Intangible assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Franchise Rights and Other Identifiable Intangible Assets

The components of the Company's intangible assets are as follows:



	As of December 31, 2019						As of December 31, 2018
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Value		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Value
	(in thousands)
Unamortized Intangible Assets
Trademarks⁽¹⁾	$	23,014	$	—	$	23,014	$	23,014	$	—	$	23,014
Amortized Intangible Assets
Franchise Rights⁽²⁾	190,637		90,280		100,357		190,663		82,632		108,031
Franchise Agreement Acquisition Costs⁽³⁾	198,352		41,667		156,685		164,174		34,986		129,188
Trademarks⁽⁴⁾	14,300		10,961		3,339		14,055		10,562		3,493
Capitalized SaaS Licenses⁽⁵⁾	10,880		5,261		5,619		5,468		2,903		2,565
Contract Acquisition Costs⁽⁶⁾	—		—		—		5,389		1,763		3,626
Acquired Lease Rights⁽⁷⁾	3,041		1,634		1,407		2,237		966		1,271
	417,210		149,803		267,407		381,986		133,812		248,174
Total	$	440,224	$	149,803	$	290,421	$	405,000	$	133,812	$	271,188


(1)	Represents the purchase price assigned to the WoodSpring and Suburban trademarks at acquisition. The trademarks are expected to generate future cash flows for an indefinite period of time.


(2)	Represents the purchase price assigned to long-term franchise contracts. The unamortized balance relates primarily to the acquisition of the WoodSpring franchise rights. The franchise rights are being amortized over lives ranging from 12 to 20 years on a straight-line basis.


(3)	Represents certain payments to customers as an incentive to enter in to new franchise agreements amortized over lives ranging from 5 to 30 years on a straight-line basis commencing at hotel opening. Refer to Note 2.


(4)	Represents definite-lived trademarks generally amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of 8 to 40 years.


(5)	Represents software licenses capitalized under a SaaS agreement. Amortized over a period of 3 to 5 years.


(6)	Represents non-franchise customer contracts acquired in a business combination. Amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of 5 to 12 years. Impairment and subsequent sale of the SaaS for vacation rentals reporting unit in 2019 resulted in no remaining value.

(7)

Represents acquired lease rights recognized in conjunction with the acquisition of an office building and owned hotels. The costs are being amortized over various terms of the leases which range from 39 months to 10 years.

Schedule of Intangible Assets, Estimated Annual Amortization Expense

The estimated annual amortization expense related to the Company’s amortizable intangible assets for each of the years ending December 31, 2020 through 2024 is as follows:



Year:	(in millions)
2020	$	21.7
2021	$	20.1
2022	$	18.9
2023	$	17.4
2024	$	16.7