@Jay_lucas The business model that a practitioner utilizes doesn't have to be static approach of request deposit/don't request deposit, it can adapt to the market they use as a home base versus when traveling (this shouldn't be rocket science). In looking at the two major platforms (RentMasseur and RentMen), and conducting a simple profile search of the word "Deposit" only 32 of 4,306 (0.74314909%) of Rentmasseur practitioners and 68 of 10,688 (0.636622%) of Rentmen practitioners outrightly state that a Deposit would be required at some stage of engagement.
Practitioners choose what business model works for them best. Scanning only a couple of profiles on each, it was clear that for some of the practitioners it wasn't required in all instances and for others it was a hard and fast rule. Note there maybe other practitioners that utilize phrasing in place of "Deposit" but I don't think that would move the numbers much. Good luck with the search of practitioners that meet your needs. As for myself, a practitioner who would require a deposit isn't the business model I prefer.