How To Send a Message on Turo

Gregory Read more April 4, 2021

Turo has become an extremely popular alternative to the traditional means to rent a car. When submitting a booking request, Turo will notify both the hosts and the guests about it, as well as any modifications that have been requested. This is very useful, but only available after submitting a booking request. Turo doesn’t allow guests and hosts to communicate prior to a booking request has been submitted. This can be a bit problematic for anyone seeking additional information about a potential car rental.

Luckily, there are a few work-arounds with this issue. At the very least, Turo is somewhat forgiving to those who make a request but have not yet had their questions addressed by the host. There is also the caveat that all communication between guest and host be done within the Turo App’s native messaging feature. This ensures that all conversation takes place on the platform should any disputes occur.

This article will dive into how you can make inquiries with hosts on Turo, as well as how to operate the Turo messaging function for your communication needs.

Turo Messaging and Communication

After making a booking request, Turo will send the information along to the host and will notify you of any response they may issue. Both parties will also receive a notification in their “Trips” tab pertaining to the booking request as well as any other account activity. This activity includes reminders, start and end dates, cancellations and extensions, and even a reminder to clean and refuel the vehicle before dropping it back off.

Contacting A Host About a Booking

As previously stated, Turo does not yet offer a system where guests and hosts can communicate prior to booking a trip. The guest must make a committed trip request before communication can begin. However, if you absolutely need the host to answer certain questions before you’d like to fully commit, there are a few things you can do:

Click on the Book this trip button in order to request that a car be booked. You’ll be required to fill out all of the information as normal: trip dates, protection plans, and trip cost agreement. Upon submitting the request, the host can then accept it and you will be charged.
Prior to the host charging you for the booking, you can contact them via Turo messaging with any questions that you may have. It would also be beneficial to you to request they not accept the request until all questions have been answered.
Avoid using the “Book Instantly” feature if you want to ask the host any questions. This would prevent the host from doing so and automatically charge you for the booking.
If your request has been met with silence or the host simply refuses to answer your questions, you may cancel the trip and receive a full refund. You, as the guest, will need to manually cancel the trip and then contact customer support for assistance on getting your booking refunded.

Using Turo Messaging

There are a few reasons that a guest may wish to contact the host and Turo provides an on-platform messaging service to assist. If you have questions about trip details, instructions, car features, pick-up and drop-off issues, or directions, Turo messaging allows you to communicate with the host ahead of time.

When first booking a trip, you have the option of sending a message along with it. It is here where you should ask the host to refrain from accepting before your questions have been answered. You can even add a few (or all) of the questions you have right there in the initial message box.

You can get around the use of Turo Messaging for some things if the host is willing to provide an alternate method of communication. However, if you choose not to use Turo messaging, there will be no record of any changes within the system and Turo may wind up charging you additional fees. It also means that if something were to go wrong, there is no evidence of the issue where Turo can legally assist you.

It remains in your best interest to have all communication between yourself and the host take place on Turo messaging. Ensure that all conversation is respectful so as not to violate Turo’s community guidelines and potential removal from Turo altogether.

Unresponsive Host & Trip Cancellation

When attempting to reach a host, it’s possible that they may not respond immediately. It may even take a couple of days before they are available. When you inquire about a trip, again make sure that you are doing so using Turo messaging. If a host answers your questions through the messaging service but you eventually move to communication off-platform, any questions asked that go unanswered are not grounds for a refund.

If the host has not yet responded through Turo messaging after three days, you are able to use the host’s phone number or email that they’ve provided to the site. You can snag this information from the “Trip Details” section after the trip’s been booked. If ample time has been given for a host response, then you can cancel the trip through Turo’s customer support.

The support agent will attempt to make contact with the host prior to any other action being taken. If the host does not respond to the agent in a timely manner, Turo will cancel the booked trip penalty free. If you cannot wait for support to get around to canceling the trip, you can do so manually. This will cancel the trip more quickly, but your refund will take longer to receive.