‘Disappointed:” Turo driver, company plead for Myrtle Beach International Airport to lift ban on car sharing business

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Myrtle Beach International Airport’s decision to bar car sharing company Turo from doing business there will have major economic and tourism consequences, a driver for the business said Tuesday.

“Every single beach destination along the East Coast from Fort Lauderdale all the way to Long Island can work with Turo. Why can’t Myrtle Beach do it,” Surfside Beach resident and contractor Matthew McCarty told the Horry County Council.

McCarty said he’s lost $1,700 from cancellations since Aug. 8.

News13 first reported on the dispute last week after McCarty said the agreement was ending. Airport spokeswoman Ryan Bechter said Aug. 2 that the sides had been in talks since December but negotiations stalled after Turo was “unwilling to move forward in good faith.”

MYR also severed the relationship to address parking capacity challenges, Bechter said. He could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

“While the airport recognizes changing business models and the potential for benefits to the traveling public, these must be done in an authorized manner. New business models must also maintain fair and comparable operating terms relative to similar businesses currently providing services at the airport,” he previously said.

Catherine Meija, a Turo spokeswoman, told News13 the company was “disappointed” at the airport’s decision.

Turo has formal deals in place with airports around the state including Charleston, Columbia, Greenville-Spartanburg and Hilton Head Island, according to its website.

“Turo urges MYR officials to reconsider, and we are evaluating all strategic paths while remaining unwavering in our commitment to advancing mobility and economic opportunities via peer-to-peer car sharing for all South Carolinians,” Meija said.

McCarty said Turo’s inability to operate at the airport will have a ripple effect on other small businesses that rely on its revenues, including local mechanics, insurance companies and car washes.

“Without us at the airport, it’s going to drive us out of business,” McCarty said. “We want to be part of the solution. This is about the livelihood of people that live in Horry County. Every day this conversation lingers on, that is a community that is losing because of it.”

McCarty, who said his 23-vehicle Turo fleet is his only source of income, asked county leaders to temporarily lift the ban as all sides work toward a solution.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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