Miami Couple Built a $500K Turo Empire With 63 Cars and the Whole Family

What started as a single Nissan Infiniti and a shrug-and-see experiment in 2020 has become a half-million-dollar-a-year car rental operation for Gerardo Aletti and Sofia Escarra, Venezuelan immigrants living in Miami. By 2025, the couple had scaled to 63 vehicles listed exclusively on Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, and had pulled in roughly $500,000 for the year — enough to make it a full-time family business employing their son Fabrizio, their daughter, and a niece.

The growth was deliberate and iterative. After the first rental proved profitable, Aletti bought a second car, then a third, guided by his background in the transportation industry and a knack for reading market demand. He cycled through vehicle types — luxury cars, fuel-efficient compacts, sedans, SUVs — doubling down on what rented well near Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. By 2023 they had 15 cars and leased their first dedicated parking and office space. Turo became their primary income source in 2024.

A significant competitive edge has been language. Spanish-speaking travelers from Latin America account for roughly 30% of their bookings, and the family's fluency has helped with everything from airport logistics to local dining tips. That advantage is getting a timely boost: Miami is hosting seven matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the couple reports a recent surge in bookings tied to the tournament. Turo's decision to add Spanish-language support to its app earlier this year has also made it easier for those travelers to discover their listings.

The family has divided responsibilities along skill lines — expense tracking, fleet purchasing, marketing, and customer service are each handled by different members, while the younger generation manages the complex day-to-day logistics of tracking which cars are at airports, at the office, or in for maintenance. Despite thousands of trips, customer problems have been rare, though not zero: one rental of a Nissan Altima to two elderly men ended with the car smelling strongly of marijuana. Aletti distills success on the platform down to two factors: understanding cars and understanding people.