Income taxes - Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($) entity	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Statutory income tax rate			25.00%
Income tax expense (benefit)	$ (14,647)	$ (1,008)	$ (13,536)	$ (11,555)
Increase in income tax benefit	13,600		1,900
Increased tax benefit due to lower pre-tax book income from tax paying entities	8,100		10,000
Increase in discrete tax benefit associated with future tax liabilities of certain Dominican Republic entities	1,200		4,500
Tax benefit associated with sale of Jewel Dunn's River Beach Resort & Spa and Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort & Waterpark	5,800		5,800
Increase in tax expense associated with foreign exchange rate fluctuations	800		800
Non-recurring tax benefit from the valuation allowance release during prior period	$ 700		$ 14,300
Playa Romana Mar B.V. and Playa Dominican Resorts B.V. | Dominican Republic
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Number of entities granted tax exemption | entity			2
Tax exemption period granted			15 years
Immaterial Correction of Prior Year Error | Adjustment
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]
Income tax expense (benefit)			$ 3,200