How to automate Turo guest messages
The same questions show up on almost every trip. Where is the car, what is the fuel rule, what time is return, can I add a day. Automating Turo messages means the repeats go out from a saved reply, and the ones that depend on this trip still come to you before anyone hits send.
What an auto reply is
Hosts use “Turo auto reply” for three different things. They are not interchangeable, and mixing them up is how a guest gets the fuel policy when they asked for an extra day.
A scheduled message is one you wrote ahead of time. Turo sends it at a time you picked. It does not read what the guest just typed. Setup, variables, and eight messages worth scheduling are in the Turo scheduled messages guide. Check Turo’s help center for how scheduling works today.
A saved reply is one you paste when the question matches. You still see the thread. You stop retyping the same toll paragraph.
A drafted reply is one written from your notes for you to send or edit. RoadReply is AI guest messaging for Turo hosts. It drafts replies for the host to approve by default, and you can switch any message type to auto in settings. Use that switch for the messages below that do not change from trip to trip. Leave it as a draft while you are still deciding the wording.
What is worth automating
Automate the reply when the answer is already in your notes and it would be the same if a different guest asked tomorrow.
- Booking confirmation. Car, dates, pickup time, and “message me in this thread.” If they already sent a flight number, answer that. Do not ask for it again.
- Fuel or charge. The level you expect back, and the station or charger you actually want them to use, not “any gas station.”
- Tolls and airport fees you have already decided. Say whether the car has a transponder and that tolls are billed on the trip, if that is how this car works.
- How that car works. Phone pairing, the charge cable, the child seat, where the parking pass is.
- The return checklist. Spot, time, a dashboard photo, and the key back where they found it.
- A thanks after a clean return. Short. Do not attach a new question they have to solve at the curb.
The longer set of those replies is in the Turo guest message templates. If you are writing a line once so you can reuse it, keep the [brackets] in the saved text. A filled-in draft with a bracket still showing is not ready to send.
What you should still read
Read these before they go to the guest. A draft can sit ready. You choose in settings whether that type sends on its own.
- Trip extensions. The next booking, a maintenance hold, or a delivery window decides yes or no. A yes in the chat does not move the trip. Have them send the request in the app, then accept or decline it there.
- A late return when another guest is on the way, or the car has to be at a lot by a set time. Ask for the new time in the trip messages before you promise the car can stay out.
- Damage, a warning light, an accident. Ask if everyone is okay, ask for photos, and follow Turo’s claims steps. What you write can matter later.
- Refunds, fees, and discounts. A number you type is a number you have to honor. If a fee applies, handle it on the trip. Check Turo’s current host guidelines before you name one. Do not arrange a side payment in the thread.
- Safety. If someone is in danger, they should call 911 first. Then you can sort the car.
Many hosts leave extensions, damage, refunds, and safety as drafts, because the facts change per trip, and switch the routine lines to auto once they go out unchanged. That choice is in settings, per message type.
A split you can set this week
Open last month’s threads and mark the repeats. If you answered it the same way three times, it is a candidate for a saved reply or an auto reply. If the answer changed with the guest, it stays in front of you.
Start in drafts. Send them yourself for a handful of trips. When a message type has gone out with no edits, that is the one to switch to auto. Pickup logistics and the fuel rule usually get there first. An extension request usually does not, until your notes cover the cases you actually see: car free, car booked after, or you can offer a shorter window.
Before a message type goes on auto, read one filled-in copy. A reply to the wrong question, or a leftover [Pickup time], means it is not ready. Write in the language the guest used.
The other notes in this set, from the first welcome through return, are listed on the guides for Turo hosts.
Templates for the repeats
Replace anything in [brackets]. These are the lines that can live in a saved reply. The last one is the holding note for a question you still have to check.
Hi [Guest first name], thanks for booking the [Car]. Your trip is [Trip start date] to [Trip end date], pickup at [Pickup time] local time. I’ll send the pickup spot the night before. If your plans change, message me here.
Please return the [Car] with the same fuel level it had at pickup ([Fuel level]). The closest gas station to the return spot is [Station and address]. A photo of the dashboard at return is enough for me to match it.
To connect your phone, [Steps, for example plug in with a USB-C cable and CarPlay starts on its own]. Tolls on this car: [How tolls work, for example the toll tag bills to the trip afterward]. If a light comes on or something feels wrong, message me here and pull over somewhere safe.
Thanks for the note, [Guest first name]. I need to check the car’s schedule before I answer. Please send the change in the Turo app if it is an extension or a time change, and I’ll reply in this thread.
Use the last one when the honest answer is “I have to look.” Do not send a yes to buy time.
Questions hosts ask
What Turo messages should I automate? The ones with the same answer on every trip: the booking confirmation, fuel or charging, tolls, how that car works, and the return checklist. Read a reply before it sends when it depends on the next booking, the car’s condition, or money.
Is a Turo auto reply the same as a scheduled message? No. A scheduled message goes out at a time you set, whether or not the guest asked anything. An auto reply answers a question they sent. Most hosts use both, for different jobs.
Should extensions and damage go out on their own? You can switch any message type to auto in settings once the wording matches how you actually host. Many hosts still read extensions, damage, refunds, and safety first, because the right reply depends on that trip. Keep those conversations in the Turo trip messages.
What if the saved reply does not match the question? Do not send the closest template. Answer the question they asked, or send a short note that you are checking and will reply in this thread. A wrong certain answer takes longer to unwind than a short wait.