Monument, a premier provider of an all-in-one self-storage management platform purpose-built for scaling, multi-facility operators, is hosting its semiannual Operator Forum this Spring from April 24–26, 2026. These events bring together a curated group of self-storage executives for a private, off-the-record working session focused on the structural issues shaping multi-state, multi-asset portfolios.
The Spring 2026 Forum builds directly on the momentum of the Fall 2025 Operator Forum. The Fall session focused on practical, operator-driven topics, including:
As one attendee summarized:
“Forums like this are invaluable for swapping real best practices and building the relationships that keep you winning in competitive markets.” — Frank Certo, Senior Vice President of Operations, The Storage Mall
Another operator described the environment as:
“The no jerks rule works. The people, setting, and conversations go way deeper than any conference panel. If you get invited, you go.” — John McAfee, Owner, The Storage Place
The Fall Forum was intentionally designed to move beyond surface-level conference dialogue. As Jeremy Rollwitz, Senior Vice President at Right Move Storage, noted:
“It was clear we were not just invited, we were heard. Monument listens with intent and follows through, which is rare and motivating.”
The Spring 2026 session will continue that format—high-caliber operators, structured but candid roundtables, and focused discussions on revenue growth, automation leverage, call center performance, pricing discipline, portfolio integration, investor reporting, and the evolving operator tech stack.
As one CEO put it:
“Monument’s forum is a no-pressure space where storage leaders can talk openly about where the industry is going and share real perspectives on the future.” — Chris Martin, President & CEO, Ideal Self Storage
These Forums are not conferences. They are working sessions for serious operators navigating scale, capital pressure, competitive markets, and NOI optimization across complex portfolios.
The main topics that will be discussed at the 2026 Spring Operator Forum include:
The Forum will be held at the beautiful Bluestem Ranch in Athens, Texas, providing the perfect backdrop for forward-thinking operators and influential industry leaders to gather, share ideas, discuss actionable strategies, and, of course, have some fun with various team-building activities.
The Operator Forum is a unique event because it is not a conference in the traditional sense; rather, it’s a place where top Operators can meet, collaborate, and discuss ideas that they can take back to their businesses and implement immediately into their daily operations, all under the lens of transparency and trust. There are no sales pitches or big egos to be found here, just real discussions with real Operators and industry thought leaders.
The 2026 Spring Operator Forum will be hosted by Monument and led by industry leaders:
Principal of Arborstone Capital and Chief Executive Officer of Arborstone Storage, a real estate operation focused on growth in low competition markets, utilizing data analytics and remote management to provide a stronger oversight to property management. We apply simple and useful automation to our processes and systems allows us to efficiently manage our properties.
Additionally, I’ve been active in single-family and multi-family investing, renovating, and property management for over 12 years. Our team manages my own portfolio of properties as well as several for friends and family.
As a proven leader and business coach, I captain a team of winners that consistently over-deliver high-performance results in areas of Sales, Operations, Property Management, Unique Marketing programs, and Revenue Management.
My team currently oversee a portfolio of assets achieving substantial revenue and NOI growth each year over the last 2 decades. We have achieved this while still delivering highly rated customer service and solutions for both residential and commercial customers.
Specialties Include: Business Development, Employee Learning, Property Management, Operations, Process Management, Hiring, Training, Coaching, & Employee Retention Programs designed to produce high performance results.
Jim Mooney Jr. is the owner of Mooney Storage Solutions, providing nationwide consulting to improve self-storage operations, revenue, and occupancy. With over 25 years of industry experience, he is a former VP of Operations for Freedom Storage Management, specializing in hub-and-spoke management, and was named President of the Storage Business Owners Alliance (SBOA) in December 2025.
Open-forum, operator-led discussions focused on:
Based on feedback from prior forums, the Spring 2026 format introduces more structured deep-dive sessions, defined outputs, and hot-seat operators to ensure tactical value.
While the forum is an important event, we also like to have fun and take every opportunity to get to know each other better and foster organic connections. Operators can look forward to conversations that extend beyond the meeting room through shared experiences, including:
. 
Prior forums have represented more than 200 facilities and nearly 70,000 units in attendance. This upcoming Spring forum is booked out with 531 facilities and over 230,000 units incoming to talk shop.
When attendees arrive at the Operator Forum, they’re given a small number of colored stickers. Using these stickers, they can choose which discussion topics to prioritize by indicating their interest with the coloured stickers provided. The topics of greatest interest are given the highest priority in the discussions throughout the event.
The Operator forum was created to give industry professionals a space where they can come together to collaborate and discuss the most relevant topics impacting the self-storage space. Monument believes that the best insights can be gleaned from operator-to-operator interactions, not from sales pitches or presentations. Creating an environment where people feel comfortable makes networking, addressing the latest industry challenges, and discovering new opportunities organically.
The forum also serves as a feedback mechanism, informing Monument’s ongoing investment in automation, analytics, revenue management, and enterprise-grade portfolio operations.
Monument hosts Operator Forums twice annually—Spring and Fall—to allow discussions to evolve alongside market conditions and operator challenges. Participation is by invitation only to preserve confidentiality, trust, and relevance.
If you are interested in attending, email james.elkins@monument.io.
Co-founded by Gabriel E. Goncalves (CEO), Monument is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform designed from the ground up for the self-storage industry. Unlike standard management tools, Monument targets multi-facility operators by offering enterprise-grade features such as portfolio-wide automation, REIT-level revenue management, and GAAP-compliant accounting. Monument is also an open-ecosystem alternative to legacy incumbents that specifically focuses on providing a platform for solving the complex operational challenges that come with scaling portfolios, so you can easily go from managing 20 to 100+ locations.
For more information about Monument, visit https://monument.io/.
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