Barons Opening

Barons Self Storage have extended an open invitation to the people of Galway to visit their new €8 million development. The 100,000 sq.ft. Tuam Road complex, which provides self storage space for the commercial and residential market, was officially opened on Monday 8th December 2003.

Barons Self Storage Manager Gerard Hosty said the concept is new in Ireland and he wants to let potential residential and business customers see exactly how a self storage facility works. ” Each Saturday morning in January we will take guests on a special tour of our state of the art facility. Our objective is to spread the good news of Self Storage and we will even provide some hospitality for our New Year guests,” said Mr. Hosty.

Mayor O’Flaherty congratulated Barons Self Storage on bringing a new concept to Galway. “They have transformed the old Bulk Buy Club and carved up a massive space into secure units that I feel sure will appeal to businesses hard pressed for space as well as residential customers whose homes are cluttered.”

The Mayor said the City of Galway prides itself of innovation and promoting positive initiatives that benefit the community. “Not only is this the first self storage facility in Galway, but it is by far the largest in the country. To be at the cutting edge of progress is really important, but providing a useful service that will take some of the strain out of modern business and domestic living must be doubly satisfying,” said Cllr. O’Flaherty.

26 year old Manager Gerard Hosty from Salthill formerly worked with the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. “I have borrowed two clear goals from my former employers – to provide a quality product and to achieve excellence in customer service. Our approach is quite simple, if it’s going to be done, it will be done properly or not at all,” he said.

Barons Self Storage provides quick, easy access to over 850 individually built steel storage units on two floors ranging from 10 sq. ft to 335 sq.ft. Each customer will be provided with a pin number that will allow access to the main building. It will also allow the customer to disarm their individually alarmed storage unit.

“We are working,” said Gerard Hosty,” to provide an ideal solution to any storage problem, whether commercial, residential or document self storage.” High tech security will monitor all movements in and out of the building including the opening and closing of each storage unit.

Ennis businessman Desmond Houlihan is the promoter of Barons Self Storage. Mr. Houlihan said that that after thirty years of Self Storage in the United States, a pattern has emerged showing a demand for four sq.ft. of Self Storage space per head of population. “After twenty years in Europe, the demand is one square foot per head of population. The difference is lack of market awareness in Europe,” he said.

Mr. Houlihan added that whereas there were a number of small Self Storage units in the country, there was none in Galway. “Our target market in Galway City and environs is probably of the order of 100,000 people. Ideally, therefore, we needed a premises of 100,000 sq. ft, and here we are.”

Manager Gerard Hosty told the 150 guests that he studied Hotel Management in Shannon and travelled Europe and America working for various Hotel Groups. “People always ask the same question. What are you doing now? I smile when I tell them I’m managing a Self Storage facility on the Tuam Road where we give hotel standard care and attention to our guests in their respective units! ” he said.

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