50 ways to fail as a Turo host

“True success is rooted in effort, perseverance and resilience.” – As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

I love that quote, and that book. Effort, perseverance, and resilience are all attributes you’ll definitely need in order to run a successful Turo car sharing business. Turo is not passive income, it’s work. You will undoubtedly face hardships that will have you questioning if it’s worth it to continue, and setbacks that will require you to pivot or start over.

If you’re not adhering to this principle then you’ll likely fail as a Turo host, and in any other business venture for that matter. Just as important as knowing what it will take to succeed, it’s also valuable to know what not to do in a particular business to avoid imminent failure.

In no particular order, here is a list of 50 things that will definitely tank your Turo business. Any of these could lead to low guest ratings, violation of Turo’s terms of service, low or no profitability, damage to your car, or any number of unwanted outcomes. Avoid these at all costs to give yourself a fighting chance.

1. Provide your guest with a dirty car
2. Rent your car with a known mechanical issue
3. Consistently show up late for drop-offs and returns
4. Cancel bookings
5. Don’t disclose defects to your guests upfront (e.g., the front passenger automatic lock isn’t working, the A/C doesn’t work, the radio is broken)
6. Don’t reply or consistently reply late to guest messages
7. Reply to guests unprofessionally or using too much slang
8. Overpay for your cars
9. Over-leverage when buying cars
10. Attempting to grow too fast by adding too many cars too quickly
11. Racing to the bottom with pricing (always trying to be the lowest priced)
12. Keeping prices too high and never getting booked
13. Renting a car with expired plates/registration/inspection (or they will expire during your guest’s trip)
14. Using terrible pictures in your listing
15. Writing a terrible description in your listing
16. Meeting a guest in person, getting a sketchy vibe (or worse, having them confirm their sketchiness), and renting to them anyway
17. Renting a car you rely on for your personal use
18. Don’t adequately maintain your car
19. Using Turo’s new required or recommended monthly discounts (come on Turo…75% off?!)
20. List your car as available when you’re not available to rent it
21. Try to operate in a really low population area
22. Don’t accurately factor in costs of deliveries (tolls, parking, Ubers, etc)
23. Don’t regularly review profit and loss statements for your business
24. Don’t pay taxes on your Turo earnings
25. Over-promise and under-deliver on your services (“I can definitely be at the airport in 60 minutes” knowing it will take 90 minutes to get the car ready and get to the airport)
26. Don’t do any research before buying cars
27. Buy cars that won’t perform well in your area, despite being popular on Turo (e.g., convertibles in cold climates, EVs in areas with no charging stations, super high end cars in lower income areas)
28. Allow unlimited miles
29. Don’t factor in depreciation of your cars when renting them on Turo
30. Jump into Turo with no exit strategy
31. Think your car will never get damaged on Turo
32. Try to nickel and dime your guests for every little scratch/ding on your car
33. Go for a high deductible protection plan without enough cash on hand to cover a claim
34. Skip the pre or post trip photos
35. Hold all assets and operate your business in your personal name (not a business entity like an LLC)
36. Don’t track and request reimbursements (gas, tolls, tickets)
37. Buy multiple versions of the exact same car without diversifying your fleet (when a recall on that model hits, you’ll thank me)
38. Take post-trip photos in the dark without re-taking them in the light within 3 days
39. Ignore that funky smell in your car
40. Don’t install trackers on your cars
41. Buy cars before researching which insurance companies provide coverage in your state for cars rented on Turo (hint, your personal insurance company won’t cover your Turo cars)
42. Don’t keep track of all your business expenses, and don’t claim them on your taxes
43. Always use Turo’s recommended prices
44. Believe those articles out there calling Turo “passive income”
45. Don’t pivot when bookings slow down (there are lots of ways to pivot: change availability, offer delivery, increase delivery radius, list car in new location, offer airport delivery, take new photos, update listing description, etc)
46. Spend all your Turo earnings and save nothing for repairs/maintenance
47. Never utilize Turo Support (help with settings or listings, guest issues, swapping cars, etc)
48. Ignore your performance metrics
49. Violate Turo’s terms of service
50. Treat Turo like a hobby or fun little side project rather than a real business

Are you guilty of any of these? I know I am. Do you have any others to add to the list? Comment below!