Las Vegas Turo Host Has A Fleet Of 30 Cars. Then He Sends All His Renters A Message: ‘Huge Fail’

In the past few decades, the growth of the “gig economy” has caused a rise in short-term rentals.

While this started with home rental services like Airbnb, there are now a wide variety of rental services on the market. For example, everyday people can rent neighborhood pools on sites like Swimply. People can even rent out their clothes with sites like By Rotation.

One of the most prominent rental services is Turo. This allows people to rent out their cars. Although many of the app’s original users rented out their own personal vehicles, there are now full, individually-run rental services that operate entirely through the app.

A Las Vegas, Nevada-based owner of one such rental service recently sparked discussion after sharing his own experience with the app. While things usually run well, a recent message he sent to his renters led to a dead end. What happened?

What Message Did This Turo Host Send His Renters?

In his video, the self-proclaimed “Vegas Turo King” Erik Lizar says a tried-and-true rental tactic recently fell flat on its face.

“Oh my goodness, I have just massively failed,” Lizar starts. “I cannot believe this.”

According to Lizar, he typically employs a common tactic for customers returning their car on Monday after a weekend in Las Vegas. The Turo host says this tactic involves a “very amazing[ly] worded message” that “encourage[s] them to keep the car longer, to extend their Vegas vacation.”

Usually, he says, this message is effective. This time, Lizar says he is supposed to have 30 cars returned to him on Monday—and, despite his message, not one of these renters wants to extend their trip.

“Anyways, I got a whole bunch of beautiful cars waiting to get booked, and I’m gonna have 30-something more beautiful cars tomorrow that I’m gonna have to figure out how the heck I’m gonna get them booked,” he states. “But you know what? Every single week for the last 10 years, been doing the same thing.”

In the caption, he adds, “I love having fun with my customers and figuring out ways to encourage them to stay a little longer and enjoy the cars a little more. Often times it’s a huge success and we get that feedback directly from them on a weekly basis. Tonite though, not a single peep. Nobody was feeling the positive vibes. Nobody was feeling it. Though the night is still young, we still have a chance.”

Is Being A Turo Host Worth It?

Seeing this apparent volatility, some may wonder if being a Turo host is worth it.

The answer to that question depends largely on one’s circumstances. If a person lives in a high-tourist area, already owns their car, and has the time to spare to run a small car rental business, it may be worth it to rent their vehicle out on Turo. In fact, some people have claimed to use Turo to pay off their cars.

That said, this isn’t guaranteed. Additionally, cars come with a host of associated costs, ranging from gas to repairs. While earnings from Turo may offset these costs, they may not fully cover them—especially in small markets or during slow seasons.

For its part, Turo’s website contains what it calls a “Carculator.” This allows one to see how much they could theoretically earn on Turo. In terms of hard numbers, a March 2025 announcement on the company’s website says that hosts earned $1.5 billion across 340,000 active vehicles.

This means that the average Turo vehicle brought in just $4,412 in a single year. This is significantly less than the estimated cost of owning a vehicle over the same timeframe.

Why Do Some Turo Hosts Struggle To Get Rentals?

No matter the market, some weeks are just slow for business.

Still, Turo hosts on Reddit have some advice for securing rentals during difficult periods.

“Do a search on 25 mile radius around your area and see how much those comparable car like yours go for rent and go atleast 5-10% lower than that,” advised a commenter. “Or throw some perks to attract guest[s]. when I started I gave unlimited miles for first 5 rentals which is like a badge ‘unlimited miles’ that sits on top of your car picture during a rental search. that way your car gets more attention and gets booked.”

Other tips involve simply taking a closer look at the listing itself.

“Using guest mode, find your listing and look at the pictures,” detailed another commenter. “I see tons of s—- pictures, especially from new host. Pictures don’t always upload in full quality, and sometimes crop weirdly and bad pictures will get you passed up every time.”

BroBible reached out to Turo via email and Lizar via Facebook and Instagram direct message.