Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. Turo, one of the world’s largest alternative rental car companies, just announced a significant shift in its business that will likely appeal to travelers for whom the car itself is one of the highlights of the trip. The peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace launched more than 70 product updates, including changes to how hosts can manage their cars and the ability for travelers to book now and pay later. These changes come in an era when the state of the rental car industry has been pretty bleak. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rental car prices have increased faster than the average rate of inflation. And the number of complaints about rental car companies is high compared to other travel service providers. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Study 2023-2024, which surveyed more than 16,000 customers via email between April 2023 and March 2024, found that 21% of leisure travelers complained to rental car companies about an issue during their trip. That’s higher than the 12% of leisure lodging guests who complained to hotels and the 13% of passengers who complained to airlines. According to the ACSI study, specific issues plaguing satisfaction rates among rental car companies include vehicle variety, vehicle features, and performance, fees and ease of pick-up process. Among Turo's changes, the standout is what the company calls “limitless search.” In short, it upends the traditional model of car rentals where travelers first pick a location, date and time to rent, and from there, choose a car from a vague selection of terms like “midsize” or “compact” without really knowing the exact car available. Instead, Turo puts the car’s make and model front and center. Now, upon landing on Turo’s site or launching the app, users are encouraged to browse all of Turo’s available vehicles without committing to a date or location. The line of thinking is this: Some travelers choose a destination based on a specific hotel they want to experience. Why not make rental cars a core part of the travel experience rather than an afterthought? For instance, if someone wanted to drive, say, a Tesla Cybertruck or a Polestar 2, they could browse just those specific vehicles. (Image courtesy of Turo)