The Verb Hotel in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood got a new addition in September when Backstage at the Verb soft-opened as an extension of the music-themed hotel. When complete, the addition will have 10 custom-made trailers in between the hotel and Fenway Park, offering an exclusive space with special perks.
The hotel was developed by Steve Samuels of Samuels & Associates, owner of the hotel, and Robin Brown of Spot On Ventures, GM Chris DeMilia said. “The inspiration for the overall project came from wanting to expand on the nostalgia of travel and the music industry,” he said. The neighborhood, he added, has a history of being “artsy, eclectic [and] edgy,” and the hotel “really embodies what this neighborhood was.”
The trailers, DeMilia said, are a “natural extension” of The Verb’s rock ‘n’ roll theme. “We wanted to evoke the feeling of freedom that comes with being on the open road and to make guests feel like they have been touring alongside their favorite artist,” he said. To that end, the team looked to the hotel’s Flxible Clipper bus as well as historic Westcraft trailers—but had each unit built from scratch rather than acquiring premade Airstream trailers. “They wanted to come up with something that was stationary—not rocky, very stable, which is why they wanted to do the custom-made fabrication,” DeMilia said.
Rock Aesthetic
Each of the stationary trailers celebrates an artist—like “Mama Bertha” and “Sweet Patsy” paying homage to Cass Elliott and Janis Joplin, respectively—emphasizing both their music and home state. Since Stevie Nicks is from Arizona, for example, the trailer named in her honor has a Southwestern design theme.
The hotel team collaborated with Planeta Design Group and David Bieber, director of special projects for the Phoenix Media Group, to secure artwork and memorabilia for each trailer. “Planeta Design Group was meticulous in incorporating design details that evoke life on the road: hardware, stitching and chrome exterior details that [look] like the handlebars of a chopper,” DeMilia said. “And David Bieber’s touch tells a unique story of each trailer’s unique journey.”
The trailers have exterior colors inspired by Fender guitars or vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles with names like “Metallic Copper” and “Hi-Fi Green Harley” to maintain the musical and road-inspired theme. Samuels and Brown “took months” to come up with the colors, DeMilia said. “I think they took maybe four to six months just to decide on the color of the outside of each trailer.”
In designing the trailers, the team sought to create a more luxurious experience than the main hotel offers. Each unit has a step-in rainfall shower, a king bed, a Victrola record player, a Nespresso-branded coffee machine and a Bose sound bar. To balance Boston winters, the trailers have radiant floor heating. All of these elements, DeMilia said, required custom-building the units because few traditional trailers can comfortably fit a king bed or accommodate the necessary technology.
Outside of the trailers are semi-private seating areas that don’t necessarily overlook Fenway Park, but let guests listen to the concerts and games happening in the adjacent stadium. “You have baseball behind us for six to seven months of the year, depending on how the Red Sox do,” DeMilia said. Plants have been installed to offer some privacy between each unit.
VIP Life
Guests booking the Backstage trailers get additional VIP perks. Members of the hotel team will call the guests before arrival to determine what the guest will want or need. While parking isn’t guaranteed for guests in the main hotel’s rooms, spots are reserved for Backstage guests and valets will take the car upon arrival. Hosts will then escort the guests to their trailers, skipping the front desk entirely. “We take care of all that in advance,” DeMilia said.
DeMilia expects the venue to attract groups, and plans to offer package deals that include stadium tours. The hotel also has collaborated with House of Blues—located on the other side of Fenway Park—and can arrange group packages for concerts. “The question is, how creative do we want to get, and how creative does the group want to get?”
Backstage at the Verb
LOCATION
Backstage at The Verb Hotel is located adjacent to Fenway Park and newly opened MGM Music Hall, and near the House of Blues Boston, Berklee College of Music.
OPENING
September 2022
NUMBER OF ROOMS
10 trailers
GENERAL MANAGER
Chris DeMilia
WEBSITE
OWNER
Samuels & Associates
MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Spot On Ventures
OPENING OBSTACLE
Developing the Backstage space during and after the worst of the pandemic meant struggling with a range of challenges, DeMilia said. “There were massive delays in just getting materials on hand,” he recalled. The team worked with Massachusets-based mobile marketing company Turtle Transit to help get the necessary items and make the trailers match Samuels and Brown’s concept. At the same time, laborers “with a very unique skill set” were coming down with COVID-19, forcing further delays as the virus spread throughout the workforce and limited who was available to work. These challenges, he added, affected the project more than the paperwork of securing approvals for the development—and even now, the 10th trailer is still under construction.