Getting started on Turo
How to create a strong listing and get on the fast track to success
Getting oriented
So you’ve listed your car on Turo. Now what?
In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a competitive listing, adjust your settings to fit your schedule and goals, and start earning on the world’s largest car sharing marketplace.
Why share your car?
Earning opportunities
Hosting on Turo is a unique opportunity to start your own business and take control of your financial future. After getting set up on Turo, many hosts earn enough to offset the costs of owning their cars, including monthly payments, fuel, and maintenance.
Peace of mind
All Turo guests are prescreened, and Turo hosts can choose the earnings plan that’s right for them. Every trip is covered with $750,000* in third-party liability insurance under a policy issued to Turo from Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company. Protection plans vary but offer reimbursement in the event a guest damages your vehicle.
Jump to learn more about earnings plans
Getting started
Download the app
The Turo app is easy to use and lets you manage your business and your bookings on the go — manage trips, adjust your pricing, message your guests, and more, all from your phone.
Commit to offering an excellent guest experience
The way to success on Turo is to offer guests well-maintained, clean cars, with outstanding customer service. By hosting on Turo, you’re getting into the hospitality business!
Help create five-star guest experiences by making sure your car is in great working order, clean, and ready for your guests on time. Be a good communicator, and be kind, supportive, and flexible when you can.
Follow these tips to work toward becoming an All-Star Host, the highest-rated and most experienced hosts on Turo. All-Star Hosts get rewarded for their hard work and excellent customer service with more visibility in search results, travel credit, the opportunity for extra bookings, and exclusive event invites.
Learn more about the All-Star Host program
Setting yourself up for success
Creating a strong listing
Tips to make your profile pop
Strong listings show up higher in search rankings and attract more guests.
Upload at least 10 clear, well-lit photos
Include sharp photos of the outside and inside of your car in good light. Choose an attractive background to help stand out.
Review the photo guide for useful tips to help you take high-quality listing photos and get a quote from a professional photographer in your area who can help your listing really shine.
Describe your car
List basic details and features, like how many seats your car has and what kind of fuel it takes, as well as special features that make your car unique, like a sunroof or all-wheel drive. Guests can filter by features so including any features will help guests discover your listing.
Write a clear description. Share what’s special about your car and what makes you a great host. Keep in mind that hosts aren’t allowed to make up their own rules or policies for their guests since this is against our terms of service.
Adjusting your settings
Trips are confirmed automatically
Guests can start booking your vehicle as soon as your listing is published. Trips are automatically approved so it’s extremely important to adjust your settings based on your schedule and availability to make sure you can fulfill every booking.
Help boost your bookings and avoid canceling on guests by adjusting your settings
First, get to know your host dashboard, where you can:
- Adjust your vehicle settings (under the "Vehicles" tab)
- View your performance metrics (under the "Performance" tab)
- Check your ratings and reviews (under the "Reviews" tab)
- Track your earnings (under the "Earnings" tab)
- Update your account-level settings (versus your vehicle-specific settings, under the "Settings" tab)
Update and optimize your availability
It’s super important to make sure your calendar is always up to date.
Block off any days when your car isn’t available or you’re not available to host so you only get trips that work with your schedule. Keeping your calendar up to date will help you avoid canceling any trips and keep your performance metrics high so you can become an All-Star Host.
Tips to maximize your earning potential
- 1. Make your car available on weekends — Many trips begin on Friday or Saturday and because demand is higher, hosts can usually charge more during the weekend.
- 2. Plan ahead for peak seasons — Every region has times of the year when demand goes up (peak season) and times when demand is low. Identify when the most people travel to your area and adjust your prices accordingly.
- 3. Keep an eye out for long weekends — Guests often plan last-minute getaways over three- and four-day weekends.
Price competitively
The easiest way to help score more bookings is to price your car competitively.
Use dynamic pricing to let Turo pricing tools do the work for you. The algorithm automatically optimizes your vehicle’s daily price according to your local market, demand patterns, and seasonality.
Alternatively, set your own daily rates manually. Monitor your local demand patterns and adjust your prices accordingly. Check out how similar cars in your area are priced and aim to price as competitively or better.
If you’re not getting as many bookings as you’d like, try lowering your price to match similar vehicles in your local market.
Get trips that work for you
Customizing your trip preferences and other key settings will help you only get trip requests that work for your schedule and your car sharing goals. Get to know and optimize your trip preferences with the tips below.
Adjust your advance notice settings
Decide how much lead time you need before each trip. You can set a different amount of advance notice for trips from your home location, delivery locations, and (customized) guest locations.
Adjust your trip duration settings
Set the shortest and longest length trips you’ll accept.
Review how much distance is included
Most vehicles have 200 miles as a minimum daily distance and you can decide if your guests are allowed to drive farther each day.
If you offer unlimited distance, you’ll get a special badge on your listing to help attract more bookings. Guests feel more at ease with unlimited distance and often don’t drive farther than they need.
Set your pickup & return hours
Your pickup and return hours (found in your "Host settings" tab), show when you’re available to meet guests for check-in or checkout. If you can, consider offering remote check-in and checkout so you can accommodate broader pickup and return hours.
If you’d rather meet your guest in person, keep in mind that most guests prefer to pick up cars before 10 am, so try to leave the mornings open.
Kick it into high gear with delivery and Extras
Many successful hosts offer delivery and Extras.
Offer outstanding convenience with delivery
Guests love the convenience of delivery, especially being able to easily pick up a car from airports, hotels, and train stations. Offering to deliver your car to your guests helps you get more bookings and keeps you competitive. You can charge for delivery and can offer free delivery if the trip is above a certain number of days.
Go the extra mile with Extras
Extras are optional add-ons that your guests can purchase on top of their trip. You can help make your guest’s trip more memorable or convenient by offering camping equipment, a picnic basket, a child safety seat, or prepaid refueling.
Extras help set you apart from rental car companies and help you earn more. Many Extras end up paying for themselves after just a few trips!
Improving your search ranking
If your car doesn’t get booked right away, don’t worry! Keep adjusting your settings to help boost your ranking and attract more guests to your listing.
Some quick tips to show up higher in search rankings:
Include at least 10 high-quality listing photos
Offer dynamic pricing or manually set your prices as close to Turo’s pricing recommendations as possible
Offer free or low-cost airport delivery
Offer unlimited miles
Understanding earnings plans
Get to know your options
Each trip in the US comes standard with $750,000 in liability insurance under a third-party liability insurance policy issued to Turo from Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company,* and hosts can choose from three earnings plans, each of which offers reimbursement for car repairs up to your car’s actual cash value** in case of damage during a trip.
Choose the plan that’s right for you
More peace of mind plan
Earn 70% of the trip price***
$250 damage responsibility**
Up to $750,000 in third-party liability insurance*
Two extra days to submit additional distance and refueling reimbursements
Quarterly updates, expert tips, and strategies to increase your earnings
Balanced plan
Earn 80% of the trip price***
$1,500 damage responsibility**
Up to $750,000 in third-party liability insurance*
One extra day to submit additional distance and refueling reimbursements
Semi-annual updates, expert tips, and strategies to increase your earnings
More earnings plan
Earn 90% of the trip price***
$2,750 damage responsibility**
Up to $750,000 in third-party liability insurance*
Annual updates, expert tips, and strategies to increase your earnings
If you change your mind, you can choose a new plan at any time — but keep in mind that any change you make will only apply to future trips, not currently booked trips.
What happens if my vehicle is in an accident during a Turo trip?
In the rare case that your vehicle is involved in an accident, your guest should report it immediately. If you notice damage at the end of a trip and your guest hasn’t yet reported it, it’s important to report it immediately within the trip page.
To help ensure eligibility for reimbursement under a protection plan, hosts must:
- Take clear photos to document the vehicle condition at the start and end of each trip. Use the in-app check-in and checkout features to take and upload the photos.
- Report damage within 24 hours of the end of the trip. A Turo associate will then reach out and guide you through the process.
If you have any questions or concerns, talk to your insurance professional.
Gearing up for your first trip
When a guest books your car, you’ll get a notification in the app and via email. Then follow this checklist to help make sure you’ve taken care of everything:
Your pre-trip checklist
- Message your guest to confirm the pickup time and location.
- Make sure your car is in excellent working order with no mechanical issues or dashboard warning lights on.
- Clean your car inside and out to help get their trip off to a good start.
- Refuel or charge your car so it’s got a full tank or a full charge when your guest picks it up.
- Take and upload clear, pre-trip photos documenting the vehicle’s condition, inside and out. This step is crucial to be eligible for your protection plan! Turo needs pre- and post-trip evidence when processing claims.
- Review your guest’s driver’s license as part of the check-in process in the Turo app shortly before the start of the trip.
- Be available to answer any questions during the trip or respond to extension requests.
- Take and upload clear, post-trip photos within 24 hours of the end of the trip, and report any damage. You have up to 72 hours after a trip ends to report a smoking issue, or cleaning violation.
- Get paid — after your guest returns your car, you’ll get paid by direct deposit within three days.
Make sure push notifications on your phone are turned on (go to “Settings” > “Turo” > “Notifications” on iOS) and text message updates on your “Account” page so you never miss a trip confirmation!
Start earning!
Now that you’ve read up on all things hosting, it’s time to create a strong listing, adjust your settings, and offer a five-star guest experience.
*Liability insurance is provided under a policy issued to Turo by Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company. Liability coverage is up to $750,000 for all host protection plans, except in some states and at some airports that require additional coverage. In New York, the liability coverage is $1,250,000. Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. The policy does not provide coverage for damage to a host’s vehicle. For questions or information about the third-party liability insurance that is included in protection plans, consumers in Maryland and the licensed states listed here may contact Turo Insurance Agency at (415) 508-0283 / claims@turo.agency. For questions about how damage to a host’s vehicle is handled, visit https://turo.com/help.
**Turo is not an insurance company, and contractual reimbursement for physical damage to your vehicle is not insurance. Turo will reimburse hosts for eligible physical damage costs in excess of the per trip damage responsibility amount, subject to terms and exclusions, for the lesser of the cost of repair up to the actual cash value of the vehicle or $200,000. All listings with a total market value of $125,000 or more must provide proof of an active manufacturer-installed tracker. Details here. When a trip is booked in the state of Washington, physical damage to the host’s vehicle is covered by insurance purchased by Turo, but Turo’s insurance does not change the contractual responsibilities of hosts or guests with respect to physical damage to a host’s vehicle.
**Host share varies by market and booking lead time. In most US markets, hosts earn 70%, 80%, or 90% of the trip price depending on the chosen plan. However, in Austin, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Maui, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle, the host share is dynamically adjusted based on how far in advance a guest books. In these specific markets, earnings ranges are 65–80% (More peace of mind plan), 75–90% (Balanced plan), and 85–100% (More earnings plan). Generally, trips booked further in advance yield a higher host share, while last-minute bookings may result in a lower share to account for increased trip risk. Visit the Help Center for more information.
****Host earnings plans don’t include reimbursement for wear and tear, reimbursement for loss of hosting income, or a replacement vehicle if a vehicle is being repaired.