{"id":18015,"date":"2020-12-21T12:48:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/?p=18015"},"modified":"2020-12-21T12:48:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:48:21","slug":"in-the-rearview-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/news\/in-the-rearview-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"In the rearview: 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the sun sets on 2020 and this remarkable year melts away into the past, I, like the rest of the world, am struck by how quickly and abruptly our entire world changed. How quotidian things we took for granted suddenly became cherished things for which we yearned \u2014 both simple acts like going out to dinner or hugging friends, as well as universal truths that we had come to rely on to run our lives and our business \u2014 travel, social interaction, seasonal trends, etc. Though the bedrock of society, our very perception of \u201cnormal\u201d, was shaken to the core, I\u2019m inspired by the resilience, the perseverance, the collaboration (at a distance), and above all the hope that society at large and the Turo community has demonstrated in these unquestionably difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back on 2020, it\u2019s been both a whirlwind and a long, slow haul. Here\u2019s a recap of the greatest hits from a year we won\u2019t soon forget, and a glimpse into a fresh new year that is full of promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Series E delivers some fresh funding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In February, what seems like a lifetime ago, we welcomed a portfolio of new investors to the Turo family<\/a> \u2014 including cultural celebrities like NFL legend Larry Fitzgerald and rapper 2Chainz. The $30 million investment supplemented our Series E fundraise led by IAC last summer<\/a>, bringing the grand total for our Series E to $280 million, and welcomed Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP), Allen & Company LLC, and others to the Turo investor family. We were invigorated by both the fresh influx of funds, as well as a thriving business that was growing 60% year-over-year as of February 2020. Little did we know what was just around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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COVID strikes hard and deep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We were cruising like everyone else, making plans, setting targets \u2014 that is, until the world ground to a sudden and definitive halt. It started with a shelter-in-place order here in California, and then soon started taking an incisive toll on our business at home and abroad. As the world was reacting hour by hour to COVID updates, we tried to support our communities however we could<\/a>. We encouraged people to refrain from non-essential travel and to abide by health and safety guidance, while also encouraging our hosts to support essential mobility in their communities as safely as possible. With air travel brought to a standstill and public transit and ridesharing a bit too close for comfort (literally), car travel became an essential mode of transportation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While trips markedly decreased in March<\/a>, essential workers still needed to be able to get where they needed to go, and everyday citizens still needed access to cars to go to the store or run essential errands. Our hosts played critical roles in supporting their communities with their cars. In March and April, 77% of Turo guests said they used Turo for commuting to work, with 47% of those guests working as health care workers, first responders, food service providers, or janitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shifted focus onto cleaning protocols<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Apart from realizing our own resilience as human beings and that we can continue to collaborate effectively while keeping our distance, Q2 taught us all more about cleaning, disinfection, and how germs spread than we ever imagined. As we studied the guidelines from the CDC, NIH, and WHO, the team acted quickly to enact enhanced cleaning protocols<\/a> that educated hosts on how to thoroughly clean and disinfect their cars between trips. We hosted a webinar,<\/a> where we delved into the nuts and bolts of cleaning practices with cleaning experts, and we created a training course that all hosts are required to take to ensure they\u2019re aware of the expectations to clean their cars rigorously. If they don\u2019t take the course, they have a mandatory 72-hour buffer applied between trips to allow ample time for germs to dissipate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in December, I\u2019m pleased to report that over 90% of active cars are shared by hosts who have passed the training course, demonstrating the host community\u2019s commitment to public safety and clean car sharing. We hope this fast, decisive action to invest in cleaning standards (as well as partnering with several elite cleaning service providers<\/a>) has helped to safeguard the Turo community while navigating the complex landscape COVID-19 has created<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Business bounces back, car travel more relevant than ever<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite the anxiety-ridden doldrums of March and April, things started to look up come May<\/a>. Versus late-March, bookings were up 500% in May, demonstrating the emerging renaissance of car travel as the go-to mode of transportation during pandemic times. Unsurprisingly, the lion\u2019s share of trips were locals taking local trips, but as the summer came and the world started relaxing and adapting to the \u201cnew normal\u201d, people started taking longer leisure trips as they craved an outdoor escape from the confines of their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we emerged from our shelter-in-place stupors in June and July, the world was ready to hit the road. Hailed as \u201cthe summer of the road trip\u201d, Turo saw an encouraging bounceback<\/a> as we entered into the warmer months. TSA traffic was way down, but local car travel was shooting up. A survey of Turo guests<\/a> showed that while only 14% were comfortable with public transit, 41% were OK with flying, and 87% felt good about car sharing during COVID times. Cars were emerging as essential spaces to move, reflect, change scenery, all while complying with health and safety guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Drive-in movie tour for healthcare workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And speaking of cars as essential spaces, another glimmer of light in an otherwise challenging year was our \u201cTuro at the movies\u201d drive-in tour<\/a>, where we hosted events in Miami, LA, and northern Colorado to celebrate and thank our heroic healthcare workers who have been laboring day in and day out on the frontlines of an unrelenting health crisis. Drive-in movie theatres experienced a resurgence in relevance this year, quenching the thirst for a night out but again, keeping that physical distance, and we were thrilled to do whatever small part we could to alleviate the stress of the pandemic and bring some levity to the lives of these healthcare heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turo launches in British Columbia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And in the midst of it all, Turo had a wildly successful launch in British Columbia<\/a>, one of the most populous and breathtaking Canadian provinces and a massive win to bring car sharing to the west coast of Canada. After years of negotiating with the provincial government and insurer ICBC, the team was thrilled to obtain a new insurance product that covers every Turo trip in BC with a protection plan offering $2 million in liability insurance and physical damage coverage up to the full value of the car, with no deductible for hosts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I, for one, can\u2019t wait to book a car from a Turo host in beautiful British Columbia as soon as it\u2019s safe to travel up north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A year of social reckoning and responsibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The turmoil incited by the pandemic was compounded and escalated by the tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, which sparked a chain reaction of anguish around and hyperawareness of the systemic racism that has plagued America for generations. Like the rest of the world, we were moved<\/a>, devastated, rapt, listening attentively, and eager to contribute. We searched for ways to affect change in an authentic, substantive, and meaningful way that wasn\u2019t just paying the movement lip service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, we launched the Turo Seed Initiative<\/a>, a novel program created in partnership with Kiva to help address wealth inequality in America exacerbated by systemic racism. The program aims to jumpstart the entrepreneurial engines of aspiring entrepreneurs of all colors and creeds, but with special attention on traditionally underserved Black communities. Successful Seed Hosts will crowdfund a loan on Kiva, which Turo will match dollar-for-dollar (up to $7,500) for Seed Hosts to buy a car to share and start building a small car sharing business on the Turo marketplace. I\u2019m proud of the way this initiative leverages the innate Turo value proposition as it is \u2014 creating economic empowerment for all \u2014 and elegantly focuses it on a specific use case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been so inspired by the influx of applications and the stories of the applicants, including one of our very own employees, Robbie<\/a>, and I can\u2019t wait to showcase these hosts in the new year as they start building their businesses on Turo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Celebrating 10 years of Turo and reflecting on marketplace evolution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This summer marked 10 years of Turo<\/a>, inviting us to look back on how far we\u2019ve come. Reflecting on the early days<\/a> and hearkening back to that snowy night in Cambridge when Turo founder Shelby Clark had the aha! moment that set the wheels in motion for everything to come, I can\u2019t help but swell with pride in what the Turo community and team has built together \u2014 a collaborative, dynamic marketplace that\u2019s hosted over 13 million trip days, seen nearly a half a million cars listed and put to better use, earned $1 billion in gross revenue, and continues to build momentum<\/a> with a record-setting third quarter, even in the throes of a global pandemic. Marketplace dynamics have evolved over the years<\/a>, with paradigms coming into line with the elevated expectations of the ever-savvier digital consumer, and it\u2019s so invigorating to witness, react, and respond to the shifting market landscape and pioneer this path together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exceptional progress despite a challenging economy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite a volatile economy and whiplash-inducing shifts in societal trends and social behavior every day, we\u2019ve made exceptional progress this year in fine-tuning the Turo experience for hosts and guests, and making strides towards strengthening the sustainability of the marketplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We introduced a suite of new hosts protection plans, giving US-based hosts more protection options than ever, and hosted a webinar taking a deep dive into protection and claims at Turo<\/a>. The webinar showcased how different Turo protection is from traditional auto insurance, giving hosts a peek under the hood of the nuances of insurance and the economics of claims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team also made bold strides in closing legacy loopholes to better balance the marketplace, specifically around additional distance<\/a> and how hosts were able to charge for distance. The changes standardized the pricing structure to make charging for distance fairer to guests, and is an excellent example of when it\u2019s appropriate for marketplaces to step in and set quality standards to help it stay competitive and champion its long term sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also had an eventful and rich Q4<\/a>, launching a partnership with Kayak, taking a firmer stance on smoking and banning guests with proven smoking violations, and, just last week, launching early bird discounts as a new lever for hosts to tinker with as they customize their businesses to demand in their area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We garnered some exciting press coverage that elevated and celebrated the business\u2019 progress throughout 2020, with features on CNBC<\/a> and Bloomberg TV<\/a> to share the story of the long-awaited return of Turo to New York<\/a>, our growth and the resilience of our community since the slowdown at the beginning of the pandemic, and thoughts on Airbnb\u2019s recent IPO.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n