Extra Space Storage owns, operates and manages self-storage facilities under the Extra Space brand across the United States. Founded by Kenneth M. Woolley in 1977 and public on the NYSE since 2004, it is an S&P 500 REIT headquartered in the Salt Lake City area. Demand for storage is tied to life events such as moving, downsizing, divorce and the loss of a family member, as well as small-business inventory needs. The company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Extra Space makes most of its money from monthly rent on storage units at stores it owns outright or through consolidated joint ventures. Leases are month-to-month, so pricing for new and existing customers can be adjusted frequently using the company's revenue-management systems. Around that core it earns tenant reinsurance income (protection plans that cover customers' stored goods), management fees from its third-party platform, equity income from unconsolidated joint ventures, and interest from mortgage and mezzanine bridge loans to other storage owners. The third-party platform adds brand scale and data without requiring Extra Space to buy the real estate, and it often feeds future acquisitions.