We have seen the rise of disruptors such as Airbnb and Uber – undoubtedly trailblazers in the sharing economy, but who are now involved in legal wrangles in many jurisdictions. Sharing economies – also known as peer-to-peer models – miss out everything in the middle and are on the whole unregulated. Authorities are now waking up to the threat of these unregulated practices, which challenge employment and health and safety issues.

I ask, though, whether there are a number of other industry “disruptors” that also need to be regulated.

We’re all aware that Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and others are looking at travel and trying to work out how they can make more money out of the sector. They have the power to influence purchasing decisions by capturing and directing traffic and then selling to the highest bidder.

Questions are also being asked about travel metasearch companies, which claim to offer the best deals but are influenced by advertising revenues. Surely the whole point of comparison sites is to find the most suitable quote – not the supplier that pays the most to be seen?

At Barrhead we’ve noticed that customers have become wary about some OTAs and metasearch companies, because not only do they feel they are not getting a true comparison but they believe that customer service is limited.

GDSs in Europe are regulated and have to offer a level playing field to all airlines. The EU Code of Conduct attempts to ensure that displays of airline options must be neutral and contain accurate, non-misleading information, ranking airlines based on objective criteria, and not on advertising or other revenue.

I wonder if comparison sites should also be governed by a code of conduct?

While regulation has good intentions, there are admittedly those businesses that more often than not find a loophole. This was highlighted by the collapse of Lowcosttravelgroup in July, the aftermath of which we’re still grappling with. But there are all sorts of questions as to what will happen to the Package Travel Directive in the UK now that we are Brexiting, and whether future regulators will allow bonding will certainly be hot on the agenda for the coming months.

Only the government really has the power to disrupt the disruptors (as they did with the tax avoidance companies). Perhaps it is high time politicians turned their attention to the disruptors of the travel industry.