For people in Western Washington hoping to make some cash during the World Cup, Turo is offering a $100 incentive for new hosts.
The car rental app has about 650 hosts in the Seattle metro area with about 3,000 cars.
“What would you tell me if I said to you, ‘I’m thinking of putting my car on Turo?’” reporter Linzi Sheldon asked Turo superhost Bryan Glass.
“I would tell you to give it to me,” he said.
Glass owns about 20 cars and manages about 30 more for others, all for rent on the Turo app. He started with one car on Turo about three years ago.
“Within three days, half of the summer was pre-booked,” he said.
KIRO 7 did a quick search on KAYAK for the weekend of the USA versus Australia match on June 19th. We chose Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for the pick-up and drop-off location and sorted by price.
It showed the cheapest rentals were on Turo, starting around $230.
“So if someone is looking to join Turo for the first time, what would you tell them they need to do?” Sheldon asked.
“They need to just understand the time commitment,” Glass said. “You kind of got to understand what you need to anticipate, how long it takes to get to the airport, how you’re going to get back.”
Turo is working to attract more people like Glass in the Seattle area.
“So we’re going to provide $100 once you have your first booking,” Head of Turo US Tim Rossanis said.
Existing hosts can also earn hundreds of dollars by adding more cars.
So KIRO 7 asked what types of vehicles are in higher demand right now.
“I think with everything going on in the world at the moment, we’ve seen a big uptick in EV bookings on our platform,” Rossanis said.
Glass agreed.
“EVs are super popular,” he said. “Economy cars are always renting... and there’s always a desire to pay more for the larger vehicles.”
His growing fleet is ready for the World Cup.
“My cars are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.
It all sounds good, but what are some of the risks involved?
Tonight on KIRO 7, starting at 5 p.m., reporter Linzi Sheldon is asking Glass about what happens if your car is stolen and finding out the mistakes you should avoid.