Organization and Basis of Presentation (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jun. 17, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) travel_center hotel property tenant $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership interest in subsidiaries			100.00%
Assets of TRSs			$ 8,796,673	$ 9,033,967
Liabilities of TRSs			6,554,589	6,528,089
Consolidated
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Assets of TRSs			92,818	31,920
Liabilities of TRSs			$ 92,698	$ 138,708
Senior unsecured notes | Senior Unsecured Notes, due 2025 at 7.50%
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Principal amount	$ 800,000
Revolving credit facility
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Quarterly cash dividend (in dollars per share) | $ / shares			$ 0.01
Revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity			$ 1,000,000
Term loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Principal amount			$ 400,000
COVID-19
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Quarterly cash dividend (in dollars per share) | $ / shares			$ 0.01
Asset sales			$ 74,735
COVID-19 | Forecast
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Asset sales		$ 218,800
COVID-19 | Senior unsecured notes | Senior Unsecured Notes, due 2025 at 7.50%
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Proceeds from the offering	$ 788,222
Hotel
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of properties owned | hotel			329
Net Lease Property
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of properties owned | property			804
Number of tenants | tenant			183
Net Lease Property | TravelCenters of America Inc.
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of properties owned | travel_center			179