Came to find some advice as we have just been asked for ID (passport/driving licence) the night before the sit starts …. This is after a video chat and meeting them at their home which we felt went very well ……
I am not comfortable with this, but would have happily shown my id when we meet. But I feel under pressure as I don’t want the sit to start on a bad footing. My alternative suggestion is a quick video chat perhaps where I can show it.
we are newish but have 4 references and 7 reviews … all 5 stars.
(Apologies if I have replied and not done a new post?!)
Welcome lurker @oxalis - it’s a tricky one. You could handle it a few ways & within a face to face call is a good plan. Ask why they feel the need to ask now as it’s never happened before and you are ID checked as part of THS. It might be they are overly cautious or think it’s normal (& as has been said before sometimes it’s a family member or neighbour that suddenly sows last minute doubt in new hosts and they panic a bit). You could also balance it out by saying we are happy to show you our ID if you show us yours so we all know we are who we say we are? Whatever it is, handle it quickly and openly and am sure it will be fine. #commscommscomms
I did a sit on THS where it was gated and a guard at the gate. He asked me for my license and made a copy of it. Not happy about that at all. Now an entire company has my ID on file. I just drove 6 hours to get there. I really should have been informed by the PP that this is the procedure. She turned out to be a very paranoid person about everything. I did a paid sit recently where at the gate you had to put your license into a machine and a voice comes on from a real person and asked if I am delivering something or visiting a person. That was the initial meet and got a card pass for the sit. I suggest not giving them both your passport and license. One or the other for better safety. It would also bother me if they told me this last minute.
As HO, would you be really comfortable about leaving your home (perhaps for weeks), your keys, your pets, perhaps your car, to somebody you have never met before and don’t event know their full name ? And I d’ont think THS would be very helpful if you asked them for your HS’s ID (I rather imagine mouthfuls of “divulgate”, “confidentiality”, “evidence” etc…)
As pet sitter, you would know, at least, their full names and address…
Obviously, trust is essential between HS and HO, like in many other aspects of social life, but we should’nt be naive.
Having said that, in my opinion asking for proof of ID at the last minute is certainly not right…
It’s absolutely understandable that you don’t want them to have a digital copy of your ID. It’s understandable that they’d want proof you are who you say you are especially with recent incidents.
Ask for a video chat. Explain your reasons for not wanting to send iD digitally. Offer to show them ID and let them write down full name and legal address or whatever they might need.
If they aren’t satisfied, they coud unconfirm you. THS can’t make them have you sit for them. But you could dispute this with THS so that they might at least get a warning to put this in the listing and not spring it on people last minute.
It’s a fact of life that there are gated communities especially in the US and they often have rules about who gets in and who stays there. Living in a gated community is not a symptom of paranoia the last time I checked the DSM. Even large new apartments in big cities may have rules for “unsupervised” guests coming and going when the main tenant/owner isn’t home.
Companies having your ID on file is an unfortunate fact of life in the US, and not illegal here.. It adds to your risk of identity theft. Laws may different in other countries. It’s certainly your right to want to choose sits where that won’t be required.
Maybe it makes sense for “Additional ID requirements” to be part of listings eg:
“Sitter/guests will be required to fill in a form and submit a copy of their ID (drivers license or passport) when they arrive at the gatehouse. We can work out a secure way to send this to the gatehouse before you arrive!”
As an HO, I simply would not trust a sitter unwilling to show me their ID. THS’s ID and background check is marketing fluff of no value to any host. The ID verification does not even guarantee a sitter is using their real name on their profile and THS is crystal clear that they will NOT give the real name and home address of a sitter without a court order. Things have gone seriously sideways by the time court orders are flying.
Once a sitter has my address, it is child’s play to find out a wealth of real world information about me and my home. Certainly, what my real name and home address are freely available. With those, you can find some valuable financial information online. And once a sitter is in my home, they can glean a ton more sensitive information. I trust that sitters are NOT snooping on my life but sitters balk at trusting me with their real name and address? SMH.
What is the deal that sharing such basic information is so sensitive to some? Is this a European perspective grown out of the digital privacy rights newly established in the last decade or so? I would really like to understand why the concerns are so overblown? Between dozens to hundreds of massive data breaches by major international corporations and other companies (some of them being the same) tracking your digital footprints as you surf the Internet, bad operators, shady business models, and governments know who and where you are, where you’re going, your ethnicity, religious and political views, sexual orientation, ….
But showing your ID to a host trusting you into their intimate inner sanctum is where some sitters would draw the line as too trusting?
It may be that the OP’s hosts have read some comments here, found recent horror stories in the news about THS (or AirBnb (or some dating app)) or just realized entirely on their own how little they actually know about their soon-arriving sitter. A last minute request like the OP describes suggests something raised their level of concern. Last minute may be annoying but a little perspective and empathy is called for.
What surprised me the most when I joined THS almost four years ago was the fact that hosts did not ask sitters for ID when they arrived. Anybody could show up, and a host wouldn’t be any wiser, especially since video chats were not as commonly practiced back then as they are today.
I don’t mind giving my ID to a host. Not happy when guards at gates make copies or having to put it in a machine. Too much identity theft going on. I go along with it for the sake of the sit but would rather only the PP have it.
I fully agree with OnTheRoadAgain (I wish I could write so well in English ! ), it’s all very sensible. About the OP : if the Ho is a bit of a nervous person, it seems to me that she probably suddenly realise that she should have asked earlier for some ID from her sitter, and did it (rather clumsily) at that late hour. I would just send the docs and shrug it off.
I’d like to be clear I have no issue with showing my ID and would have happily done so when we meet in person. It’s the holding a copy that I am not comfortable with, alongside the last minute nature of the request made me nervous.
I mentioned I wasn’t comfortable and received no push back, but am going to suggest a video chat where I can show my ID as I really want both sides to feel comfortable.
I am in the UK and due to my profession I also have a live and public DBS (government criminal check) check which I have also offered them.
@OnTheRoadAgain - I appreciate your response, and it has given my pause for thought. It’s the aspect of holding a digital copy in WhatsApp that makes me uncomfortable… not about trust but all it takes is a stolen phone for my information to have a point of vulnerability.
I do have empathy for the situation, and I really want the host to feel secure and enjoy their break, which I why I’d want to find a solution that we are both comfortable with.
I understand the discomfort with a digital copy. Would you be ok with sending them your full name, and the DL or ID number (no digital photo)?
It is strange to ask at the last minute. If you will be using their car, I think it’s fair in case their is an insurance claim. If not using their car, they really don’t need it at all.
I understand and share your discomfort every time I share my information.
I have no problem just being shown an id on arrival if I’m given the opportunity to write down the salient information. Unless I write it down, I won’t remember key details. Once written down, it is still vulnerable to your concerns.
FWIW, my strong response was less about your question than my expectation that certain sitters here will respond that they would cancel a sit before showing a host their ID. Your question is not the first about IDs and sitter responses that they’d cancel have a history, crazy as that strikes me.
Many Airbnb’s we have stayed in request a copy of your passport. The first time we were quite wary, done it so many times now we just hope for the best. Very little we do in life is risk free.
I wouldn’t class having 7 reviews as new-ish. I know you feel uncomfortable, but I think the likelihood is, they’ve been chatting to their neighbours, who were shocked that they were letting a stranger they had never met into their home, so then they may have felt naive about how they don’t know full details.
We sit in the UK, we’ve done 40+ sits and we’ve never ever been asked for ID, but I would totally understand if you were using their car, or gated communities as already suggested.
However, we used to have our LinkedIn links in our profile, so perhaps that’s why we’ve ever been asked (we removed those links once we had a certain number of THS reviews). Maybe you could give them your LinkedIn details instead?
Personally, I wouldn’t send my ID to any HO unless we had the use of their car, but I’d happily show them it on arrival if it was requested, no problem at all on that front.
I’d stick to what you’re already comfortable with.
It’s reasonable to confirm ID in person at handover, but asking for passport/driving licence the night before — after a video call and an in-home meeting — isn’t standard.
Your suggestion of a quick video chat to show it is a fair middle ground. If that still doesn’t feel right, you’re within your rights to decline the request.
You’ve done everything properly as sitters. Clear communication now will set the tone for a smooth start.
I’ve had to show my driver’s licence on arrival for two sits where the car was being offered for my use recently. I assured the Home Owner I had no points on my licence.
I’ve just been accepted for a sit on another site . The Home owner had normally used friends and family but this time no one could fulfill the needed 2 week period. It is in Estepona and she was inundated with offers ! No surprise there for a winter getaway!
I had the edge as I could prove I had THS reviews and bookings, sent my cv. With teaching appointment details and my address, although I’m now retired. Sent my last sit review which tallied with the screen shot of bookings and dates of my confirmed sits over the summer.
She’s new to all this. She needs reassurance and I have been upfront as I have nothing to hide.
I totally see it from her point of view. I gave my phone number readily for a WhatsApp call.
She’s wanting me to arrive the night before for a handover as her young family head off the next day.
She told me she’d moved from UK to Spain and a family member had left the dog in the sitting room with the air conditioning on during a summer stay, neglecting to remove chocolate and sweets belonging to a child on the sofa., while they headed off to use the communal pool there.
The Home Owners returned to a sick dog that needed a liver biopsy and the pet insurance was not current. The pet care package from UK hadn’t been cancelled and the owners were advised that Spanish pet treatment was much cheaper so not to bother ..
The treatment was very expensive
The dog nearly died.
She wanted me to know this important background before I came to sit for them.
She asked me about THS and my opinion about its value. I think she would be safer using it, checking she had pet insurance now!
Trust is getting harder but it is still possible with an up front approach.
She chose me and is looking forward to our meeting, as I am.
I’ve seen photos of the pets but no address details but I am happy with the progress so far.
Particularly with new Home Owners lacking experience, I think I’d be more willing to divulge
Information so they are reassured I am a retired teacher with genuine success at pet sitting from years of experience and diligence in the care I offer.
Of course I’d prefer to get a review and have the THS backing but understand she might not want to pay a year’s subscription if this is the only time she might need cover from a “stranger”.
Saving money is a valid reason but some corners should never be cut. Expensive mistakes can soon arise.
I agree with Cat Steven’s.. it’s a wild world!
Insurance and support help to tame it.
Resident in Spain so I have an Identity card that allows me to travel and stay in hotels in Spain without needing my passport. I think I can fly to Spanish islands with it too but haven’t tried that! When I hired some Kiyaks for a couple of hours to use on the reservoir here they kept my card till I returned with the gear. I am very pro ID. Cards.
- it’s a tricky one. You could handle it a few ways & within a face to face call is a good plan. Ask why they feel the need to ask now as it’s never happened before and you are ID checked as part of THS. It might be they are overly cautious or think it’s normal (& as has been said before sometimes it’s a family member or neighbour that suddenly sows last minute doubt in new hosts and they panic a bit). You could also balance it out by saying we are happy to show you our ID if you show us yours so we all know we are who we say we are? Whatever it is, handle it quickly and openly and am sure it will be fine. 
I started a new topic for you as the topic you replied to was quite old.
I’m sure our other members will pop on with their thoughts as well!
