by Tom Wang
posted on June 26, 2024
Turo aims to reinvent the outdated car rental experience
I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve released over 70 key product updates so far this year, all of which aim to create outstanding experiences for our hosts and guests, and to further strengthen the company’s position as the world’s leader in car sharing.
What’s new for guests
On the guest side, we’re particularly excited about and proud of our new limitless search functionality. This innovative feature puts the company’s extraordinary selection of over 1,600 unique makes and models front and center, by letting customers browse all of Turo’s available vehicles without dates or locations. This ability to freely browse vehicles — from exotics to electrics to the latest models — is the first of its kind in the car rental or car sharing space.
Limitless search
Other features of this reimagined browsing experience include sharable favorites lists, personalized content leveraging machine learning models, and curated vehicle “Collections”. Sharable favorites lists allows everyone, from car enthusiasts to try-before-you-buy shoppers and trip planners, to create and share bespoke lists of Turo inventory.
Shareable favorites lists
“Collections” will be rolling out throughout the summer, and will enable guests to get inspired and find the perfect car to suit their summer vibe. Examples of Collections include Rugged 4x4s, Sensational Supercars, Electric Elite, and Vintage Americana.
Collections
This suite of updates marks a major departure from the traditional rental car experience where browsing is generally confined to categories, such as “midsize”, “compact”, or “standard”, and specific makes and models are seldom guaranteed. Part of what makes Turo so special is our extraordinary selection of vehicles, as well as the ability to book the exact car you want, so we continually strive to elevate these core differentiators in our product.
Additional features launched this year include the ability for guests to pay for their booking later, empowering them to plan their trips with greater flexibility and convenience. And earlier this year, we also made Book Instantly the standard for all trips, which means that all trips are instantly approved, making the process of renting a car on Turo more convenient and reliable.
What’s new for hosts
On the host side, we want to provide our hosts with the tools, services, and guidance they need to build profitable, sophisticated businesses. Today, we’ve also launched Turo Host Services, a hub where hosts can access custom-built services, like vehicle financing and insurance, to help fuel their growth.
Turo Host Services will help address the biggest scaling challenges hosts face: financing and insurance. Turo has partnered with lenders to increase access to vehicle financing, custom-designed for Power Hosts, who can get up to $10 million in financing through lines of credit, TRAC leases, and refinancing. Additionally, we’ve worked with an insurance partner who will offer a reimagined, affordable insurance product to cover hosts’ vehicles between bookings (when used for business purposes), reducing hosts’ overhead. In addition to existing data, automation, and co-hosting services, financing and insurance are the latest additions to Turo’s suite of services that will continue to help hosts launch, manage, and scale their businesses.
Turo Host Services
Other host-side features and programs include additional functionality for Hosting Teams, allowing hosts to invite co-hosts to manage pricing, availability, and trip details, letting them better collaborate and delegate, while keeping sensitive information private and maintaining Turo’s commitment to safety. A new passive income hosting program — the first of its kind in car sharing in the US — invites busy vehicle owners who don’t have time to host on Turo to partner with seasoned Turo hosts interested in managing more vehicles. The program empowers vehicle owners to transform their depreciating assets into revenue generators, and hosts to expand their fleets without upfront capital — a perfect pairing that creates a win-win for car owners short on time but eager to earn passive income and entrepreneurs who are eager to add more vehicles to their fleets.
What’s next
We have many miles ahead to pursue our mission of putting the world’s 1.5 billion cars to better use, and this is only the beginning. We’ll continue to work hard to launch and unveil fresh features and programs that will help guests find the perfect car — whatever that means to them — and help hosts capitalize on their cars and create income-generating car sharing businesses.
Tom Wang
Tom is Turo’s Chief Product Officer. He has overseen Turo’s global product strategy across all platforms for 11+ years.
