In 2014, I was a youth pastor at a local church on Kauai and had zero assets. I was living in low-income housing because I was below the poverty line in Hawaii.
For several years, my brother, Mike, and I talked about wanting to go into business together. We considered a few ideas but hadn't settled on one. In February 2022, we rented an Escalade from Turo for a family trip. Almost exactly a year later, we launched our own Turo business, JDM Whipz. By 2024, JDM Whipz was making six figures in profit.
Turo, which is like Airbnb for cars, should have ensured the host followed its own policy requiring vehicles to be clean at pickup. A dirty car prevented you from documenting preexisting damage, violating the company's terms (Turo's guidelines state hosts must clean the vehicle before each trip). Alberta's Consumer Protection Act also requires businesses to act in good faith, which Turo ignored by rubber-stamping blurry photos and refusing to address your evidence.
Kyte has shut down nearly one year after slashing staff and exiting most of its cities in the United States. The company sold its customer list to Turo in July, which indicates significant operational struggles leading up to its closure.