The week, from the organiser's own page
GDC Festival of Gaming runs 1-5 March 2027 at Moscone Center, 747 Howard St. The organiser's counters give about 20,000 attendees, 1,100-plus speakers, 700-plus sessions, 300-plus partners and 85-plus countries. The week opens on a Monday and closes on a Friday.
Two halls carry different clocks. The Business Hall is new for 2027 and sits in West Hall, with access Monday through Friday. The Festival Hall runs Tuesday through Thursday. Friday is Career Day. The GDC Awards fall on the Tuesday and the IGF Awards on the Wednesday.
Five nights, and the Sunday that comes first
Monday to Friday is five days. A Monday arrival and a Saturday departure is five nights. Badge collection opens at 7:30am on Monday at the South Hall desk, and the entrance is on Howard Street.
An attendee who wants a badge before the Monday opening needs the Sunday night. That makes the working stay six nights, Sunday 28 February to Saturday 6 March. A Business Hall Only delegate who wants the full Monday books the same Sunday night and can leave on the Friday. A delegate on a Festival Hall Only pass books Tuesday to Thursday.
The badge desk runs 7:30am to 8:00pm on the Monday, 8:00am to 6:00pm Tuesday to Thursday, and 8:30am to 3:00pm on the Friday. The Friday close sets the departure window.
The rate this week prices against
Engine's San Francisco page puts the city at $165 a night across 3.1 million public rate observations from May 2024 to April 2026. March averages $197, the highest of the twelve months and 19 percent above the city average. February averages $166. December averages $129. The spread between the cheapest and priciest month is 35 percent.
The page publishes its basis. Each figure is a par rate, the cheapest public price at the time of each search, taken from searches made 10 to 180 days before check-in.
March is the month the convention sits in. A revenue manager setting that week sets it against the top of the city's own published ladder.
The block has not opened
GDC works with onPeak on discounted rates near the venue. The FAQ, read on 17 October 2026, says hotel blocks will open for GDC 2027 soon. No block rate, no cut-off date and no property list are published. The organiser also warns attendees against companies other than onPeak offering reservations.
Until that block opens, the published rate evidence is the par-rate ladder. A property can quote its own rate card and stay inside the published record.
The December deadline does the pull-forward work
Early Rate pricing closes on 11 December 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific. That is 80 days before the Monday opening. Super Early Rate closed on 9 October 2026.
Early Rate prices run $549 for a Festival pass, $1,249 for Game Changer, $299 for Indie or Start-Up, $299 for Academic, $175 for Festival Hall Only, $125 for Business Hall Only and $125 for the one-day Career pass.
A registration commitment in December puts a room decision in December too. The pass terms then hold the guest to a later wall. Changes and cancellations must arrive by 5 February 2027, which is 24 days before the opening. A pass cancellation carries a $250 fee. The hall-only and Career passes carry $75.
Those fees attach to passes. The room terms arrive with the block. A hotel can plan for two decision points either way: mid-December and early February.
What the desk should expect
Moscone publishes more than 20,000 hotel rooms within walking distance. Powell Street and Montgomery Street BART stations sit two blocks away. Muni's Yerba Buena/Moscone station is across the street. Caltrain's 4th and Townsend station is a few minutes' walk. The venue has no public parking.
The Monday badge window opens at 7:30am, half an hour before the rest of the week. A property within walking distance can open breakfast ahead of that clock. The Friday close at 3:00pm sets the last morning of the stay.
Session times are not published yet. The organiser says programme dates and times arrive in December, and the event app in January. A desk roster built before December rests on the badge clock and the pass entitlements alone.
What the record leaves unpublished
No block rate, no cut-off, no property list, no session clock and no attendance split by country beyond the 85-plus figure. A hotel that publishes those numbers before the organiser does carries a claim it cannot support.