What is Turo car rental and why Turo became the popular marketplace for exchanging cars?

What is Turo?

• Turo is a platform to rent a car as a guest or list a car for renters as a host. It is basically a marketplace to share cars. It is very similar to Airbnb but the rental here is the CAR. This is a close community where the car owners are in the US, UK, and Canada. Turo can expand this to other countries in the future.

Key parties:

• Turo, as a platform,
• Renter, to rent the car
• Host, to host the car in the platform

How Turo makes money:

• Turo earns money by charging fees from guests and hosts for renting on their marketplace. Both owner and guest are protected by various liability insurances that Turo offers. So they do not take hits when something goes wrong like an accident. Turo also collects valid passports/driver licenses to confirm the validity of individuals and approves before an individual can use their platform. Turo is also making deals with airports for the exchange of cars between guests and a host. Turo relies on ratings for guests and hosts to offer the best services and promote them. So the users are inclined to do their best because they want to rent again or host again on the platform.

Why guests book a car on Turo:

• Gone are the days when guests had to stand several hours in line at the airport to pay a premium price to rent a car. Thanks to Turo for making car rentals very easy. Previously, with the car rental companies like Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc., the options are pretty limited and pricing is rigid. Turo eliminates such problems to choose a car to rent at the appropriate budget around any area. As discussed earlier, guests have the ability to choose from 150K + cars at various price points, and conditions based on search.

Why hosts love Turo:

• Turo makes it easy for anyone to list their car and earn money by renting it out to others. Most hosts have an extra car or unused car with work-from-home jobs and want to earn money via side hustles. They can list this car and earn money every day by renting out their car. Of course, the hosts have to prepare the car and make sure they follow Turo's Terms of Service. But Turo makes it easy for the hosts to rent it out. Turo is also reasonably good at crediting hosts for any damages reported via claims. Everything is seamless, hassle-free, and easy.

Process:

• Guests check the list of cars during a period of time and choose a car that fits their needs and budget. Once the booking is confirmed, the host will receive a message. All the directions and guidance are already uploaded on hosts profile with respect to checkin, car, or trip details. If required Turo provides an option for guests and hosts to communicate using the chat feature via the platform
• Hosts need to check the guest’s driver's license or international passport before guest takes the car. Turo also provides a contactless check-in option via lockboxes, which is the best way to share the keys remotely. The host also uploads all the photos of the car, including mileage to the trip photos, and hands over the car to the guest.
• It is the guest's responsibility to take care of the car during the trip and be responsible for any damages. Guests use the car for the agreed mileage as per the contract and will be charged if additional miles are driven. Once the car is handed over to the host at the end of the trip, the trip ends.
• The hosts must thoroughly check the vehicle for any damages and report to Turo via trip photos again. They can open claims for any issues with the car or clean up to make it available for the next renter.

Summary:

Turo has more advantages than disadvantages. It makes anyone's life easier to book a car these days as a guest. As a host, I would definitely recommend this platform. If you are traveling to Austin, Texas, then I recommend checking this link on things to do in Austin please check out my car listed on the Turo platform here: Austin Car Rental

Take care and stay safe.