Agents say they are shocked and saddened by the closure of James Villas by parent company Awaze.
The villa specialist ceased taking bookings on October 30, putting 40 roles at risk of redundancy.
Staff are under consultation and there is a proposal to close the firm’s offices in Maidstone, Kent.
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Bookings beyond November 30 have been cancelled and will be refunded, with about 100 trade bookings affected.
Hays Travel homeworker Aaron Petty, who has a “handful” of accommodation-only bookings with the firm, was “totally taken aback” by the news.
“Most of my clients who booked this year have rebooked. I had no idea this was coming,” he said.
He admitted it could be “a challenge” to replace bookings with like-for-like properties, particularly for large groups.
Fred Olsen Travel retail director Paul Hardwick described James Villas as a “great brand” and said it would now be harder for agents to book villas.
“It makes things difficult because it was one of the strongest villa brands we could sell,” he said, adding there were limited trade-friendly options in the sector.
Baldwins Travel managing director Nick Marks said he felt “desperately sorry” for James Villas staff.
“It was a complete shock,” he said, adding: “They were making an effort to come back to the trade. Hopefully we’ll see others take up the mantle.”
Kelly Cookes, chief commercial officer at The Advantage Travel Partnership, was hopeful staff would find other roles within the sector.
She added: “Our thoughts are with the team there who are likely to face some uncertainty as we approach the end of the year.”
Awaze said the closure was a strategic business decision unrelated to the current market.
James Villas relied on guaranteed product, paid for up front, as opposed to a commission-based model, which operates across other group brands.
The move comes as Awaze focuses on growth of its core portfolio, including Hoseasons and Cottages.com, and prepares to launch a common sales platform for its European product.
Chief executive Henrik Kjellberg said: “With our integration plans behind a common platform for our combined European inventory far advanced, we have decided to cease trading with James Villas as that model relied on guaranteed inventory.”
James Villas offered about 600 guaranteed villas across Europe. Its product made up less than 1% of Awaze’s total product range.
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