Sale of Hotel Properties - Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) property
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Number of hotel properties sold \| property	2
Disposal of hotel properties \| $	$ 119,200

Disposal Group, Number of Properties Disposed During Period

No definition available.

Name:	rlj_DisposalGroupNumberofPropertiesDisposedDuringPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	rlj_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration