On September 13, 2022, the Board of Trustees of RLJ Lodging Trust appointed Tom Bardenett Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Mr. Bardenett is 58 years old and joined the Company in September 2017 as Executive Vice President of Asset Management. Mr. Bardenett previously served as the Chief Operating Officer for Extended Stay America, from January 2015 to September 2017.

Prior to that, Mr. Bardenett held multiple leadership roles at Crossroads Hospitality, the operations arm of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, from September 1998 to January 2015, including Executive Vice President of Operations and President, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Regional Director of Sales, and Regional Director of Operations. He is currently the Chairman of the American Hotel Lodging Association Foundation and a member of the Embassy Suites Owners Advisory Council and the Courtyard by Marriott Franchise Advisory Council. Mr. Bardenett received a B.A. in Communications with a Broadcasting Concentration from Oswego State University of New York in 1986.