by Turo
posted on November 18, 2024
This fall issue of the host release is packed with the latest host improvements and changes, including a new way to lock in more earnings, new settings for longer trips, policy updates, and a sneak peek of what’s coming up, such as calendar improvements, optimizations for vehicle descriptions, and more!
Offer non-refundable rates to guarantee more earnings
To help protect more of your earnings from guest cancellations, we’ve introduced a new, non-refundable pricing option to replace the early bird discount, in time for the busy holiday season ahead.
Now, you can offer a discounted, non-refundable rate for guests who book seven or more days in advance. If a guest cancels a non-refundable trip, you’ll keep the earnings, minus the Turo fees. Otherwise, a guest can still choose to pay full price if they need the flexibility of free cancellation.
All hosts who offered early bird discounts automatically had non-refundable rates turned on at 10%, and these prices will soon be available to guests. You can access and make changes to your non-refundable rates at any time in your vehicle’s “Pricing & discounts” tab.
New settings for longer trips
To help attract more longer trips while helping protect your vehicles from excessive wear, last month we introduced lower monthly distance limits paired with discounts for one-, two-, and three-month long trips. These trips can be an alternative for guests interested in car leasing and can be a great option for hosts who want to maximize utilization and have more hands-off time.
Hosts who offer monthly trips were automatically defaulted into this setting when it launched. Review your settings, and if these discounts aren’t the right fit for your business goals, you can turn off “Monthly trips distance limit” in the “Distance limits” tab within your vehicle listing.
Updated All-Star Host criteria
The All-Star Host criteria have been updated to help raise the bar on five-star guest experiences, which will help create more future business for hosts. In January 2025, hosts will be evaluated on the new criteria for the first time.
We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from our host community about these updates, and we’re working on some changes. To begin with, if a guest rates a trip 1-4 stars, they’ll be required to write a review to give their host more insight into how to improve.
Recently launched
Update your snow tires and snow chains options
If any of your vehicles have snow tires or chains, you’ll now need to add “Snow tires” as a vehicle feature and “Snow chains” as an Extra. While this was previously listed as a single “Snow tires or chains” feature, we’ve now split it into two separate options that are clearer for guests.
Note that only snow tires marked with the snowflake symbol, known as the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) designation, are eligible for the new “Snow tires” feature.
Improved delivery experience for permitted airports
There’s a new way to communicate airport pick-up and drop-off locations in the app to offer guests a more seamless experience. Now, for all permitted airports, instead of describing your parking location over messages, hosts and guests will select their parking location in a new, guided interface with a map to share exactly where they’ve parked the car.
Not only will this make finding the car easier, but it will also help guests follow the airport’s rules and help you avoid fines and other penalties. Note that guests can return the vehicle to any approved parking location at the airport. Check if there are permits for your local airport.
Submit your tax info through Stripe
Hosts’ tax information will now be managed by Stripe in the US, Canada, and Australia. If you haven’t submitted your tax info to Turo before, upload your info to Stripe through the tax page by December 1, 2024 to avoid your payouts being paused.
EV recharging policy update
The EV recharging policy was updated so hosts can now get reimbursed from their guests based on the difference between the battery level at the start and end of the trip, plus an added convenience fee, and a low battery fee when relevant.
Down the road
New 3-week discount
To help you price competitively and attract longer bookings, a new 3-week discount will automatically be added to your vehicles. It will be set at a level that’s in line with your 2-week and 1-month discounts. Rest assured, you’ll have time to review and adjust the new discount before it’s visible to guests.
Improvements to the calendar
We’ve heard your feedback and soon you’ll be able to view a new version of the monthly calendar from the calendar in the “Trips” tab. You’ll also be able to search for specific vehicles to help you make updates more easily.
Increased focus on high-quality vehicles
In the coming weeks, you’ll be able to see your percentage of 5-star ratings for maintenance, as well as other performance categories, in your “Reviews” tab within the “Business” tab, giving you insights into how you’re tracking.
It’s important for all vehicles to be well-maintained to help keep guests safe and comfortable, and so they’re more likely to book more trips on Turo. Additionally, to help keep a high bar on quality in the marketplace, and to help hosts provide the best experiences for guests, new vehicle quality standards based on maintenance ratings are coming soon.
We’ll be in touch with more info and rest assured you’ll have the time you need to make any necessary adjustments before any changes go into effect.
Upcoming improvements for All-Star Hosts
Based on feedback from the host community, there will be more adjustments to the All-Star Host program in the coming months.
To encourage timely reviews, guests will be able to leave a review before their trip ends.
Additionally, if a guest gives a 5-star overall rating but does not provide a maintenance or cleanliness rating, we’ll count these categories as 5-star ratings during All-Star Host evaluations.
Optimizations to vehicle descriptions
In the coming months, free-form descriptions on vehicle listings will be replaced with standardized descriptions to help optimize listings for more bookings. This shift away from host-written vehicle descriptions will help ensure consistent and high-quality listings, highlight key vehicle features and Turo policies, and improve the overall browsing experience.
In addition to these changes helping to boost bookings, guests will better understand what kind of car they’re booking and will be better informed about important rules, like our no-smoking policy.
Manage Scheduled Messages for specific guests
Scheduled Messages are a great way to save time when communicating standard info, and soon you’ll be able to view, send, and skip upcoming Scheduled Messages for specific guests.
