Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Haven.
Hi Bill, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I lived in western Colorado and was a professional horse trainer. My three sons and I moved to southeast Utah 15 years ago and bought and started Abajo Haven Guest Cabins. I had been in southeastern Utah over the years and liked the area for outdoor recreation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The area has an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities but the town of Blanding was not well known by tourists and therefor hard to encourage guests to book cabins to explore this area. We had to do a lot of marketing and build a client base for the first several years. We thought if we could get guests to stay one night, they would come back and book several nights. We had a lot of confidence in our area and property. And that strategy did work. The COVID-19 pandemic was devastating to our industry in 2020 and 2021 but we survived and 2022 was much better for bookings. Looking forward to 2023 and were hopeful the European clients can start coming back to our area.
We’ve been impressed with Abajo Haven Guest Cabins, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a lodging property that specializes in a nature experience for our guests. We are known for giving our guests a chance to get away from the crowds and have a nature experience in clean nice cabins at an affordable price. What sets us apart is the location of the cabins. We are at the base of the Abajo mountains at 7,000 feet and do not have the heat of the red rock desert-like Moab in the summer. I am most proud of our commitment to fit into our environment and teach guests about the wildlife, archeology and geology of our area. I would like the readers to know that we will help them with their adventure/vacation to Bears Ears National Monument and all of southeastern Utah. We can help setup guided trips with local guides to explore the area and have maps and local knowledge of the area for them to do self-guided hikes and tours. We offer a BBQ dinner that we deliver to your cabin and have all the grills, picnic tables, chairs, fire pit and cooking gear you need at the cabins for you to do your own cooking.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like the small-town friendly atmosphere of Blanding. Blanding is the largest town in San Juan County and has all the stores for guests to restock their supplies. What I like least is the lack of restaurants. We do have restaurants but most of them are closed on Sunday and not a lot of choices on different types of food.
Pricing:
- $154.63 per night with a 2-night minimum for the Superior Cabins
- $98.30 per night for the Deluxe Cabins
- BBQ dinners are market price (around $25.00 per dinner)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.abajohaven.com
- Facebook: Abajo Haven Guest Cabins
