Screening is the single most common source of friction between providers and the people contacting them, and almost all of that friction comes from one misunderstanding: it is not a formality, and it is not about you.
The usual requests, roughly in order of how often they come up: your real first name; a working phone number that is actually yours; references from one or two other providers you have seen, with a way to contact them; and in some cases employment verification — a work email, a LinkedIn profile, something that ties a name to a person who exists.
A deposit is sometimes asked for instead of, or alongside, the rest. That is more common for longer bookings, for travel, and in Vancouver generally.
Not everybody asks for all of it. Newer providers often ask for less; long-established ones almost always ask for more, and the ones with the best reputations are frequently the strictest.
She is meeting a stranger, usually alone, usually somewhere she has told nobody about, and the only information she will ever have about who is coming through the door is what you give her beforehand. Screening is that information. There is no second layer.
It is worth stating the obvious: the risk is not symmetrical. The worst realistic outcome of screening for you is mild inconvenience and a small loss of privacy. The worst realistic outcome of no screening for her is a great deal worse than that.
Screening also filters for something less dramatic and more common — people who waste time. Someone unwilling to spend five minutes proving they are a real person is disproportionately likely to also be the person who does not show up.
Answer plainly, or move on and find someone whose requirements you are comfortable with. Both are fine. Providers decline people every day and nobody is owed a booking.
What does not work, and comes up constantly in the board's threads: arguing that it is unnecessary, offering more money instead, asking for an exception because you are only in town tonight, or supplying a number that goes to voicemail. Each of those is a recognised pattern and each one ends the conversation faster than saying nothing at all.
If you are new and have no references, say so. It is an extremely normal position to be in and most providers have a route for it — usually employment verification or a deposit instead. What causes the problem is pretending the question was not asked.
If you provide and you are working out where to set your own bar, the advice that holds up everywhere is the same: screen consistently, write your requirements into your listing so they are not a surprise, and do not make exceptions for people who push. The people who push are the reason the practice exists.