Real Estate Properties (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 Property item	Sep. 30, 2012 Property item	Jan. 31, 2012 Royal Sonesta Hotel	Nov. 02, 2012 Wyndham hotel Chicago, IL	Jul. 31, 2012 Marriott hotel St. Louis, MO	Sep. 30, 2012 Marriott hotel St. Louis, MO	Aug. 31, 2012 Staybridge branded hotel in Schaumburg, IL	Sep. 30, 2012 Staybridge branded hotel in Schaumburg, IL	Aug. 31, 2012 Staybridge branded hotel in Auburn Hills, MI	Sep. 30, 2012 Staybridge branded hotel in Auburn Hills, MI	Sep. 30, 2012 Hotels Property	Jan. 31, 2012 Hotels Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA Property	Jan. 31, 2012 Hotels Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans, LA Property	Sep. 30, 2012 Travel centers Property
Real estate properties
Number of properties owned	471	471									286			185
Number of management agreements or leases	10	10
Number of hotels on leased land (in properties)	1	1
Net proceeds from sale of hotel					$ 28,850		$ 1,872		$ 3,482
Gain on sale of real estate	10,602	10,602				10,210		329		63
Cash consideration for acquisition			150,500
Acquisition costs			3,261
Land			32,436
Building			78,764
Furniture, fixtures and equipment			19,536
Intangible assets (including the leasehold value of the New Orleans Hotel)			22,326
Goodwill			7,658
Other, net			(2,562)
Deferred tax liability			(7,658)
Total			150,500
Funded real estate improvements		262,471
Increase in annual minimum returns and rents		20,376
Number of rooms												400	483
Purchase price				$ 85,000