pro, Sales Enterprise, Service Pro, CMS/Content Pro, Data Pro, Transactional Email
Third-party platforms: SpaceManager, Stripe, GoCardless, PandaDoc, Aircall, Zapier

Overview

Now Storage uses HubSpot as the core operating platform for sales, service, marketing, and customer lifecycle management across a multi-site self storage estate. HubSpot underpins a highly centralised operating model, enabling unmanned or lightly manned sites supported by a central sales and service team.

SpaceManager is retained primarily for billing. Most other customer-facing and operational processes run in HubSpot.

This architecture allows Now Storage to scale site count and transaction volume without linear growth in headcount.

Sales and customer onboarding

• Website quoting and booking engine integrated directly into HubSpot to create and update deals.
• HubSpot manages the full sales lifecycle, including:
  • Automated confirmations and transactional emails.
  • Integrated KYC / ID verification.
  • Contract automation via PandaDoc.
  • Automated creation of Stripe and GoCardless payment mandates.
• Mandates are passed to SpaceManager for ongoing recurring billing.

Aircall is integrated for centralised inbound and outbound calling, linked to contacts, deals, and tickets.

Service and operational workflows

Service Hub is used to manage multiple operational pipelines, including:

• General customer support.
• Maintenance requests.
• Move-outs and unit turnover.
• Insurance claims.
• Debtors and arrears management.

Each workflow has a defined, auditable process, with full customer and unit history visible to the central team.

Debt and arrears automation (high-volume B2C)

Payment failure and arrears are a core operational challenge in self storage. HubSpot is used to automate this end-to-end:

• Ticket stages mapped to statutory arrears processes.
• Automated statutory letters sent by email at each stage.
• Stripe payment links embedded in emails, SMS, and WhatsApp to allow instant settlement, including late fees.
• Multi-channel follow-up to maximise recovery while minimising staff involvement.

This has largely automated debt chasing and materially improved collection rates.

Inventory and unit management (custom objects)

Storage Units (custom object)

Represents unit inventory and availability directly in HubSpot:

• Units linked to deals, tickets, and contacts.
• Reservations during the sales process.
• Maintenance requests linked to specific units.
• Notice given and future availability tracking.
• Pre-selling of units based on expected availability.

Policies (Insurance) (custom object)

Insurance policies are automatically created on deal close:

• Linked to unit and customer.
• Enables reporting on insurance exposure by site and across the portfolio.

Marketing and revenue attribution

• SEO, PPC, and social campaigns managed in HubSpot.
• Closed-deal revenue attributed back to campaigns.
• Marketing performance analysed by site, channel, and unit type.
• Supports high-spend PPC optimisation with full revenue visibility.

HubSpot Data Pro and workflow-led integrations

Data Pro is used as a core part of the platform architecture:

• Data transformation and hygiene (e.g. enforcing Title Case on names to prevent clumsy customer communications).
• Custom code workflows, primarily in Python.
• Workflow-native webhook integrations to:
  • Fetch Stripe payment links.
  • Create GoCardless mandates.
  • Create contracts in PandaDoc.
  • Receive signed contract data back from PandaDoc.
  • Exchange data with third-party systems without heavy middleware.

This allows rapid integration and iteration directly inside HubSpot workflows.

Operating model impact

• Centralised sales and service for a multi-site estate.
• Supports unmanned or lightly staffed locations.
• Scales without linear headcount growth.
• HubSpot acts as the system of engagement and operations, with SpaceManager focused on billing.

Roadmap

Planned next phases include:

• Integration with access control systems to:
  • Automatically issue gate and lock codes on move-in.
  • Terminate access on move-out or arrears.
• Potential migration of recurring billing into HubSpot as Commerce and subscription tooling matures.
• Continued automation of operational edge cases.

Need help with HubSpot?

If you’re using HubSpot in self storage, you already know it can go far beyond basic CRM. The challenge is designing it to support real operational workflows – not just sales tracking.

I help self storage operators use HubSpot to run centralised sales and service, manage inventory visibility, automate arrears and customer comms, and integrate HubSpot with platforms like SpaceManager, Stora, Stripe, GoCardless, and access control systems.

If you want HubSpot to support growth across multiple sites without increasing headcount, I can help you design and implement a structure that fits how your business actually runs.

Get in touch to discuss how HubSpot could support your self storage operation and whether my HubSpot consulting approach is a good fit for your goals.