Bhalla Nikhil 4

What Happened
Nikhil Bhalla, SVP, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ), was granted 14,039 restricted common shares that vested immediately on 2026-03-18 (acquired at $0.00). To satisfy tax withholding on the vesting, he surrendered 8,132 common shares at $7.60 each, a disposition totaling $61,803. The award is compensation (not a market purchase); the share surrender was a routine tax-withholding transaction.

Key Details

• Transaction dates: 2026-03-18 (award vested and shares surrendered); Form 4 filed 2026-03-20 (appears timely).
• Award: 14,039 restricted shares, $0.00 per share (code A).
• Tax withholding disposal: 8,132 shares surrendered at $7.60 per share, total value $61,803 (code F).
• Footnotes: F1 — shares granted under the RLJ Lodging Trust 2021 Equity Incentive Plan and vested immediately; F2 — shares surrendered to satisfy tax withholding.
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided report.

Context
Restricted-share awards are compensation and not a market buy signal; the surrender of shares to cover taxes is a common, administrative action. No sale on the open market or options exercise-for-cash beyond the tax-related surrender was reported.