The list, which features the names of more than 100 operators offering price parity, was initially created by Spear Travels’ homeworker David Irons, who published it on the Facebook group Travel Gossip last week.

But the managing director of If Only, which is included on the list, has branded it “a sham” in its current form. Brendan Maguire told TTG a number of the operators featured, either direct-sell under a different name or have opened up stores in competition with their agent partners.

He acknowledged the list was a “real positive” but said it needed to be altered for “the long-term preservation” of agents. Maguire also accused certain operators of “picking and choosing” when to support agents, and described the idea of travel consultants promoting those businesses through the list as “turkeys voting for Christmas”.

“Undercutting is a real problem that has existed since I began in travel and keeps on coming up again and again.

I fully admire Travel Gossip and its agents and take a regular interest in the group but the list as it stands is an absolute farce,” Maguire said.

“I see agents regularly struggling to match a price on [Travel Gossip] to a company selling direct, and another agent will suggest an alternative company who actually belongs to the same group and who doesn’t care about agents – it’s just feeding the beast and getting into bed with a competitor. Some agents do get badly abused by a number of operators and that’s why agents need to be stronger and stand up to [operators] together.

“A genuine list needs to be drawn up as there’s a bright future for agents and operators working in tandem and building trust.”