The YA by the Bay Book Festival holds Thursday 11 February 2027 at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin St., Tampa, FL 33602. The city record places the day in Ballroom A-B and the meeting rooms. The organiser is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and reports 2,000 or more students a year, more than 50 authors and grades 9 to 12.
No lodging term on the festival site
The festival site publishes no hotel name, no room block, no group code and no cut-off date. Student and educator attendance is free through district support and sponsorships, and districts arrange transport and lunches. The lodging decision sits on the venue hotel list, and that list publishes addresses, phone numbers and distances.
Two published records for one Thursday
The festival site reads "Doors open Thursday, February 11, 2027, 9 AM to 2 PM." The city record books the building from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the same date. The first line governs the programme. The second governs the building. Ask the venue events office which window an early arrival can use.
Free admission and the public field
The city record answers the public-access field with Yes. The festival site states that attendance is free for students and educators and coordinated with partner school districts. A parent or an independent traveller should ask the organiser whether a non-district visitor can attend, and get that answer before booking a room against the date.
27 venue entries and no rate
The convention center's Nearby Hotels page carries 27 entries over 26 properties. Le Meridien Tampa, The Courthouse appears twice, at 0.7 miles and at 1 mile. No entry carries a rate.
Four entries sit inside a walk of the hall. Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Convention Center, 513 S. Florida Ave., connects to the building by Sky Bridge. Tampa Marriott Water Street, 700 S. Florida Ave., sits 0.2 miles out. JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, 505 Water Street, sits 0.2 miles out. The Westin Tampa Waterside, 725 S. Harbour Island Blvd., sits 0.3 miles out.
Each of the four publishes a phone number on the venue page.
The Thursday-only ask
A one-day festival with a 9 a.m. door and a 2 p.m. close supports a single Thursday night. The ask is one room, Thursday 11 February, walking distance to 333 S. Franklin St., with the rate confirmed in writing for that date alone.
Put the same single-night request to the skybridge property and to both 0.2-mile properties. Ask each for the nightly rate, the parking charge and the resort or amenity fee as three separate lines.
hotelhaggle.org 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. Those four addresses are the route for this date.
The Thursday sits inside 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, with registration required. YA by the Bay holds the Thursday in Ballroom A-B and the meeting rooms.
The calendar also places the National Principals Conference on 7 to 9 February and the volleyball classic on 13 to 15 February. February 11 sits between them.
Build the ask on the stay itself: one night, midweek, with a stated arrival, a stated departure and a stated cancellation window.
Parking is the second number
The convention center garage at 141 E. Brorein St publishes an event rate of $5.00 to $50.00 and a non-event rate of $3 an hour against an $18 daily maximum. The garage carries no long-term parking, and the city routes long stays to Pam Iorio at 301 Channelside Drive and Fort Brooke at 107 N. Franklin St.
Front Drive at 333 S. Franklin St holds 36 metered spaces at $4 an hour from 8 a.m. to midnight, with no overnight parking.
Ask the property to quote parking as a separate line. A room at 0.2 miles takes the car off the stay.
What to put in the request
One night, Thursday 11 February 2027. Walking distance to 333 S. Franklin St. Rate confirmed for that date. Parking and fees itemised. Cancellation window stated in hours. The skybridge property first, then the two Water Street properties at 0.2 miles, then the 0.3-mile property.
