Mesa West Capital Originates $55 Million Loan to Refinance Los Angeles Luxury Hotel Recently Reflagged Under Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio Hotels & Resorts

Mesa West Capital has provided an affiliate entity of Seaview Investors, LLC (Seaview) with $55 million in first mortgage debt to refinance a 186-room full-service hotel in West Los Angeles.
 
The five-year, nonrecourse financing is secured by the Burton House Beverly Hills located on the northeast corner of Pico Boulevard and South Beverly Drive at the southern gateway to Beverly Hills.  Seaview, which has been an investment partner in the hotel since 2003, recently completed a transformative $13.7 million renovation as part of a repositioning under the Tribute Portfolio Hotels & Resorts brand.  Improvements included the redesign of the guestrooms, the development of the Emerald Lounge, a new dining and social concept, updated entrances, revamped lobby, new fitness center and a 1,100-square-foot yoga and Pilates studio.   

The refinancing provides the sponsor, a privately held hotel investment firm based in Newport Beach, CA, time to continue driving operating performance under the new brand and to compete with other luxury hotels in the Beverly Hills market, according to Joshua Westerberg, who heads Mesa West’s West Coast Origination team out of the private lender’s San Francisco office.
 
“The Burton House is already establishing itself within the market as it leverages the upgraded offerings and guest experience, the Marriott brand and its prime location,” said Westerberg.  “This is evidenced by significant increases in both net operating income and occupancy since renovations were completed.  We see even further upside as Seaview continues to season the asset.”
 
The long-term hotel outlook for Los Angeles, which is already one of the world’s leading destinations for leisure travelers, is further underpinned by upcoming global events including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2026 NBA All Star Game, 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics, which should further drive revenue per available room (RevPAR) gains, according to Westerberg.   

Industry-wide, the hospitality sector has recovered to pre-pandemic levels with luxury and upper-scale hotels outperforming other classes, according to an MMCG Invest April 2025 report “US Hospitality Market Outlook 2025: Performance, Investment Trends, and Opportunities.” As the report notes, in early 2025, RevPAR for luxury-tier hotels grew about 4.2% year-over-year, outpacing the 1.9% RevPAR growth in the economy segment for the same period.

Eastdil Secured arranged the financing.

About Mesa West Capital, LLC

Mesa West Capital (http://www.mesawestcapital.com) is a leading commercial real estate debt fund manager and portfolio lender. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco, Mesa West has been one of the leading providers of commercial real estate debt since its founding in 2004. Mesa West provides non-recourse first mortgage loans for core/core-plus, value-add or transitional properties throughout the United States. Mesa West’s lending portfolio includes all major property types with loan sizes ranging from $20 million up to $400 million. Since inception, the firm has sourced and closed more than 450 transactions totaling over $28 billion.

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Scandic Hotels will open a franchise hotel in Florø, Norway, on December 1, 2025, marking its 19th franchise location.

Scandic Hotels has announced the upcoming opening of a new franchise hotel in Florø, Norway, scheduled for December 1, 2025. The property, currently known as the Comfort Hotel Victoria, will be rebranded as Scandic Victoria Florø. This development is part of a franchise agreement with the Helle family, who will continue to operate the hotel under the Scandic brand.

The hotel will be Scandic’s first in Florø, Norway’s most westerly city. This addition brings the total number of Scandic franchise hotels in Sweden and Norway to 19. The franchise model is a significant component of Scandic’s growth strategy, which aims to expand its presence in new destinations across the Nordic region by 2030.

The Scandic Victoria Florø will offer 97 rooms and meeting facilities with a capacity for up to 150 people. The hotel has recently undergone extensive upgrades to enhance its offerings. The long-term franchise agreement with the Helle family is expected to strengthen Scandic’s presence in western Norway.

Scandic’s broader growth strategy, outlined earlier this year, includes the addition of 40 to 50 new hotels and 10,000 rooms by 2030, with approximately 70 percent of these developments anticipated in the Nordic countries. The establishment of franchise hotels is a key element in achieving this expansion.

The Helle family, which has operated the hotel for many years, will continue to manage the property while integrating Scandic’s brand standards. This collaboration aims to preserve the hotel’s local identity while leveraging Scandic’s resources and expertise.

Scandic’s strategic focus on franchising aims to complement its expansion efforts and foster strong local partnerships. The company views franchise agreements as an efficient way to grow its portfolio and enhance its presence in new markets.

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

Travel marketers are facing a new reality: brands relying heavily on search and social media platforms face declining visibility, as AI-generated search summaries draw clicks away from even the most well-optimized content. According to a new report from Curacity, developed in partnership with media brands such as Afar, Travel + Leisure, Fathom, and A Hotel Life, sites ranking first in Google results now experience a 35% drop in clicks when AI summaries appear. The takeaway is clear: travel brands must invest in content strategies that generate demand directly rather than relying on external platforms.

As AI disrupts traditional discovery channels, what travelers truly value is also becoming more obvious: authenticity and genuine storytelling. According to the report, 75% of travelers are more likely to book after engaging with trustworthy, narrative-driven content. Marketers who lean too heavily on generic content and superficial lists risk losing ground to competitors delivering human, firsthand experiences.

“We have to be the foil to the constant stream of slop that has taken over our feeds and inboxes,” said Julia Cosgrove, vice president and editor-in-chief of Afar.

First-person storytelling also plays a measurable role in performance. Marketers now have the tools to track how inspirational content translates into bookings and revenue. Brands can move beyond vague awareness metrics and turn storytelling into a measurable demand engine by treating content with the same rigor as a sales channel.

Turning content into a demand engine requires control over distribution. Hence, travel marketers must focus on owned media channels such as email to build direct relationships with potential customers. With open rates exceeding 42% in 2025, email far outperforms declining reach on platforms like Instagram while building consistent and lasting relationships with travelers. Unlike third-party channels subject to unpredictable algorithm shifts, email remains a reliable tool to drive awareness, inspire action, and nurture repeat bookings.

“Email invites an intimate relationship between reader and writer that is lacking elsewhere on the internet, and that was (and is) very appealing to us,” said Pavia Rosati, CEO and founder of Fathom.

Insights from Curacity’s new report reveal how AI is disrupting content discovery and what travel brands must do to generate measurable demand in today’s shifting digital landscape.

This report from Curacity provides a deep dive into evolving traveler behavior, the declining effectiveness of search and social, and the growing importance of owned media and authentic storytelling. It delivers actionable strategies for travel marketers to drive bookings, build direct relationships, and quantify content ROI.

In this report, you’ll find:

• Strategies for creating impactful, human-centered travel content.
• Insights from top travel editors on successful storytelling techniques.
• Data-driven analysis of the growing importance of email as a content distribution channel.
• Guidance on measuring content performance like a sales channel to demonstrate ROI.
• Tips on leveraging AI to streamline booking processes and improve group bookings.
• Strategies for early-stage content engagement to capture traveler interest before the booking stage.

This content was created collaboratively by Curacity and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.