Avril Owton owned and ran the award winning Cloud Hotel in Brockenhurst for 42 years but sold it in November 2017 and retired from the hospitality industry. During that time she overcame adversity and developed a highly successful hotel and rescued it from the brink of recession.
She was voted Hampshire Business Woman of the Year 1995 and Shine Woman of the the Year 2006. As the past chair of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch of the Institute of Directors the founder of the Wessex Women’s Network and a regular speaker for national organisations, Avril has become a recognised business force and motivator for women and continues to support and motivate women through her talks and networking.
She has no intention of fully retiring as she is still passionate about encouraging women of all ages to have confidence and to fulfil their dreams. Avril was appointed an MBE in 2008 for her services to hospitality and in recognition of her charity work and in 2011 was voted one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and being passionate about customer service her book ‘Delighting Your Customers’ was published in 2011.
