Two storage facilities can both be “90% full” and earn very different amounts. The number most operators quote, physical occupancy, only tells half the story. This guide explains the difference between physical and economic occupancy, why the gap between them matters, and how to keep an eye on both.
Physical occupancy is the simple one: the share of your units that are currently let. If you have 200 units and 180 are occupied, you are 90% physically full. It is the headline number, and it is useful, but on its own it can flatter a site that is not really performing.
Economic occupancy measures how full your revenue is, not how full your shelves are. It compares the rent you are actually collecting against the rent you would collect if every unit were let at its standard rate. A site can be 90% physically full but only 78% economically full when a chunk of those units are on old, discounted or move-in rates.
Take a 200-unit site at 90% physical occupancy, so 180 units are let. Say 40 of those are long-standing customers paying, on average, 25% below today’s standard rate. On a £100 unit that is £25 a month each, or £1,000 a month across those 40 units. That is £12,000 a year that physical occupancy will never show you, and it is money you have already won, just under-priced.
The gap between physical and economic occupancy is where money quietly leaks out:
Physical occupancy says everything is fine. Economic occupancy tells you there is revenue sitting on the table.
One snapshot can mislead. What matters is the direction: are you filling or emptying? Net absorption, move-ins minus move-outs over a period, tells you whether demand is building or softening, per site and per unit size. Pair that with enquiry trends and you can act before a unit even comes free.
Knowing the numbers only helps if they change a decision:
Most operators check occupancy in a spreadsheet once a month, if that. Amax Pulse reads your live Stora data and shows physical and economic occupancy across every site, tracks net absorption and enquiry trends, and turns it into ranked, plain-English actions, with a short summary emailed to you each week. It is the back-office companion to Amax Connect, on the same Stora connection, and it comes free for six weeks with every Amax Connect plan.
Divide the rent you are actually collecting by the rent you would collect if every unit were let at its standard rate, then multiply by 100. If you are billing £18,000 a month against a £22,000 potential, that is roughly 82% economic occupancy.
There is no universal figure, because standard rates and discounting differ by operator. The number to watch is the gap between physical and economic occupancy. A few points is normal; a wide or widening gap usually means legacy rates and move-in discounts need reviewing.
You need both. Physical occupancy tells you how much space is sold; economic occupancy tells you how much of its value you are actually earning. Steady growth comes from watching the two together, not one in isolation.
If you run on Stora and you have only ever watched physical occupancy, the economic side is usually where the easiest revenue is hiding.
