Activist shareholder Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC said it will submit a slate of director candidates for election at RLJ Lodging Trust's 2018 annual meeting.

Land & Buildings, in a letter sent by founder and Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Litt to other RLJ shareholders, said the appointment of Robert McCarthy, former COO of Marriott International Inc., to the hotel real estate investment trust's board is a "self-preservation" move that disenfranchises shareholders.

Litt further said that McCarthy's appointment fails to address the board's need for relevant capital markets and REIT experience.

He cited RLJ's rejection of an all-cash offer from Blackstone Group LP to buy the REIT for more than $24 per share and an issuance of equity at a substantial discount to fund the acquisition of FelCor Lodging Trust Inc., among other moves, as evidence of the need for additional oversight at the company.