Equity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Oct. 03, 2012 Property	Dec. 31, 2012 SUMMIT HOTEL OP, LP	Dec. 31, 2011 SUMMIT HOTEL OP, LP	Feb. 13, 2011 IPO	Feb. 13, 2011 Private Placement	Feb. 13, 2011 Common Stock	Dec. 31, 2012 Common Stock	Oct. 03, 2012 Common Stock IPO	Feb. 13, 2011 Common Stock IPO	Feb. 13, 2011 Common Stock Private Placement	Dec. 31, 2012 Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Oct. 28, 2011 Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock IPO	Dec. 11, 2012 Series B Cumulative Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock IPO	Dec. 31, 2012 9.25% Series A Preferred Stock	Dec. 31, 2012 7.875% Series B Preferred Stock
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
New issued stock (in shares)					26,000,000	1,274,000			13,800,000	26,000,000	1,274,000			2,000,000	3,000,000
Proceeds from equity offerings, net of offering costs							$ 240.8		$ 106.4					$ 47.9	$ 72.5
Public offering underwriting discount							17.7
Public offering related expense							$ 7.3		$ 6.1					$ 2.1	$ 2.5
Number of hotels acquired		10
Common stock redemptions								4,873,625
Stock awards, independent directors and executive officers								208,027
Percentage of redeemable preferred stock														9.25%	7.875%
Preferred stock, liquidation preference																$ 25	$ 25
Preferred stock dividend, per share												$ 2.31	$ 0.21			$ 2.3125	$ 1.96875
Number of common units of operating partnership owned by unaffiliated third parties			5,226,375	10,100,000
Percentage of limited partnership interest in operating partnership			10.00%	27.00%
Common units redeemed	4,873,625
Shares of common stock issued to redeem common units	4,873,625