The Mooch Way

Book direct. Stay independent. Keep it local.

Mooch helps you find wonderful independent places to stay across the UK and Ireland – and book direct with the people who run them. No middleman, no booking fees from us, and more of your money stays in the places you visit.

Find a place to stay Why book with Mooch?

A hotel room door, open, with the key and room tag in the lock

Why Mooch

Skip the middleman. Book direct.

Every time you book through a big booking site, the hotel can lose a big slice of what you pay in commission. Mooch sends you straight to the hotel to book direct.

More of your money stays with the hotel – not with a middleman.
Direct bookings come first – hotels give their own guests first pick of rooms and the best chance of an upgrade.
Deal with the people looking after you – ask for the quiet room, the early check-in or the dog bed.
Plan the whole trip – walks, rides, racing, weddings and Christmas markets, each with places to stay nearby.

Find a place to stay

Why book with Mooch?

When you book through the big booking websites, a large slice of what you pay never reaches the people who welcome you.

£1.1bn

earned by Booking.com in 2024 from UK accommodation – by its own accounts
£885m

of that leaves the UK. Only about £215m is spent back here
£2bn

a year, estimated, paid by UK hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets to overseas booking platforms

From Booking.com Limited’s 2024 accounts at Companies House, and Mooch estimates. See how we worked it out →

Mooch is different. We take you straight to the hotel’s own website, or put you in touch with them directly – so your money supports the B&B owner, the local inn, the café down the road and the communities that make a trip special.

Talk to your host

Ask about rooms, dogs, parking or accessibility before you book – you’re dealing with the people who actually run the place.
Keep it local

Booking direct means more of your money stays with independent businesses and the places you love to visit.
Places with character

B&Bs, inns, guest houses and boutique hotels across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the islands.
More than a bed

Things to do nearby, walks, links golf and local favourites – ideas for your whole stay, not just the room.

A traveller packing a suitcase while looking at her phone

Where are we going?

We’re building the home of independent hospitality: the first place travellers look when they want somewhere with real character – where every stay supports the people who run it and the community around it.

When you want to stay somewhere independent, we want you to think Mooch first.

Our core values

What guides us – for the travellers who stay, the hosts who welcome them, and the places they share.

Community

We seek to involve and include others who add value, and to whom we can add value, to create win/win/wins for everyone involved. It’s not just about us.
Integrity

We will not compromise our vision for the sake of money, but instead seek to enhance our value as we move towards our goals.
Prosperity for all

We seek to raise the bar on the small hospitality industry for owners, guests and partners, so that everyone benefits from the rising tide.
Fun

We seek to make everything we do fun for all involved.
Love

We aim to add as much love as is humanly possible to every project, customer, guest, supplier and partner, lifting everyone higher towards their dreams.
Contribution

We vow to contribute 5% of all profits to entrepreneurial projects that raise humanity from suffering, poverty and despair and that solve big problems in the world, while maintaining the integrity and balance of our planet.

Meet the team

Steve Brown

Founder and Creator

Steve Brown has spent 40 years in business…

Steve Brown

Founder and Creator

Bio

Steve Brown has spent 40 years in business, and Mooch Hotels is where it all comes together.

He started at BP in 1982, ran operations across the south-east for Hays Chemicals, then went independent as a chemical trader and consultant, working with BP, BASF, Exxon, Shell and partners across the Far East. Since then he has joined the family mortgage and estate planning business, taught at a university in China and founded a school there, and helped launch Amazon’s robotics site at Manchester Airport.

Now he’s taking on the big booking sites. Mooch Hotels helps independent hotels win direct bookings, keep more of what they earn and keep money in their local communities – because the people who run hotels, not the platforms, should reap the rewards.
John Armstrong

Director

John is highly experienced both in business and as a corporate advisor…

John Armstrong

Director

Bio

John is highly experienced both in business and as a corporate advisor and is a non-practising solicitor. He has worked at director level alongside business owners and stakeholders in a number of sectors, particularly in start-up and early-stage companies. His skills include business planning, finance, structuring, risk management, corporate governance and administration, as well as helping to build relationships.
Yvonne Halling

Independent Hospitality Professional

Yvonne Halling is the founder of Bed and Breakfast Coach.com…

Yvonne Halling

Independent Hospitality Professional

Bio

Yvonne Halling is the founder of Bed and Breakfast Coach.com and the creator of the B&B Money Maker Business Transformation Program, where clients typically increase their business by at least 25% in one season, while working less, paying less commission and having more fun.

Yvonne ran her B&B in the Champagne region of France for 17 years, first as a hobby making less than €10k per year, before transforming it into a thriving and profitable business making over €100k a year with just 4 rooms, without any listings with online travel agents. She won several hospitality and marketing awards and is now an award-winning consultant, coach and mentor for independent owners worldwide.

Along with her team, she helps clients to put in place key business principles that are very much missing from the small hospitality landscape, which is why online travel agents such as Booking.com and Airbnb have pretty much taken over.

Yvonne believes that hospitality businesses are the hub of local communities, attracting new money by way of guests, which couldn’t have come by any other means.

Returning the power to the owners, encouraging direct bookings via their own websites rather than third parties, restoring owners to their rightful place at the heart of their communities, and educating and inspiring them to run their businesses on their own terms in the 21st century using the internet: that is Yvonne’s mission.
Damian Qualter

Technical

Damian Qualter is the founder of AutomateToGrow Ltd…

Damian Qualter

Technical

Bio

Damian Qualter is the founder of AutomateToGrow Ltd, a specialist marketing automation implementation consultancy headquartered in Manchester. Over a 20-year career in marketing automation, he has designed and delivered more than 200 CRM and automation implementations across the UK, United States, Canada and Australia – making him one of the most experienced marketing and automation practitioners operating in the English-speaking market.