I don’t think the references are worth anything as sitters could write their own. I didn’t bother with them when I joined as a sitter.
Everyone starts somewhere. If they sound like a good fit, have a call with them, you can get a good feeling for people.
I’d ask a few questions around why they started THS, why your sit, and around previous animal experience. Also pay attention to the questions they ask.
I was last week in Taly, the lerk in an hotel asked to take a photo of our ID before giving us the keys of our room booked via Booking com, company who already knows our adress, mail and visa card)
So, why to refuse an owner to ask for your id ?
Do you refuse to show your id to car rental companies ? How do you manage then?
@Candide giving ID to a business is very different than giving it to a random person.
I show it to a rental car company, and I would also show it to a host if they needed it for me to use their car and the insurance company needed it or to issue me a guest certificate.
The bottom line is: What is someone going to use it for? What will that copy do for you? It will ofc not prove that the person in the ID actually was in your house, that they drove your car, or stole your heirloom jewellery for that matter. That copy won’t do much for you. It is a false sense of security.
But asking for it has a direct consequence. Asking for it - without some formal reason that it is required for a purpose - will clearly state that there is some form of distrust. That distrust - alone - is reason enough for me to not do the sit. In that regard the ID means nothing - it is the distrust it proves. So at least it would make sense if asking for that one would also offer a copy of ones own ID-papers. As I as a sitter have no clue whether you are who you say you are, whether you are filming me and publishing it online or selling it, getting me involved in something because you are actually squatting in the home you claim to live in.
I do however have a problem with my ID-papers being copied for no apparent reason, as it would be so easy to misuse it in many forms. Taking up a loan in my name, connect me to crime, use it for fraud. It doesn’t have to be the host that does it, but the risk is there when they have my ID-papers laying around.
So many things. But really - it is the distrust. If we don’t trust each other I don’t think it is a good idea to go further with the sit.
I just read this and could not agree more! I have read some comments on this forum from people who say they mostly stay home with the pets or take them everywhere but that is not for me. I work from home a few days a week but then i have paid my own way to travel to a new area to explore! Totally happy to do lots of walks and cuddles but i want to be able to be away about 5 or 6 hours on some days. It is a free exchange and i also skip wonderful homes and locations if i feel the expectations are too much.
Today we accepted a 30ish couple to sit for us who have no reviews on the strength of the video call. We asked about their jobs — one works remotely — and their history together. They have a dog and a cat and we asked them who would be looking after them. We asked about the environment they live in to check whether they can cope with rural life. They’re German and the majority of our sitters have been from Germany (we’re in France) — all have been great. Very organised and tidy and arrived on time 
In their application and profile they emphasised that they don’t smoke or drink or party. (Maybe they said this to counter stereotypes?) It’s a bit easier to judge suitability of a couple, we’ve found, because you can tell what they’re like from their dynamic. Everyone has to start with no reviews but I can understand how a newbie HO might need the reassurance of reviews.
The OP was asking purely hypothetically about what questions could, reasonably asked of a brand new sitter (Which we’ve all been). Fair question.
The system is set up for newbies to allow them to post external references, ie: from anyone who is prepared to vouch for their good character and experience looking after animals, so there is no reason for anyone to have absolutely no reviews.
I think people are thinking of those as “references” rather than reviews. In any case that’s how I would look at them. If someone starts applying to sits before they’ve gotten any references, I’d decline automatically. I’m more inclined to seriously look at a sitter who hasn’t gotten reviews yet if they have at least 3 references and if those references are all a little different from each other. I’m looking more for character than experience in those references although sometimes they may be from compensated petcare. But when I answered earlier I was thinking specifically of extra things I might look for or ask about if someone had no reviews from members yet.