Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Paulino.
Hi Anthony, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a first-generation American, born to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. I am 28 years old, and I came to Orlando from Chicago as a teenager with my parents. While attending UCF business school in 2013, I started a car dealership business in Orlando with my father (a retired firefighter). Since I can remember, I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. At 14 years old, I sold my first car (with my mother’s permission) via an online platform, and I have been hooked on the business of cars ever since then. I am a go-getter, so naturally, after selling my first car, I told my friends, and they also started hiring me to help sell their cars. The nature of selling cars back then is very similar to how I operate my Turo business now— I take lots of good photos, market the car, and communicate effectively and in a timely fashion with the guest.
Fast forward to 2019. I was hanging out with a friend who told me that he had started hosting on Turo. I was initially nervous about starting a business venture like this, but I am so glad I took that leap and did it. That same year, I bought my first vehicle to place on Turo— a Mercedes Benz C300. I had three immediate bookings in my first week of listing the car! It was cool to start a business and see the volume of bookings in real-time. After this, I bought two more vehicles. Today, I have four vehicles listed on Turo and a fifth exotic vehicle I co-host on the platform. I can own, operate, maintain, and keep up with all the payments related to these vehicles, including registration fees, thanks to my awesome guests who book from me on Turo.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When the beginning of the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, much tourism stopped in Orlando. I remember MCO airport closed for a while, and business slowed down for many of us, not just in the car business but all local businesses. It was sad to see businesses go under, and many families had no income. Thankfully, I managed the wave of financial uncertainty and could still get my cars booked for guests looking to travel locally or in-state. Today, I see a much different world. Since Turo started their permit with MCO over the summer, the business has been perfect and convenient. People are traveling more; at MCO, hosts can avoid traffic in the terminals, while my guests can avoid the rental car counter altogether.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Turo Host?
My name is Anthony, and I am here to provide all my guests with the ultimate car-booking experience. Whether on a business trip or a vacation with their kids, my vehicles will provide Turo guests with what they need to complete their trip. I take pride in my vehicles and treat every reservation as if It was my own. My guests can rest assured that I am always available and my cars will always be taken care of. The other great aspect about booking a car from me on Turo is that guests can feel confident that their tourism dollars are invested right back into local families and communities here in beautiful Orlando! Turo hosts like myself are real people with a passion for cars, who grew up loving cars, and want to share our beloved vehicles with guests to make their visit cool, fun, and convenient.
We love to hear about your fond memories of growing up.
We had a family friend who bought a corvette when I was a child. At 10 years old, I told myself, “I will own this car one day.” I am incredibly proud that I was able to manifest the dream of that 10-year-old me and hopefully give parents and their children the ability to manifest their dreams, as well. Now, I own two of them, one being the C7 that I co-host on Turo so that other people can share the cool experience of driving and being in a Corvette.
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