\u201cI\u2019ve been with Airbnb for several years, so I really just got used to the informal sharing community and being able to connect with people,\u201d he recalls. Leveraging his insights into the sharing economy, he noticed\u00a0the extra car just sitting in his driveway and decided to give Turo a whirl. Four years later, he\u2019s rented out five cars on Turo, two of which \u2014 <\/span>a slick and well priced BMW 3 Series<\/span> and <\/span>a newly listed Audi Q5<\/span> \u2014 are currently available (he\u2019s sold the rest). He was even recently featured in a <\/span>Baltimore Sun piece<\/span><\/a> about his experiences in the marketplace.<\/span><\/p>\n Patrick’s BMW 3 Series<\/p><\/div>\n Most stoked on his BMW, he calls it a \u201cfeature car.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s fast,\u201d he notes. \u201cPeople rent it because it\u2019s their birthday or they want something a little extra special and they don\u2019t want to pay what Enterprise would charge. You look at Enterprise and they\u2019d be charging $150 per day for this car.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But apart from competing on price, Patrick says communication is key for success on Turo. \u201cBe responsive and clear with expectations\u201d with your guests, he advises, \u201cand pace yourself. Know what works well for your schedule.\u201d Having a fulltime job and a jampacked schedule, he adjusted his lead time minimum to 12 hours so he could ensure he could coordinate and honor each rental request.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI also view my sharing economy businesses as hobbies, in a way,\u201d he notes. Instead of outsourcing services \u2014 like washing the cars or turning over his Airbnb suites \u2014 which would \u201cdefeat the purpose\u201d and eat away at his side income, he does those things himself. \u201cIt makes me exercise and stay engaged,\u201d and gives him both self reliance and even more pride of ownership over his shared assets.<\/span><\/p>\n Starting his Turo business in Washington DC, he recently moved to Baltimore to double down on his Airbnb ventures. He recently bought a five-bedroom row house on Butcher\u2019s Hill where he lives and rents out two suites to Airbnb travelers. The house has a rooftop terrace, a home gym, and a beautiful view of Patterson Park.<\/span><\/p>\n Patterson Park (Image credit: http:\/\/pattersonpark.audubon.org\/)<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cBaltimore is the best-kept urban secret on the East Coast,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is my third time moving back to the Baltimore area \u2014 I love it.\u201d He cites the proximity to DC and Philly, the stunning waterfront on the Patapsco River, the reasonable cost of living, and the abundance of street fairs between Canton and Federal Hill as major selling points for Baltimore\u2019s loveliness. And the great sense of community \u2014 in his neighborhood alone, there\u2019s a strong civic-minded community rallying around Patterson Park. \u201cThe neighbors created a group \u2014 Friends of Patterson Park\u201d \u2014 to revamp the formerly rundown park. They raised $12,000 to fix a fountain, and there\u2019s <\/span>an upcoming \u201cSunset Wine Tasting Soir\u00e9e\u201d fundraiser<\/span><\/a> to keep up the upkeep.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBaltimore is the best-kept urban secret on the East Coast\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Next time you\u2019re in the Baltimore area, <\/span>rent one of Patrick\u2019s cars<\/span><\/a>, and if you\u2019re a Baltimore-DC metro area local, be sure to <\/span>swing by our DC event this Thursday<\/span><\/a> at The Willard.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HOSTING TIPS FROM “THE BEST KEPT URBAN SECRET ON THE EAST COAST” When it comes to the sharing economy, this isn\u2019t Baltimore resident Patrick C.\u2019s first rodeo. A longtime Airbnb…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-5189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-member-profiles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.turo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Vmsn_gUVT9u4LiNLkJFFMA.jpg\")
Tips from an experienced host<\/span><\/h3>\n
Big on Baltimore<\/span><\/h3>\n
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