Custom Domains

Connect a domain like www.mybeachhouse.com to your Haven property page or multi-unit site for a fully-branded guest experience. There are two paths:

1. Let Haven set it up for you (recommended). Haven can purchase the domain through its Cloudflare Registrar integration and wire up DNS, SSL, and routing automatically — you never touch a registrar console.
2. Bring a domain you already own. Haven shows you the two CNAME records to add at your existing registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Route 53, etc.) and validates them automatically.

Quick Facts

• Fully managed setup — Haven can buy the domain on your behalf and configure DNS, SSL, and CloudFront routing end-to-end. No GoDaddy, no DNS panel, no copy-pasting CNAMEs.
• Two CNAME records — when you bring an existing domain. One routes traffic, one validates your SSL certificate.
• Auto-renewed SSL — AWS issues and rotates the certificate for you. You never touch it.
• Typical activation time — under 5 minutes when Haven manages the domain end-to-end; 5–15 minutes for bring-your-own once DNS is in place.
• Works for properties and multi-unit sites — a single custom domain attaches to one property (or one multi-unit site) at a time.
• Subdomains preferred — www.mybeachhouse.com or stay.mybeachhouse.com both work. Apex domains like mybeachhouse.com also work when your registrar supports ALIAS / ANAME or CNAME flattening (Cloudflare does this automatically).

How Haven Hosts Custom Domains

Under the hood, Haven uses two managed pieces of infrastructure:

• Cloudflare Registrar for domains Haven purchases on your behalf — at-cost wholesale pricing with no markup, automatic renewal, and DNSSEC.
• AWS CloudFront's multi-tenant SaaS Manager for routing and SSL — your domain runs on the same CloudFront substrate as every other Haven property, and AWS requests, installs, and renews your SSL certificate automatically.

What that means for you:

• No per-domain CloudFront distributions to manage.
• No certificate management on your end.
• No registrar account to maintain when Haven manages the domain — it lives in Haven's Cloudflare Registrar account and renews automatically as long as your subscription is active.
• No cost beyond the wholesale registration fee — Haven does not mark up domain registration. The exact at-cost annual price is shown before you confirm the purchase. If you bring your own domain, the Haven side is free.

Option 1 — Let Haven Buy and Configure the Domain

This is the fastest path: you pick a domain name, Haven registers it through its Cloudflare Registrar integration, and a background job (typically within a few minutes) configures the CNAME, attaches it to your property, and provisions SSL. You never log in to a DNS panel.

Step-by-step

1. Go to Host Dashboard → Settings → Domains.
2. Pick the property or multi-unit site you want to brand and click Manage.
3. Click Search a domain to buy.
4. Type the name you want (e.g. mybeachhouse.com). Haven checks availability across common TLDs and shows wholesale pricing.
5. Pick the option you want and click Purchase domain. Haven registers it on your behalf via Cloudflare Registrar and shows the registration as In progress.
6. Within a few minutes Haven automatically:
   • Adds the CNAME record on the domain's Cloudflare DNS pointing to Haven's CloudFront SaaS endpoint.
   • Creates the CloudFront tenant for your domain.
   • Requests and installs the SSL certificate.
   • Flips the property's domain status to Active.
7. You're done. The domain shows up in your Domains panel as Active and your property is live at it.

Already own a domain elsewhere?

If you've already bought a domain at GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace, etc., you have two options:

• Keep it where it is and add two CNAMEs — see Option 2 below. Free, takes about 10 minutes.
• Request managed setup — from the Domains panel, click Request setup, enter the domain you own, and Haven's team will help transfer or delegate it. Typically live in under 24 hours.

Option 2 — Bring a Domain You Already Own

If you already own a domain at another registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Squarespace, Route 53, etc.) and want to keep it there, follow these steps. You'll add two CNAME records at your registrar and Haven handles the rest.

Prefer to skip DNS entirely? From Host Dashboard → Settings → Domains, click Request setup and Haven will coordinate the transfer or DNS delegation for you. Typically live in under 24 hours.

Step 1 — Connect the Domain in Haven

1. Go to Host Dashboard → Settings → Domains.
2. Find the property you want to brand and click Manage.
3. Enter your domain (e.g. www.mybeachhouse.com) and click Connect domain.

Haven immediately shows you the two DNS records to add.

Step 2 — Add the DNS Records

You'll see two CNAME records:

Record 1 — Route traffic to Haven

Field	Value
Type	CNAME
Name	www.mybeachhouse.com (or whatever you chose)
Value	A CloudFront routing endpoint like d123abc.cloudfront.net

Record 2 — Validate the SSL certificate

AWS owns this record. The exact name and value look random — that's expected.

Field	Value
Type	CNAME
Name	A long, random-looking name AWS provides
Value	A CloudFront-owned validation target AWS provides

Copy both records from Haven exactly and paste them into your registrar. Some registrars auto-append your domain to the Name field; see DNS configuration by provider below.

Step 3 — Wait for DNS and Certificate

• DNS usually propagates within 5-15 minutes. Occasionally it can take up to an hour.
• Once DNS is in place, AWS automatically validates the certificate (no action from you).
• Haven polls every few seconds and marks the domain Active the moment it's ready.

You can click Verify now in Haven to trigger an immediate re-check, but it's not required — Haven polls automatically.

Step 4 — Use Your Domain

When the status flips to Active, your property is live at your domain. Any links you shared using the old .bookwithhaven.com subdomain still work, so you can update your business cards and Instagram bio on your own schedule.

What Works on Your Custom Domain

Custom domains serve public, guest-facing pages only:

• Property property pages and booking flows
• Multi-Unit Sites
• Stay calendar and availability pages for guests

Host-facing and account pages (sign-in, host dashboard, reservation management, checkout confirmation) always run on www.bookwithhaven.com. If a guest navigates to one of those on your custom domain, Haven transparently redirects them to www.bookwithhaven.com so they stay signed in and never see broken pages.

This keeps your domain lean, fast, and focused on the guest-booking experience — and keeps the auth complexity at Haven rather than at your DNS.

Apex (Root) vs. Subdomain

• Subdomain (e.g. www.mybeachhouse.com or stay.mybeachhouse.com) — simplest. Standard CNAME, works everywhere.
• Apex / root (e.g. mybeachhouse.com — no www) — works when your registrar supports ALIAS, ANAME, or CNAME flattening. Most modern registrars (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy with "Forwarding Only", Route 53) support it.

If your registrar doesn't support apex CNAMEs, use a www subdomain and set a redirect from the apex to www inside your registrar's DNS panel.

DNS Configuration by Provider

Different registrars handle the Name / Host field differently. Some auto-append your domain; others expect the full name. Copy the values from Haven and paste them in.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy auto-appends your domain to the Name field.

1. My Products → DNS next to your domain.
2. Click Add under Records.
3. Name / Host: enter only the subdomain portion (e.g. www or the unique _abc123.www validation prefix).
4. Value / Points to: paste the full value from Haven.

Namecheap

Namecheap auto-appends your domain to the Host field.

1. Domain List → Manage.
2. Advanced DNS.
3. Host: subdomain only.
4. Value: paste the full value.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare auto-appends your domain, supports apex via CNAME flattening, and defaults to "proxy" (orange cloud).

1. DNS → Records.
2. Add the two CNAMEs.
3. Name: subdomain portion only.
4. Target: paste the full value.
5. Set Proxy status to DNS only (gray cloud) on both records — the orange-cloud proxy interferes with AWS certificate validation.

AWS Route 53

Route 53 does not auto-append.

1. Hosted Zones → your domain → Create record.
2. Record name: enter the FULL name (e.g. www.mybeachhouse.com or _abc123.www.mybeachhouse.com).
3. Value: paste the target.
4. Type: CNAME.

Google Domains / Squarespace

1. DNS → Custom records.
2. Host name: subdomain portion only.
3. Data: paste the full value.

Removing a Custom Domain

1. Settings → Domains → Manage for the property.
2. Click Remove.
3. Confirm.

Haven immediately stops routing the domain. You can reconnect the same domain later at no cost.

Troubleshooting

Status stuck on "Waiting for DNS"

• Double-check both CNAME records are present and exactly match the values Haven shows.
• Make sure Cloudflare's proxy is set to DNS only (gray cloud) for both records.
• Verify with a DNS lookup:

  dig www.mybeachhouse.com CNAME
  

• Wait up to 30 minutes for DNS to propagate.
• Click Verify now to force a re-check.

"Double domain" issue (e.g. _abc.www.mybeachhouse.com.mybeachhouse.com)

This happens when your registrar auto-appends the domain, but you pasted the full name. Fix by editing the record and removing the .mybeachhouse.com suffix from the Name field.

Status is "Needs attention"

AWS reported a problem validating the certificate. Re-check that the Record 2 (validation) CNAME exists exactly as shown. Records 1 and 2 are both required — a missing Record 2 is the most common cause.

SSL mismatch error in the browser

Usually means the certificate hasn't finished issuing. Wait a few more minutes and reload. If it persists past 30 minutes, remove and re-attach the domain.

Best Practices

1. Use a subdomain (www., stay., book.) for the simplest, most portable setup.
2. Redirect the apex to www if you're not using CNAME flattening.
3. Keep your Haven subdomain live as a safety net — you can always point guests there if DNS hiccups.
4. Update printed media last. Wait until the status is Active before printing signs or business cards.

Related Articles

• Custom URLs (Haven subdomains)
• Calendar Sync
• Creating Multi-Unit Sites