The YA by the Bay Book Festival runs on Thursday 11 February 2027 at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin St. The organiser prints its doors as 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. One night covers the trip: check in on Wednesday 10 February, walk to the 9 a.m. door and check out on Thursday.
Two published records
The organiser's contact page reads "Doors open Thursday, February 11, 2027, 9 AM to 2 PM." The City of Tampa record books the same building from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on that date. Ask the venue events office which window governs access for a bus.
A group that reaches Franklin Street before 9 a.m. waits inside. The second floor holds East and West Registration, the Sail Plaza event space sits on the lower level and the Riverwalk runs past the building. Free Wi-Fi covers public areas and meeting rooms.
Why the Wednesday
The programme closes at 2 p.m. A Thursday night buys hours that no session fills. Wednesday 10 February is the night the trip needs.
One night is where a group rate is hardest to win. hotelhuddle.com publishes that most hotels offer group rates for 10 or more rooms a night, and that some discount from five rooms by season and availability. A party of 20 students and four chaperones clears neither figure on its own, so ask the district for its room count first.
The skybridge property and the Water Street pair
Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Convention Center at 513 S. Florida Ave. connects to the building by sky bridge, and its number is (813) 769-8300.
Tampa Marriott Water Street at 700 S. Florida Ave. and JW Marriott Tampa Water Street at 505 Water Street sit 0.2 miles out. The Westin Tampa Waterside at 725 S. Harbour Island Blvd. is 0.3 miles out. The Tampa EDITION at 500 Channelside Drive, Hilton Tampa Downtown at 211 N. Tampa Street and Hyatt Place/Hyatt House at 325 N. Florida Ave. all sit 0.5 miles out.
The venue list publishes distances and phone numbers, with no rate on any entry. Ask each property for a written nightly rate, the release date of an unbooked block and the cancellation deadline with its fee.
Two thousand students on one Thursday
The organiser reports 2,000 or more students a year, more than 50 authors, grades 9 to 12 and multiple school districts. R.L. Stine is confirmed for 2027, and author applications close on 1 November.
A district that books before it fixes its headcount puts the request in front of a property before the date fills.
The Wednesday carries a second event
The venue calendar runs DRCA D.R.I.V.E.N from Wednesday 10 February to Friday 12 February, printed as 6:00 to 12:00pm. The National Principals Conference runs 7 to 9 February and closes at midnight at the end of Tuesday.
A Wednesday arrival lands on DRCA's first night. Ask each property for the date it releases an unbooked block, then confirm the hold in writing.
The festival holds Ballroom A-B and the meeting rooms on the Thursday. The walk from the garage and from the skybridge stays the same.
Keep the room past 2 p.m.
A noon checkout leaves a school party without a base for two programme hours. Ask for a 2:30 p.m. hold with its fee when you reserve.
A property that will not hold the room can hold the bags. A property that sells day rooms covers the afternoon. Either route keeps the Thursday night out of the booking.
Parking for a bus or a car
The convention center garage at 141 E. Brorein St holds 454 spaces, 11 accessible spaces and two electric vehicle chargers, with a 6-foot-6 clearance. The event rate runs $5.00 to $50.00, and the non-event rate runs $3 an hour against an $18 daily maximum. The garage carries no long-term parking.
A bus parks at Pam Iorio, 301 Channelside Drive, 790 spaces, or Fort Brooke, 107 N. Franklin St, 556 hourly spaces with a 6-foot-8 clearance. Both allow overnight parking to 6 a.m.
Front Drive at 333 S. Franklin St holds 36 metered spaces at $4 an hour from 8 a.m. to midnight and bars overnight parking. It carries the accessible drop-off and the rideshare and taxi point past its entrance. Tampa International Airport sits 16 minutes out on the venue page.
Florida sits outside the platform
hotelhuddle.com publishes a seller-of-travel notice dated 21 October 2026. The notice states that booking requests from residents of or for travel to Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington cannot be processed, and names the restriction across grouprooms.org, hotelhaggle.org, hotelslots.org, bookmyteam.org and partners.hotelhuddle.com. A Tampa block therefore goes to the property. Take the quote and the cancellation terms in writing, and keep the confirmation.
Name 10 February as the arrival, 11 February as the departure, the room split by bed type and the 2:30 p.m. Thursday hold.