Related Person Transactions - TA Transaction Agreement (Details) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	33 Months Ended
	Jun. 01, 2015 USD ($) property	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) property shares	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) Option property shares	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) property shares	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) property shares	Dec. 31, 2007
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Real Estate Aggregate Purchase Price			$ 477,883		$ 477,883	$ 477,883			$ 477,883
Increase (decrease) in minimum annual rent						14,365
Gain on sale of real estate						$ 11,015	$ 130
Number of Sites | property			193		193	193			193
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 253,919		$ 253,919	$ 253,919			$ 253,919
Deferred Rent			150,000		150,000	150,000			150,000
Rental income			73,747	$ 63,837		207,561	190,959
Capital improvements from leased facilities, funded						(172,627)	(159,027)
TA Prior Leases
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount of percentage rent recognized under the prior agreement and incorporated in the new agreement								$ 2,902
Deferred rent due in December 2022			$ 107,085		$ 107,085	$ 107,085			$ 107,085
TA New Leases
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of renewal options available | Option					2
Term of renewal option						15 years
Percentage of non-fuel revenue over threshold amounts			3.00%		3.00%	3.00%			3.00%
Increase (decrease) in minimum annual rent					$ 24,027
Number of Sites | property			153		153	153			153
TA No. 1
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of Sites | property			39		39	39			39
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 48,295		$ 48,295	$ 48,295			$ 48,295
Deferred Rent			$ 27,421		$ 27,421	$ 27,421			$ 27,421
TA No. 2
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of Sites | property			38		38	38			38
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 46,765		$ 46,765	$ 46,765			$ 46,765
Deferred Rent			$ 29,107		$ 29,107	$ 29,107			$ 29,107
TA No. 3
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of Sites | property			38		38	38			38
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 49,613		$ 49,613	$ 49,613			$ 49,613
Deferred Rent			$ 29,324		$ 29,324	$ 29,324			$ 29,324
TA No. 4
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of Sites | property			38		38	38			38
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 46,297		$ 46,297	$ 46,297			$ 46,297
Deferred Rent			$ 21,233		$ 21,233	$ 21,233			$ 21,233
TA No. 5
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of Sites | property			40		40	40			40
Minimum Annual Rent			$ 62,949		$ 62,949	$ 62,949			$ 62,949
Deferred Rent			$ 42,915		$ 42,915	$ 42,915			$ 42,915
Travel Centers of America LLC
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership formerly held in subsidiary										100.00%
Number of common shares owned | shares			3,420,000		3,420,000	3,420,000			3,420,000
Common shares of TA held by company as a percent of total TA shares outstanding			8.90%		8.90%	8.90%			8.90%
Number of properties acquired | property					14
Number of properties where certain assets are leased back to acquiree | property					11
Real Estate Aggregate Purchase Price			$ 279,383		$ 279,383	$ 279,383			$ 279,383
Proceeds from Sale of Real Estate	$ 45,042
Increase (decrease) in minimum annual rent					(3,874)	5,963	3,567
Gain on sale of real estate					11,015
Rental income			65,548	55,749		181,174	166,427
Accounts receivable from related parties			46,465		46,465	46,465		$ 40,253	46,465
Capital improvements from leased facilities, funded						70,150	41,961
Travel Centers of America LLC | Subsequent event
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Real Estate Aggregate Purchase Price		$ 15,000
Travel Centers of America LLC | TA New Leases
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of properties acquired | property	14
Number of properties where certain assets are leased back to acquiree | property	11
Real Estate Aggregate Purchase Price	$ 279,383
Number of properties acquired and leased back to the acquiree | property	5
Purchase price equal to estimate of development costs, including the cost of land	$ 118,000
Travel Centers of America LLC | TA No. 5
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Aggregate amount of percentage rent to be waived			2,500		$ 2,500	2,500			2,500
Amount of percentage rent recognized			0	557		2,048	2,129
Annual percentage rent waived			271	$ 126		819	$ 372		$ 1,826
Travel Centers of America LLC | TA No. 5 | Subsequent event
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Increase (decrease) in minimum annual rent		$ 1,275
Travel Centers of America LLC | Travel centers
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of properties acquired | property	5
RMR LLC
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Rental income			$ 9			$ 26