When a tenant opts into your text alerts, either by ticking the optional box when they book online or by replying START to your SMS number, Stortech automatically sends them a confirmation text. This is fully automatic, required by North American texting carriers, and needs no configuration.
Who this article is for
This behavior is fully automatic and needs no configuration. This article is for the owner or manager who wants to understand which text their tenants receive, and why, before a tenant asks.
What happens automatically
Step 1.
A tenant opts into your SMS alerts in one of two ways: by ticking the optional text-consent box when they book online, or by replying START to your SMS number. Those are the only two acts that count as opting in.
The text-message consent box is optional and appears at the last step of online booking.
Step 2.
If your facility's SMS registration is approved and sending is turned on (see Turn on SMS notifications), Stortech immediately sends a confirmation text to the tenant, in their language.
Step 3.
The text uses your facility's name and confirms the subscription. It never mentions Stortech.
Signing the lease does not count as opting in. Signing is required in order to rent, so a tenant cannot freely consent through it: the lease itself says the signature is not agreement to receive texts, and texting carriers reject that kind of forced consent. A signature therefore only triggers this text when the tenant had already opted in beforehand, through the box or through START.
What the text says
The text sent matches exactly the script already filed with texting carriers when your facility registered for SMS:
"[Facility name]: you are now subscribed to storage account and service alerts (payments, balances, gate codes). Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel."
When this text is not sent
Situation | Result |
The tenant signs their lease without having opted in first | Not sent. A lease signature does not count as opting into texts. |
Rental activated manually or through a bulk migration | Not sent: no box ticked, no START. |
Tenant already opted out (replied STOP) | Never sent. A STOP blocks everything, even if the tenant ticks the box later. |
Facility's SMS not yet approved, or sending turned off | Not sent. The consent box can appear at booking as soon as your registration is submitted, but the text waits for approval and activation. |
Tenant opts in more than once the same day | One text for that opt-in, no duplicate. |
Common issues
A tenant says they got this text without asking for anything.
Check: did they tick the text-consent box when booking online, or reply START to your SMS number? Those are the only two acts that trigger this text. A lease signature on its own is not enough.
Do: explain that it's the subscription confirmation texting carriers require, sent after the box they ticked or their START reply. If they remember neither, report it to support.
A tenant says they got this text twice.
Check: did they tick the box when booking, and then sign their lease afterward? In that case the confirmation can go out twice, once at booking and once at signature.
Do: report it to support with the rental in question. This is not the intended behavior; one confirmation per opt-in is what's expected.
Common questions
Can I turn this text off? No. It's required by texting carriers and follows the same SMS registration as your other sends. Turning it off would mean turning off SMS entirely for your facility; see Turn on SMS notifications.
Does it count toward my texting fees? Yes. Like any other send, this text is billed at your usual per-message rate.
Does a tenant who leaves the box unticked still get my notifications? Yes. The box is optional: it strengthens the consent record, it does not control your notifications. An active tenant keeps receiving the account-related texts you turned on. They simply don't get this confirmation text.
My tenant signed their lease, why didn't they get the confirmation? Because they hadn't opted in beforehand. Signing the lease is required in order to rent, so it doesn't count as agreement to receive texts. If they want to opt in and leave an explicit consent record, they can text START to your SMS number.
Does a tenant migrated in bulk get this text? No. A rental activated manually or through a bulk migration doesn't trigger this text, since no box was ticked and no START was received for it.