Becoming a Turo Commercial Host: Everything You Need to Know

Turo is a peer-to-peer car rental service that allows people to rent or lease cars by the day.

Unlike traditional car rental agencies, Turo uses a crowd-sourced model to provide access to vehicles.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about becoming a commercial host on Turo.

You’ll discover help with deciding if becoming a commercial host is right for you, the benefits of being a commercial host, how to list your fleet of vehicles, and how to get paid by Turo.

What is a Commercial Host on Turo?

Commercial hosts are typically rental car companies.

Individuals using personal insurance can’t become commercial hosts because they need to use the car insurance options offered by Turo.

As a traditional car rental company, you already have commercial auto insurance in place.

By declining the Turo car insurance options, you can use your own auto insurance while operating your company like normal.

The only difference is you can now rent to an audience already established by Turo.

Main Benefits of Becoming a Commercial Host

One of the main benefits of becoming a commercial host is that you can operate your business as usual while gaining access to Turo’s guest list.

The platform gives you a marketplace of over 10 million verified guests.

Another nice benefit is that you can access these guests by listing your entire car fleet free on the app.

Consider how much you currently invest in advertising.

You may realize some savings in this area when you look at how Turo’s marketing campaigns work in your favor.

Ask yourself if you can reduce your advertising budget without losing out on sales by using Turo’s built-in market.

Another benefit of becoming a Turo commercial host is that all of your rentals get managed easily from within the Turo mobile app.

Main Difference Between Turo Hosts and Commercial Hosts

The main difference between a regular peer-to-peer host and a Turo commercial host is the car insurance situation.

Regular hosts can use coverage offered by Turo’s protection plan up to $750,000 for liability coverage.

If you have a commercial host account, your vehicles aren’t protected under this policy.

Instead, you must use your own commercial rental car insurance policy.

Your policy takes over in the event of an accident.

Turo isn’t involved in any manner with car insurance needs.

Your guests must contact you for all roadside assistance and accident support.

Are Commercial Hosts Just Rental Car Companies?

Commercial hosts on Turo are typically rental car companies because most individual personal car insurance policies don’t allow for rentals.

You’ll need to decline all car insurance protection on your fleet inside the Turo app to operate as a commercial host.

Turo will ask you to fill in the name of your insurance company and the policy number.

If an accident occurs involving one of your guests, your car insurance provider will provide everything to do with the following.

• Liability coverage
• Physical damage reimbursement
• Roadside assistance

This is why Turo goes above and beyond for commercial hosts, and is why you might see fees such as the Turo Young Driver Fee on some guests under 25 years old.

Things to Know for Commercial Hosts

If you’re thinking of becoming a commercial host, there are some things you need to know.

Insurance and Roadside Assistance are Your Responsibility

First, it’s essential to understand that being a commercial host requires more work than operating as a regular Turo rental car host.

You’ll need your own car insurance policy and remain responsible for all customer support relating to accidents or roadside assistance.

You’ll need to file all claims through your auto insurance policy and communicate with guests outside of the Turo app.

You’re responsible for any repair or towing situations.

Make sure that you tell your guests what to do if an accident occurs.

They should know that contacting Turo isn’t going to help them.

Provide your guests with the proper information about any accident and towing situations, so they don’t become frustrated contacting Turo customer service.

You Control the Approval Process

You can charge an additional security deposit or include extra eligibility requirements when approving drivers on the Turo app.

While you can decide to allow additional drivers for a trip, your guests can’t add those other drivers through the Turo app.

You must provide instructions to guests on how to do so outside of the Turo platform.

You’ll want to factor in insurance, roadside assistance, and other costs associated with being a commercial host.

Keep in mind that you’re not just paying for the insurance policy but also customer service and support.

The percentage paid out to you in the United States comes to 92.5% of each trip’s price.

In all other regions supported by Turo, you’ll receive 80% of the trip price.

How to Become a Commercial Turo Host

Let’s take a look at what you must do after you’ve decided that becoming a commercial Turo host meets your needs.

Turo Commercial Host Requirements

All vehicles in your fleet need to meet requirements for eligibility, as well as safety and cleanliness standards.

The requirements for listing a vehicle on Turo in the United States include the following.

• The car must be no more than 12 years old
• The vehicle must maintain an “available” status on other rental platforms
• You must have your own commercial rental insurance policy
• Your vehicles must pass an inspection by Turo
• Each vehicle must maintain a clean title
• A vehicle can’t have a damage history that involves a total loss
• Vehicles with over 130,000 are eligible if they meet all mechanical, safety, and legal standards

To become a commercial host, you’ll need to provide the following information to Turo.

• Name of your company and state of incorporation
• Your business’ EIN or social security number
• Photos of your fleet and office
• Proof of commercial rental insurance policy

How to Become a Commercial Host on Turo

If you’re ready to become a commercial host on Turo, follow these steps.

First, create an account on the Turo website and provide all of the required information listed above.

Once approved on the Turo app, you can add vehicles to your fleet.

Next, decline protection when prompted about insurance.

Enter in the name of your insurance carrier along with the policy number.

Note that you don’t need to enter your insurance information for all your vehicles.

Instead, Turo will automatically apply your commercial liability coverage or rental insurance to all vehicles in your fleet.

Once you opt one vehicle into the owner-provided insurance category, Turo opts the entire fleet in for you.

Finally, upload photos of your vehicles online using the Turo website platform.

You should also provide proof that all required documents are in order before uploading any pictures.

Provide the necessary description for each vehicle and make it sound attractive to rent through your company.

When you receive approval from Turo, you can make the proper edits on your existing fleet and add new vehicles as well.

You can decide how much insurance coverage each vehicle requires or if additional drivers come with the Turo car rental agreement.

The above information is an overview of what you need to become a commercial host on Turo.

Remember that requirements may vary depending on your location and the type of vehicles you’re renting out.

How to List Your Car on Turo as a Commercial Host

How to Accept Vehicle Bookings

Turo sends you email, SMS text, and push notifications each time a Turo guest decides to rent one of your vehicles.

You have the option to accept or decline all requests.

Turo recommends that you limit any need to decline booking requests by keeping your calendar of available vehicles up to date.

Otherwise, you’ll hurt the overall experience for Turo customers.

Turo lets you freely contact your Turo guests after confirming each rental.

If you need to decline a request for any reason, you can still contact guests and ask them if they’d like to rent a different vehicle with you.

How Turo Pays Commercial Hosts

Turo pays commercial hosts every week.

More specifically, Turo holds the full value of the rental before paying out your 92.5% fee after the rental period ends.

Remember that the fee is 80% outside of the United States.

Payments for rentals that last longer than a week get paid out at the end of the week.

For instance, you’ll get two weekly payments if your guest keeps the car for two weeks.

As a commercial host, you can set up your customized daily pricing.

You can also set your own delivery fees or offer discounts to guests.

You’ll need to collect any incidental cost reimbursements or additional fees from your Turo guests directly.

You maintain the option of sending your Turo guests an invoice for the total amount of their rental through the company’s website platform or via email.

If you choose this option, you may experience additional fees involved with processing payments that aren’t included in the Turo fee.

Payment Options

Turo will pay you via Stripe or PayPal. Hosts in the United States use Stripe.

If you’re located outside the United States, then Turo will pay you via PayPal.

How to Set up a Stripe Account

To set up a Stripe account, you’ll need to provide your personal and banking information.

After connecting your Stripe account to your Turo app, you’re ready to start receiving payments from rentals.

You’ll also be able to see all of your payout history and details about each payment received.

If you have any questions or concerns about your Stripe account, you can contact Turo’s dedicated Stripe support team.

How to Find Commercial Hosts as a Renter

If you’re looking for a commercial rental, start by filtering your search results on the Turo website or app.

You can select “commercial” from the list of vehicle types and see all hosts who have opted into providing their vehicles as commercial rentals.

You can also filter by location to find a host closest to you.

Once you’ve found a vehicle you’re interested in, you can read the host’s profile to learn more about their company.

You’ll also see what insurance coverage the host provides with each rental and get an idea of pricing.

If you have any questions about your Turo car, you can contact the host directly through the Turo platform.

Conclusion

Turo offers a convenient way for renters to connect with commercial hosts and get behind the wheel of a great car.

By becoming a Turo commercial host, you can offer Turo renter fantastic customer service and an easy Turo rental experience.