Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Revenues
Total revenues	$ 1,566,192	$ 1,761,224	$ 1,356,261
Expenses
Management and Franchise Fee expense	120,797	138,143	122,633
Depreciation and amortization	211,584	241,641	186,993
Impairment loss	13,500	0	0
Property tax, insurance and other	119,287	135,059	91,406
General and administrative	45,252	49,195	40,453
Transaction costs	1,211	2,057	44,398
Total operating expenses	1,348,044	1,505,181	1,175,121
Interest income	8,720	4,891	2,987
Interest expense	(91,295)	(101,643)	(78,322)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property	(9,300)	30,941	8,980
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt	(214)	5,996	0
Gain (Loss) on Investments	0	0	2,670
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments	(1,673)	636	133
Other Nonoperating Income (Expense)	1,242	2,791	269
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Parent	127,842	188,643	74,835
Income before income tax benefit (expense)	127,301	199,019	117,724
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes, Noncontrolling Interest	125,628	199,655	117,857
Income tax benefit (expense)	3,751	(8,793)	(42,118)
Net income	129,379	190,862	75,739
Preferred Stock Dividends and Other Adjustments	(186)	(1,483)	(496)
Other Preferred Stock Dividends and Adjustments	(1,153)	0	0
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact	$ (25,115)	$ (25,115)	$ (8,372)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 1.32	$ 1.32	$ 1.32
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests:
Noncontrolling Interest in Net Income (Loss) Operating Partnerships, Nonredeemable	$ (487)	$ (719)	$ (291)
Noncontrolling Interest in Net Income (Loss) Joint Venture Partners, Nonredeemable	289	(17)	(117)
Net income attributable to common shareholders	$ 102,727	$ 163,528	$ 66,463
Basic per common share data:
Net income per share attributable to common shareholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.59	$ 0.93	$ 0.47
Weighted-average number of common shares (in shares)	171,287,086	174,225,130	140,616,838
Diluted per common share data:
Net income per share attributable to common shareholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.59	$ 0.93	$ 0.47
Weighted-average number of common shares (in shares)	171,388,476	174,316,405	140,694,049
Comprehensive income:
Net income	$ 129,379	$ 190,862	$ 75,739
Unrealized (loss) gain on interest rate derivatives	(33,459)	7,349	13,748
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income, Effective Portion, Net	(2,250)	0	0
Comprehensive income	93,670	198,211	89,487
Comprehensive income attributable to RLJ	93,286	195,992	88,583
Food and Beverage [Member]
Revenues
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Excluding Assessed Tax	177,499	205,518	157,672
Expenses
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	134,206	157,156	113,914
Hotel, Other [Member]
Revenues
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Excluding Assessed Tax	71,608	82,659	51,707
Expenses
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	373,130	417,110	304,595
Hotel [Member]
Expenses
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	957,210	1,077,229	811,871
Occupancy [Member]
Revenues
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Excluding Assessed Tax	1,317,085	1,473,047	1,146,882
Expenses
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	$ 329,077	$ 364,820	$ 270,729