Turo and Airbnb | How to Rent your Vehicle on Airbnb

What is Turo?

Formerly known as RelayRides, Turo is the world's largest peer-to-peer car-sharing company that allows owners to earn extra cash by renting out vehicles while offering a faster and more convenient way to those in need of transportation.

Turo functions like an Airbnb from selecting the car type to dates, features, and amenities. Moreover, unlike traditional car rentals, Turo is more likely cheaper and can skip the long queues and high fees.

Turo also allows guests to rent cars who are aged under 25 provided with proper documentation and care. Apart from that, Turo offers guests the perfect car for any occasion whether it is driving a luxury car in style to a cheap but reliable car to enjoy the vacation.

Where Turo is Available?

Turo car rental is available in the US, Canada (excluding the northern country except Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec), and the UK. Although Turo is not widely available in all countries in comparison to other peer-to-peer car-sharing companies, keep in mind, you can still book a trip with a commercial host in these and other regions around the world.

How does Turo work?

Turo connects local car owners to people who are in need of a vehicle in the area which is a way to make money from a vehicle that might sit idle much of the time. All you need to do is create an account on Turo, register, and list your vehicle on Turo via a website or app. Listings include photos of the vehicles, descriptions of basic features, extra-cost services such as specific pickup locations, and ratings of the owners.

Turo hosts also then select the different plans that dictate what percentage goes to them and what goes back to Turo. Moreover, booking online or through an app allows a direct communication between the owner and the renter.

The Pros and Cons of Renting your Vehicle on Turo

Pros

1. More Bookings

Turo is quite popular which therefore can get a lot of bookings especially when you live close to the airport or major cities. Moreover, if the vehicle is well priced and available as well offers certain amenities, expect your vehicle to get a lot of bookings as well.

2. Easy to use

Registering on Turo's website or app as a host is easy. The interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate especially with features like editing, messages, bookings, and payment. Apart from that, you have the ability to set up rules for rental as well as the car's availability.

3. Insurance Protection

Turo offers host vehicles five different types of insurance plans on the platform which covers hosts if renters damage property or cause bodily harm to other road users while driving.

4. Passive Income

Turo is a great opportunity for hosts to earn a passive income especially without working actively on the platform. It is just simple as listing the car, getting booked, and being paid by the renter.

5. Free Registration

Registering on Turo is completely free and does not require any background check fee or any similar charge. It is simple as registering on the website and listing your vehicle.

Cons

1. Large Commission Fee

In comparison to Airbnb, Turo takes a large commission fee of between 15 to 40 percent of a single booking depending on the protection plan chosen by the host. However, hosts who decide to pass on their protection plans and provide their own are still charged around 8 percent of the booking fee.

2. Poor Customer Service in Certain Areas

Turo's customer support is 24/7 and reliable for simpler things like late pick-up or return. However, when it comes to the process to make a damage claim, the company will ask firstly to open a ticket for claims and wait for their response via email which could take a long time to get resolved. As a result, the whole process can be very frustrating in the end.

3. Exclusivity

Signing with Turo's exclusivity agreement means that all listed vehicles with Turo are not permitted to be listed with other car-sharing platforms which can be a disadvantage. Moreover, if failed to comply with the agreement, the company will charge a fine or have accounts closed.

4. Short Time Frame for Damage Claims

Even though Turo offers insurance for your vehicle, keep in mind, you're given a short time frame to claim for damages. This means you'll have only 24 hours to report any damages. Therefore, it is important to give yourself time to inspect before the renter takes the vehicle and ensure to take photos before and after they have returned it.

5. Interior Wear and Tear isn’t Covered

Keep in mind, wear and tear are not covered by all insurance plans therefore if you choose to sign up, your vehicle will get worn out faster in comparison to keeping it for personal use.

How to Become a Turo Host?

Registering on Turo is pretty straightforward. First, you need to ensure that your vehicle is eligible to be listed on Turo. Take note, motorcycles, passenger vans, and any other vehicle not suited for the highway will not be eligible and cannot be listed on Turo. Besides that, before you start registering, ensure that you have your vehicle identification. Once you're ready to apply, follow the steps below to become a Turo host:

1. Register

Once your vehicle meets all the requirements, create an account and list your vehicle with the option "list car" on the page. Then, add information about the vehicle, including the make and model, photos, plate number, and if the vehicle has an automatic or manual transmission.

Right after, you can set your vehicle's rate per day or either use the automatic rate Turo recommends though keep in mind, renters pay a full day's rate and not per hour.

2. Select an Insurance Plan

Turo offers five insurance plans that you can choose from but bear in mind, the plan chosen will determine how much of the fee you can retain where in most cases, around 60 to 85 percent of the booking fee. Moreover, during a trip, if there are physical damages, each plan covers 100 percent of repair costs reimbursement.

3. List your Car

After selecting the insurance plan, you can list your vehicle and set rules like specifying whether the vehicle is to be driven only within city limits or choosing where the drop-off and key location would be and organize for the vehicle to be picked up at the end of the trip.

Apart from that, if you prefer not to interact with the renter, Turo offers a contactless check-in and check-out feature. Moreover, payments are processed within 3 days for the first ride and three hours for a subsequent ride where earnings are available through direct deposit.