Hotel Management Agreements and Leases - TA (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) agreement travelcenter	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Management Agreements and Leases [Line Items]
Number of operating agreements | agreement	14
Rental income	$ 81,993	$ 79,139
Adjustments necessary to record rent on straight line basis	3,079	3,008
Capital improvements from leased facilities, funded	$ 26,483	32,731
Travel centers
Management Agreements and Leases [Line Items]
Number of properties owned | travelcenter	199
Travel Centers of America LLC | Travel centers
Management Agreements and Leases [Line Items]
Rental income	$ 74,193	71,526
Adjustments necessary to record rent on straight line basis	2,984	2,912
Accruals for unpaid rent, including deferred rent	$ 81,999			$ 78,513
Increase of operating leases annual rent fixed interest rate	8.50%
Capital improvements from leased facilities, funded	$ 13,137	24,908
Increase (decrease) in minimum annual rent	1,117	2,117
Deferred rent receivable from TA agreement, during the period	$ 835	$ 604
TA agreements | Travel centers
Management Agreements and Leases [Line Items]
Number of operating agreements | agreement	5
TA agreements | Forecast | Travel centers
Management Agreements and Leases [Line Items]
Capital improvements from leased facilities, funded			$ 38,300