Two People. Eleven Locations. Every Call Answered.
“We were drowning in calls. The team managing eleven locations — every time the phone rang, it pulled us away from the work that actually grows the business. Now the AI handles all of it, and we're looking at adding more locations without adding more people.”
— Matt Robinson, Hometown Storage
68%
Calls Handled by AI
38%
Lead Conversion Rate
11
Locations Covered
2
Team Members
About Hometown Storage
Hometown Storage operates 11 self-storage facilities across Indiana — from Angola near the Michigan border to Jeffersonville on the Kentucky line. Their locations span small towns and rural communities where demand for self-storage is consistent but margins are tight.
The entire operation runs on a remote management model. No on-site managers, no front desks, no dedicated call center. It's an intentionally lean model built for scale. But before Lumio, the phone was the bottleneck. Every call that came in ate into the time they needed to actually run the business.
The Challenge
How do you grow a portfolio when your team can't get off the phone?
With 11 locations, Hometown Storage's team was inundated with calls. Payment questions, gate code issues, move-out notices, rental inquiries — the volume was relentless. Every call they fielded was time not spent on the work that drives growth: onboarding new locations, managing facilities, and building the business.
The math was simple and unfavorable: more locations meant more calls, which meant either hiring more people or accepting that things would slip. Neither option fit the model.
Payment calls alone accounted for over a third of inbound volume
Gate code issues pulled staff away at all hours
Move-out notices required back-and-forth that consumed entire mornings
New leads calling in competed for attention with existing tenant needs
The team was reactive — always answering, never ahead
AI as the Entire Front Line
Hometown Storage deployed Lumio across all 11 locations in January 2026. Within weeks, the AI was handling the full range of tenant interactions — payments, gate codes, move-out notices, rental inquiries, and account updates.
For Hometown, Lumio isn't a tool that reduces call volume for a call center. It replaced the need for one entirely. Every call to every location is answered 24/7 — evenings, weekends, holidays — and the team gets their time back to focus on growing the business.
After two months: 1,454 calls handled. 68% resolved without a human being involved. Average call duration: just over a minute.
What Actually Happens on These Calls
Real interactions from Hometown Storage locations — handled entirely by AI, no staff involved.
Gate code sent via text at 1:43 AM
A tenant's code returned "access denied." The AI sent a temporary 24-hour access code via text. Resolved in under 2 minutes. (North Webster)
Payment processed in under two minutes
A tenant called to pay their bill. The AI pulled the saved payment method, confirmed the amount, and processed the transaction. (Martinsville)
Move-out notice handled in 35 seconds
A tenant called to cancel their unit. The AI confirmed the notice period, sent detailed move-out instructions via text, and logged everything. (Scottsburg)
New lead converted from a single call
A prospect called about storing a 25-foot pontoon. The AI recommended the right parking space, quoted pricing, and texted a move-in link. (Salem)
Operational Impact
These aren't incremental efficiency gains — they're a fundamental change in what a lean team can accomplish.
68% of calls never reach the team
Nearly 7 in 10 calls are resolved by AI. Payments processed. Gate codes sent. Move-out notices documented. The team only touches calls that genuinely need them.
Payments collected around the clock
Over 160 payment calls handled, with half processed end-to-end by AI. Saved cards, new cards, full balances or partial payments — at any hour.
Move-outs automated end-to-end
73% of move-out notices handled entirely by AI — confirming notice periods, texting instructions, and logging everything for the team.
Gate access at any hour
When tenants are locked out at midnight, the AI sends their code via text. No one gets woken up. No tenant waits until morning.
Highest lead conversion on the platform
Nearly 2 in 5 AI-captured leads converted to paying tenants. One location hit over 50%. Leads are automatically transferred to the team for follow-up.
Built to Scale
Before Lumio, adding a twelfth location meant a hard question: can our team handle more calls? The answer was probably not — which meant hiring, which meant eroding the margins that make the lean model work.
Now that question is gone. The AI handles the call volume. The team handles the business. Every new location plugs into the same system — same AI, same 24/7 coverage, same instant tenant service — without adding headcount.
“We're looking at adding more locations. And the question used to be ‘do we need to hire someone first?’ Now it's just ‘how fast can we get Lumio set up?’ That's a completely different equation.”
— Matt Robinson, Hometown Storage