About SSA

The Self Storage Association (SSA) is a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization formed in 1975 under Section 501-c-6 of the Internal Revenue Code. For more than 40 years the Association has served as the official trade organization and voice of the U.S. and international self storage industry. The national SSA is formally affiliated with 40 state associations within the United States. In addition to its U.S. relationships, the SSA is affiliated with 9 international organizations representing another 12,000 self storage facilities worldwide. The Association has a staff of 16 professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

SSA is the registered lobbying entity representing the industry’s 49,000 facilities before the U.S. Congress and federal departments and agencies.  The Association is also quite active in representation of the industry before state legislative and regulatory bodies. Over the past decade, SSA has spent more than $4 million influencing over 60 relevant laws, as well as adding specialty licenses for the offering of tenant insurance, and authorizing reasonable late fees, dealing with abandoned records and vehicles, and fighting the imposition of sales taxes on self storage rents in a dozen other states.

 The Association has several areas of core competency: 

-          Collecting and dissemination of industry data

-          Advocacy and lobbying at the federal, state and local levels

-          Conducting conventions, trade shows and seminars

-          Issuing membership communications and publishing its SSA Magazine

-          Conducting executive education and employee training programs

-          Conducting research and publishing books, manuals and various industry studies

-          Maintaining an internationally utilized website

-          Maintaining relations with other industry associations

-          Providing legal education and information

A recent survey conducted by the SSA indicated that 95.4 percent of current self storage owner-operator members would recommend membership in the SSA to their market competitors.

Trade Shows and Education

The SSA sponsors two national events each year. In September, industry professionals gather in Las Vegas for the SSA Annual Fall Conference & Trade Show – the industry's premier conference and trade show – designed for those who have already made a major investment in the industry. The SSA also hosts the Spring Self Storage Conference & Trade Show located in various cities east of the Mississippi.

Additionally, the SSA offers a variety of executive education and employee training programs at various venues and online. The SSA Valuation and Acquisition Course is a graduate level financial analysis program for direct members and indirect members of the Association. The SSA Annual Executive Ski Workshop provides an excellent networking experience for owners while offering insight on the state-of-the-industry and other timely topics.

The SSA Regional Supervision Program is a six segment course for those who currently (or aspire to) oversee more than one property and management team. It is offered in a series the day prior to each of SSA's semi-annual conferences. Programs offered through SSA's Online University include the SSA Managers Certification Program, an intensive course providing a solid foundation for self storage management, with an opportunity to pursue the SSA Certified Self Storage Manager (CSSM^©) designation. Also offered online are SSA's live monthly webinars free to SSA members and downloadable training through SSA's "Education to Go" and Webinar Recording Library.

The SSA Magazine and Publications

The SSA publishes the monthly SSA Magazine and a weekly electronic newsletter. The SSA Magazine is the largest paid-circulation periodical in the self storage industry with a circulation of 196,000 per year and a readership of 392,000. Also, the SSA publishes books, manuals and electronic data studies each year.

SELF STORAGE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL (SSAI) is a new subsidiary that that maintains membership relations with national association and non-U.S. SSA members in 27 nations across the globe, providing them with electronic news and information and other specialized services. There are approximately 15,000 self storage facilities outside the United States. Special International members can contact info@selfstorage.org for additional information.