Yes, I agree. It is unfortunate that we live in an area that is not a touristy area, very residential so our pickings are slim. Our kids live in two different countries so we like to visit them every year for about a month. We tried looking for paid sitters, but man over 3k for a month! So yeah, it is great when it works. 
. Anyway, appreciate the advice and you are right, I may have to post that in my profile.
Yes it does. No idea. I am here in the US and did not realize this company is licensed in the UK.
@Dkcolson11 THS doesn’t provide personal information to either HOs or sitters. HOs have to provide their information to sitters, THS does not release it. I have received welcome guides with just an email address in the contact section and had to request the address. I have done a couple sits where I did not know the HOs last name. Also, HOs have not had any kind of ID verification (as sitters have) so they could give us any name.
If you want a sitter’s last name just ask. I typically provide my email address and full name once a sit is confirmed. But if I forget it’s fine for the HO to ask. My email address and WhatsApp also have my last name so HOs do have my last name. But I don’t see any reason why they would need my address or my ID.
As a host who’s repeatedly pointed out the danger of not knowing a sitter’s true name and legal residence, I don’t need THS to provide it. Indeed I doubt I’d be satisfied if the information was provided by THS. Hosts should simply obtain a sitter’s personal information themselves.
Some sites here have balked at the idea of being expected to reveal who they are. I suspect such reluctant sitters have an EU background and have internalized the notion that their identity is somehow super conventional thanks to the DPR legal environment. We see the same attitude over health data sharing under the US’s HIPPA laws. But neither regime limits individuals from sharing their personal information with whomever.
Sitters unwilling to share their identity are not extended invitations to sit by us. There’s simply too much risk not knowing exactly who is in your home during your absence.
As the data is hosted in the UK then UK laws apply, regardless of the citizenship of members, or where they reside.
An email address and a WhatsApp user name are easily disguised and not a reliable indicator of the user’s identity.
I don’t recall ever being asked by a host for proof of identity e.g. a drivers licence or passport.
I did say I provide my last name when the sit is confirmed. If someone thinks I’m lying about my name then we really aren’t a good fit.
If anyone wants to create a false identity to trick any THS member, not only could they fake their name, email address, LinkedIn, address, passport, driver’s license, etc., they could with little effort.
Even when I was in college decades ago, you could buy a fake ID for $10 USD. Nowadays, with all sorts of sketchy online sites, as well as relatively easy access to printers, etc., it’s even easier.
Even if a host asks for identification, how would they know it’s legit? They don’t have access to legal databases, etc., to check.
The reality is, using THS or such services requires trust.
FWIW, LinkedIn does offer a verification feature. You share your identification card or such with them and, if it checks out, they put a check against your name in your profile. Various social media have some version of that. My LinkedIn profile for instance is verified.
Considering some of the nightmare stories I have read, related to terrible THS sitters who are thieves and worse, it does not surprise me at all, that owners want more information for reassurance. I have nothing to hide, so I am willing to share information. Sitters are similarly interested in choosing honest, good hosts. We are very careful about which sits we consider.
@Dkcolson11, fair enough.
We’ve never come across that perspective. In our experience - that may not be representative - then historic reviews and ratings give comfort to prospective pet parents. They can even click to see our ratings/reviews of past parents; and even see the related listings. In our profile then we voluntarily list a table of historic housesits; #nights; pet type; geography; new/repeat sit; and where pet parent vehicle provided. We consider this highly transparent. Nothing to hide. We seek no surprises - on either side. We have pretty good success rate with applications so can but guess that this is sufficient for many pet parents.
We’ve come across oddball situations and have pragmatically evolved our tactics (e.g. better questions in video calls) as we have no allusion that THS will change relevant disclosures/functionality.
Therefore we encourage you to similarly evolve approach to seek information that you deem specifically important (e.g. ask for address). This may reduce the size of applicant pool. That’s totally ok. We do likewise - some of our video call questions (e.g. where does pet sleep?) may well lead to proactive application withdrawal. All good. Once we confirm then we’re committed. Everything before that is just exploratory conversation towards a potential three-way good fit (pet parents, housesitters, pets).
And that’s going to be fine 99 times out of 100. It’s not very wise 100 times out of 100.
I agree with you. A lot of potential sitters do not click more than a few reviews. If the low star review they gave the sitters was also on the host profile I would just scroll down to see stars given and stop at the low score. Then I can read what the sitters said in the reply to the low score. If the host sounds unreasonable I would not apply. If the host sounds reasonable and the sitter was the one that was not up to par by her response then I would apply. The response one has to a bad review reveals a lot about that person.
Letting stranger or known person stay in my home during my absence is plenty enough trust. Once they’re in my home, not knowing their true identity becomes an entirely different issue. An incapacitated or dead stranger in my home, someone trusted but unidentified who violates my trust, a vehicle used resulting in damage, injury or death, … the list of life’s realities is endless. Not knowing who they are irl becomes a huge headache, trust notwithstanding.
Counterfeit DLs were easy decades ago. Counterfeiting DLs or passports is possible today but I have little of sufficient value to make the effort worthwhile. So worrying about bad actors targeting me for mischief is not among the top 50 concerns I have with unidentified strangers left to care for my home.
That’s just one example.
Sure. And THS sitters are gobbling them up. 
Not the point. Point is, asking for ID is actually a false sense of security. There is risk involved on both sides with something like THS.
Who’d want one of those? 
Exactly, a host has no way of verifying any identity data a sitter might provide.
Actually, in the US, I do. But that’s missing the point. I trust that sitters are not criminals with bad intentions targeting hosts. As stated, that’s a concern not in my top 50. There are MANY other reasons that a host can and should have an accurate identity for their sitters. It’s to both party’s potential benefit.