Turo welcome message template
The first message after a booking sets expectations before anyone is at the car: which vehicle, what time, and that someone is reading the thread. It also cuts the questions that otherwise arrive one at a time, starting with whether the trip is confirmed and where to go.
The two messages
Hosts send two notes between the booking and the curb. The welcome goes out when you accept. The location note goes out the night before, or the morning of the trip if the car’s spot is not settled yet. Replies for everything after that (a late flight, fuel, tolls, the return) are in the Turo guest message templates.
Each template has a guest-pickup version and a delivery version. Replace anything in [brackets] before you send. A leftover placeholder reads as if nobody checked the booking.
If the trip starts in less than a day, put the location in the welcome instead of promising it later. Access details still wait until the guest is verified.
Booking confirmation
Send this as soon as you accept. Confirm the car, the dates and the time, say when the spot is coming, and tell them to reply in this thread. If their note already has a flight number or a requested time, answer that instead of asking again.
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. Does [Pickup time] still work for you?
Hi [Guest first name], thanks for booking the [Car]. I’ll bring it to [Delivery address] on [Trip start date] at [Pickup time] local time. I’ll confirm the meeting spot the night before. If your flight or plans change, message me here. Does [Pickup time] still work?
Keep “local time” when guests are flying in. The time on the trip is the time where the car is.
Night before or morning of
Send this the evening before when the spot is settled, or the morning of when it still depends on a return, street cleaning, or a delivery route. For a self-serve pickup, say the car will be waiting and that unlock steps come after verification. If you are meeting them, name the door or curb where you will stand.
Hi [Guest first name], you’re set for [Pickup time]. The [Car] will be at [Pickup address or location], [Parking detail, for example level 3, row C]. Please bring your driver’s license. I’ll send how to unlock the car once your trip is verified in the app. Reply here if the time changes.
Hi [Guest first name], I’ll meet you at [Pickup time] at [Delivery address] with the [Car]. Please have your driver’s license with you. If you’re running late, message me here with the new time.
Name something they can see, such as a level and row or arrivals door 4.
What to include
Split pickup instructions across the two notes. The welcome says when the spot is coming. The later note has the address, the stall, and the short walk from the elevator, the terminal, or the street.
- Parking detail that matches the car. Name the structure, or the cross street plus how to spot the car: color, and the last few plate characters when the block has similar vehicles. For a delivery, name the door and say whether you can wait through baggage claim.
- Reply expectations. This Turo thread is where you read messages. If you keep set hours, say so, and only promise a reply window you will actually keep on weekends. Plan changes come back in the thread with the new time.
- The car on this booking. Use its name when you list more than one, so a Corolla trip gets a Corolla note. Add a fuel or charging line only when you want it seen before arrival. If they ask later, the longer replies are in the guest message templates.
What to leave out
Leave lockbox codes, key locations, gate codes and garage codes out of the welcome message, and out of the night-before note unless the guest is already verified and pickup is close. Per Turo’s current host guidance, send access after verification, and check the help center for the current timing. A code sent early stays in the thread if the trip is cancelled or the guest is not approved.
- Personal contact, and anything off Turo. Leave out your phone number and personal email. Keep payment and the conversation on the trip.
- A manual. Phone pairing, the charger cable, the toll tag and the child seat can wait until they ask, so the pickup time stays easy to find.
- A spot you do not know yet. If the previous guest has not returned, say you will confirm the location the night before, then send it.
- A new time the guest has not agreed to. If they want an earlier start, make it a trip change in the app so the reservation and the plan match.
Keep it short
Stay inside a few short paragraphs: two for the welcome, three for the night-before note. Guests read this on a phone. Use their first name once and the car name once. Ask one question they can answer in a line, the way the templates ask about [Pickup time].
Write in the language they used. If the booking note is in Spanish, send the welcome in Spanish. A short note in their language is easier to follow than a longer one they have to translate.
If you reuse a saved first message, keep the lines that never change (thanks, reply in this thread, the spot comes the night before) and write the location fresh for each trip. Leave the brackets in the saved text so a missed [Pickup time] stands out, and check delivery versus guest pickup before you send.
Questions hosts ask
When should I send the welcome message? Right after you accept, while they are still in the app. Send the location the night before or the morning of, once you can stand behind the spot.
Should the welcome message include the lockbox code? No. The welcome confirms the car, the dates and the time. Send access after the guest is verified, close to pickup. Per Turo’s current host guidance, check the help center for the current rule before you send a code.
Do delivery trips need a different template? Yes. Pickup guests need the car’s spot. Delivery guests need the meeting point, and they need to know you are bringing the car. The license, the thread, and the question about the time stay the same.
What if the guest never replies? Send the night-before note anyway. No reply is fine when you are using the time already on the booking. If you need a time confirmed, ask once more in the same thread.