Debt Narrative (Details) (USD $)	5 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								28 Months Ended			28 Months Ended			6 Months Ended			5 Months Ended							5 Months Ended			12 Months Ended						0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	5 Months Ended														0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2012 $200 Million Revolver [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 $200 Million Revolver [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 250 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2011 250 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Aug. 25, 2010 250 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes Unsecured Debt [Member]	Aug. 25, 2010 Senior Notes Unsecured Debt [Member]	Aug. 25, 2010 Senior Notes 250 Million Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 400 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Jun. 27, 2012 400 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2011 400 Million Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Base Rate [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Base Rate [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR Rate [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR Rate [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 $150 MIllion Term Loan [Member] Term Loan, Long-term [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 $150 MIllion Term Loan [Member] Term Loan, Long-term [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Base Rate [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Base Rate [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR Rate [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR Rate [Member] Maximum	Jul. 25, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 $300 Million Revolver [Member] [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Initial Loan Term [Member] $150 MIllion Term Loan [Member] Term Loan, Long-term [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Second Loan Term [Member] $150 MIllion Term Loan [Member] Term Loan, Long-term [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 After Year 3 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 After Year 3 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Years 1 and 2 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Year 1 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Year 2 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Year 3 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Year 3 [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Final Loan Term (Extension) [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Final Loan Term (Extension) [Member] $150 MIllion Term Loan [Member] Term Loan, Long-term [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 Alternative Currency Loans [Member] $200 Million Revolver [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 Swingline Loans [Member] $200 Million Revolver [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 Letter of Credit [Member] $200 Million Revolver [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Aug. 23, 2012 2012 Special Cash Dividend [Member]	Jul. 25, 2012 Choice Netherlands Antilles N.V. [Member] 350 Million Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member] Senior Secured Credit Facility [Member]
Debt instrument face amount												$ 250,000,000			$ 250,000,000		$ 400,000,000			$ 350,000,000								$ 150,000,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, Start																										Jul. 25, 2016
Line of credit maximum borrowing capacity									200,000,000																																							35,000,000	10,000,000	25,000,000
Debt instrument maturity date										Aug. 28, 2020						Jul. 01, 2022
Senior notes coupon rate												5.70%					5.75%
Debt instrument additional borrowing capacity																				100,000,000
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate														0.45%			0.50%					1.00%	3.25%	2.00%	4.25%						0.05%	0.80%	1.05%	1.80%
Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Percentage																													0.20%	0.45%
Total Leverage Ratio																			4.50																					4.00		5.75	5.00		4.50
Line of Credit Facility, Dividend Restrictions	50000000
Payments of Debt Issuance Costs		4,759,000	2,356,000	800,000
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount										500,000	600,000	600,000
Debt instruments effective interest rate										6.19%	6.19%	6.19%				5.94%	5.94%		2.66%
Senior notes to be paid										semi-annually						semi-annually
Debt Instrument, Amortization Installment Payments, Percentage of Original Principal Balance																																					5.00%	7.50%									10.00%
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage																			0.30%
Payments of Special Dividends																																																			600,700,000
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Parent																				100.00%																																65.00%
Number of subsidiaries owned	8	8										8					8
Percentage of ownership in domestic subsidiaries					50.00%							100.00%					100.00%
Debt Issuance Cost																7,500,000			3,700,000
Unsecured revolving credit facility outstanding			0
Debt Instrument Percentage Of Principal Amount To Be Redeemed By Company													100.00%			100.00%
Write off of Deferred Debt Issuance Cost																																				500,000
Debt Instrument, Extension, Term																																														1 year
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, End																																														Jul. 25, 2017
Debt Instrument, Amortization Installment Payment Phases																																					2 years	2 years									1 year
Secured Leverage Ratio																																								1.75		2.50	2.25		2.00
Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio																																							2.50		2.00			2.25
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	855,345,000	855,345,000	252,705,000			203,250,000	649,508,000	57,000,000		249,508,000	249,444,000					400,000,000		0	203,250,000		0						146,300,000
Termination of Unsecured Revolving Credit Agreement																																			300,000,000
Unamortized Debt Issuance Expense																																			$ 1,700,000