Twenty Thousand Delegates, Five Days, One Venue
GDC Festival of Gaming runs from Monday 1 March to Friday 5 March 2027 at Moscone Center, 747 Howard Street. The organiser's counters put the Festival at about 20,000 attendees, 1,100-plus speakers, 700-plus sessions, 300-plus partners and 85-plus countries.
The city's own inventory line answers the room question. Moscone's FAQ reads: “There are over 20,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of The Moscone Center offering a variety of styles and amenities.” The same page puts BART's Powell Street and Montgomery Street stations two blocks from the venue, with the Yerba Buena/Moscone Muni station across the street.
The One Group Term the Organiser Publishes
onPeak holds the official block. The Plan Your Trip page reads: “We've worked with our official partner, onPeak, to secure discounted rates on hotels near the event for our attendees. If you have a party that requires 12 or more rooms, a sub block agreement will be needed.”
A party of 11 rooms falls below the published trigger. A party of 12 moves onto a contract with the housing partner. The page gives the threshold and two contact routes: GDC@onpeaksupport.com and (888) 998-2784.
It publishes no deposit term, no attrition clause and no release date for the agreement. A planner signs the terms onPeak sends.
The Block Has Not Opened
The event's FAQ answers the booking question with a forward date. “GDC and onPeak have secured discount rates on hotels near the event attendees. Hotel blocks will open for GDC 2027 soon.”
Neither the housing page nor the FAQ carries a block rate, a property list or a cut-off date. A group building a budget holds the threshold, the contact and the city's own rate curve.
March Sits at the Top of the Curve
Engine puts the San Francisco average at $165 a night across 3.1 million public rate observations from May 2024 to April 2026. March reads $197, which is the publisher's +19% and the highest of the twelve months. September reads $192 at +16%, and December reads $129 at the low end.
Engine defines those figures as par rates, the cheapest publicly available price at the time of each search, and not negotiated or booked rates. The publisher puts 35% between the cheapest month and the priciest.
A GDC block opens against the peak of that curve. Twelve rooms for five nights at the March average comes to $11,820, before any group discount and before onPeak's rate lands.
The Working Stay the Clocks Define
Badge collection runs at the main registration desk in South Hall, street level, entered from Howard Street. Monday 1 March opens at 7:30am and runs to 8:00pm. Friday 5 March runs 8:30am to 3:00pm.
A delegate who collects a badge before the Monday opening needs the Sunday night. A delegate who stays for the Friday close needs the Friday night. Those clocks put the working stay at Sunday 28 February to Saturday 6 March, which is five nights against a Friday departure and six against a Saturday one.
Where the Shoulder Sits
Engine reads March and September as the two peaks of the San Francisco year, on its own reading of spring meetings and the fall convention window. The months either side carry the discount. August reads $152 at -8%, July $154 at -7%, and November $147 at -11%.
A group that can move its dates off the GDC week finds the curve 23% below March in August and 35% below it in December. A group locked to the Festival week books inside the peak, and the leverage sits in the block terms rather than the month.
Meeting Space Beside the Halls
The Business Hall occupies Moscone West and runs Monday to Friday. Access arrives with several passes, and a Business Hall Only pass carries reservable meeting spaces subject to availability plus guest meeting passes at two per day. A group that needs a working room for the week can buy the floor without the programme.
The Broker Warning on the Same Page
GDC states that companies offering hotel reservations outside onPeak are not affiliated with GDC and are not authorised to book on its behalf, and it asks attendees to notify the GDC Housing Team of any contact.
A group holding a 12-room party has a named partner, a telephone number and an email address to check an offer against.