Am I responsible for returning or to try to get their deposit?

We haven't used him, but I've heard many good things about his work!

Part of the agent’s process will be to reach out and find out how much compensation the seller would be able or willing to commit to, versus how much compensation you are responsible for.If there is no buyer broker agreement in place, you are free to do as you wish, however, if you want representation and were hoping the seller will pay your agent, the agent should be the one to reach out to the seller first to make inquiries and secure a compensation agreement with the seller.  

Any tips or advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Sigh, I don't want to take a vacation day just for this but if I don't get a response soon, I'm not sure if I can wait much longer.

You can register your STR's at the link @Carrie Foley provided and the current response time is ~2 weeks based on my submissions.

I appreciate your quick response. 

Any tips on what she should be asking a prospective agent?

@Chris SeveneyThanks for the response.

I was thinking about adding this- that the renter should be responsible for paying the first $100 for any of the service calls to fix any  stuff in the house.