Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization	Organization RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") was formed as a Maryland real estate investment trust ("REIT") on January 31, 2011. The Company is a self-advised and self-administered REIT that acquires primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company elected to be taxed as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 2011. Substantially all of the Company’s assets and liabilities are held by, and all of its operations are conducted through, RLJ Lodging Trust, L.P. (the "Operating Partnership"). The Company is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2018, there were 174,792,809 units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership (“OP units”) outstanding and the Company owned, through a combination of direct and indirect interests, 99.6% of the outstanding OP units. As of December 31, 2018, the Company owned 151 hotel properties with approximately 28,800 rooms, located in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The Company, through wholly-owned subsidiaries, owned a 100% interest in 147 of its hotel properties, a 98.3% controlling interest in the DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel New York City, a 95% controlling interest in The Knickerbocker, and 50% interests in entities owning two hotel properties. The Company consolidates its real estate interests in the 149 hotel properties in which it holds a controlling financial interest, and the Company records the real estate interests in the two hotels in which it holds an indirect 50% interest using the equity method of accounting. The Company leases 150 of the 151 hotel properties to its taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRS"), of which the Company owns a controlling financial interest.

Organization

RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") was formed as a Maryland real estate investment trust ("REIT") on January 31, 2011. The Company is a self-advised and self-administered REIT that acquires primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company elected to be taxed as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 2011.

Substantially all of the Company’s assets and liabilities are held by, and all of its operations are conducted through, RLJ Lodging Trust, L.P. (the "Operating Partnership"). The Company is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2018, there were 174,792,809 units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership (“OP units”) outstanding and the Company owned, through a combination of direct and indirect interests, 99.6% of the outstanding OP units.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company owned 151 hotel properties with approximately 28,800 rooms, located in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The Company, through wholly-owned subsidiaries, owned a 100% interest in 147 of its hotel properties, a 98.3% controlling interest in the DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel New York City, a 95% controlling interest in The Knickerbocker, and 50% interests in entities owning two hotel properties. The Company consolidates its real estate interests in the 149 hotel properties in which it holds a controlling financial interest, and the Company records the real estate interests in the two hotels in which it holds an indirect 50% interest using the equity method of accounting. The Company leases 150 of the 151 hotel properties to its taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRS"), of which the Company owns a controlling financial interest.