Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 25, 2017
Entity Registrant Name	HERSHA HOSPITALITY TRUST
Entity Central Index Key	0001063344
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Trading Symbol	ht
Class A Common Shares [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		41,609,974
Class B Common Shares [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		0