She had turned people away but was relieved their new block would shore up that pressure.
The busy period had started at the end of 2014 and she put it down to more people moving from Auckland, the housing market "taking off" and the shortage of rental properties.
"People don't realise storage is hard to come by these days and call up and say, 'What? You don't have anything?'"
People would sell their houses faster than expected and end up with nowhere to move so would store their belongings while staying with family or renting, she said.
Others would rent and store while waiting for their house to be built. A lot of customers from Auckland would move down and rent while house-hunting and store most of their furniture until they bought a home.
They often received urgent calls from renters whose houses had been sold and who could not find a new place in time so would move back in with family.
It was also common for renters to move back in with family to save for a deposit for their first home, she said.
Tom and Margaret Anderson, who have managed Hewletts Rd Self-Storage for 11 years, said business was "flat out" in Mount Maunganui. "As fast as we empty one out, it's filled again," Mr Anderson said.
Of their 520 units, only a few small ones were still available and there was a waiting list for the bigger units. The bigger ones that could fit furniture from a three to four bedroom home were the most popular and at times they were having to spread that much furniture across two smaller units instead.
"If things keep going as they are, storage will be at a premium here. You won't be able to find it."
Business had really picked up for them about two years ago, he said. "I think it's just the whole economy.
"Once the economy turned, everything just took off. There's just so much happening in Tauranga," Mr Anderson said.
Guardian Self-Storage site manager Phil Rankin joked that business was going "too well".
"We don't have much to offer at the moment," he said.
"We're having to turn people away.
"The waiting list is a lot bigger and I don't think we're ever been so full."
The business had about 15 people on a waiting list for the larger of their 215 units, Mr Rankin said.
People had even started booking two months ahead.
Guardian's other sites in Auckland and Hamilton were being expanded and he imagined the Mt Maunganui site would also be expanded next year.
Storage King operations manager Tony Walker said demand for storage followed the housing market, so storage was busy because the Tauranga housing market was busy.
"That's one of the reasons storage demand is up."
Inquiries for storage had increased in Tauranga. However, they were "relatively full all of the time".
Business was also strong in Hamilton, Auckland and Dunedin, he said.
"I think the Auckland housing boom is making this industry very buoyant."
