U-Haul is solidifying customer trust in 2026 with a 1-Year Price Lock to provide tenants with cost certainty on their monthly storage rent.
As the self-storage industry grapples with mounting legal challenges and growing scrutiny over its pricing practices, U-Haul CEO Joe Shoen is focusing his energy on the customer experience and ways to sustain industry integrity.
Inside Self Storage interviewed Shoen on the topic.
From ISS:
Joe Shoen, a self-storage veteran and CEO of U-Haul International Inc., isn’t afraid to call out what he sees as deceptive pricing practices tarnishing the industry’s reputation. In recent years, our sector has come under fire, with allegations of large operators using bait-and-switch promotional tactics. Shoen has openly voiced his frustration with policies that are driven by profit before customer service. He candidly expresses concerns about increased government scrutiny and the potential for lost business integrity.
Shoen’s commitment to transparency, fairness and customer care sparks an important conversation about the future of self-storage. I interviewed him to learn more about his perspective and why U-Haul is stepping up to lead by example.
Shoen’s concerns are rooted in the practice of questionable pricing strategies by some of the self-storage industry’s largest players, where customers are lured in by very low promotional rates, only to face steep price hikes shortly after move-in. He argues that these practices are a rude awakening for renters who thought they were getting a deal and jeopardize the reputation of the entire sector.
“They get you to move in for a very low dollar amount. Once you’re moved in, you’re comfortable; but you still remember how much work it was moving in. Then they crank your rate just enough that you won’t move out,” Shoen says.
