Conference Hotels

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Due to unforeseen construction delays related to hurricane damage, the Hotel Tampa Riverwalk will be closed during the FMEA Conference in January. We have been working with the hotel on this situation, and the following will be happening this week:

1. All reservations at the Hotel Tampa Riverwalk will be canceled,
2. The one-night deposit will be refunded to your original payment method.

We have moved the rehearsals that were to be held in that hotel to new hotels and secured replacement room blocks so you may make new reservations at the appropriate hotel based on the ensemble in which your students are participating:

    All-State Concert Band - Holiday Inn Westshore  – Click Here to Reserve

    High School Honors Band - Four Points by Sheraton  -  Click Here to Reserve

    Middle School Honors Orchestra - Four Points by Sheraton – Click Here to Reserve

Overflow Hotels: In the event those hotels are booked, these hotels are both near the rehearsal hotels above:

• Hotel Alba Tampa - Click Here to Reserve
• The Westshore Grand - Click Here to Reserve

We will be providing limited transportation between the Convention Center and these Westshore hotels on Thursday and Friday, in the morning before rehearsals begin and in the evening after rehearsals conclude. More details will be available soon. 

Downtown Hotels: If you have students rehearsing at a different downtown hotel or the Convention Center and need a replacement hotel nearby, the following hotels are still honoring the FMEA Discounted Rate: Embassy Suites Downtown, Marriott Water Street, and Hilton Downtown. See the Hotel List below to reserve your rooms with them. 

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your patience as we work through this situation. Please let us know if you have further questions.

Thank you,

The Florida Music Education Association

Hotel Policies

A maximum of five (5) guest rooms may be reserved per name/credit card. 

Directors should try to reserve rooms for all-state students and chaperones in the hotel where they are rehearsing.

FMEA IS NOT offering a housing bureau service. All participants MUST reserve online or call the hotel directly to secure reservations.

Room blocks will open on Saturday, September 28, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The hotel list will be listed below at that time, along with the online reservation links and phone numbers for each hotel. 

If calling, be sure to request the “Florida Music Education Association” room block rate and confirm the guest room rate posted below. 

Credit cards are required for online reservations, and the credit card name must match the name on the reservation. 

If paying by check, reservations must be made over the phone, and a check for the full amount must be mailed directly to the hotel no later than December 13.  

You do not need to register for the conference before reserving your hotel rooms, but this is something that we are considering for future conferences.

Each hotel will have contract terms, such as parking charges, etc., on their reservation link. 

Cancellation Deadline

We urge any guest holding surplus reservations/rooms to cancel the excess reservation(s) as soon as possible and no later than 5 p.m. on November 9, 2024, and you must secure a cancellation confirmation number. This courtesy will make surplus rooms available to other FMEA members and conference attendees.

Non-Refundable Deposit

On November 12, each room reserved and not canceled by November 9 will be charged a non-refundable deposit in the amount of the posted rate for one night plus tax. It will be charged to the credit card used to secure the reservation. Invalid credit cards risk reservation cancellation.

Transportation Not Provided

Many hotels are not within walking distance of the convention center. FMEA does not provide any transportation. Transportation and parking is the responsibility of each attendee. Directors are asked to share this with their chaperones and students. 

If Hotels Are Full

Every year, the hotel blocks fill up almost immediately upon opening due to teachers overestimating how many they will need for all-state students and chaperones. They cancel the rooms they don't need after the audition results are released (late October and early November).  

• Try again in late October or early November after all-state results are released and teachers cancel rooms for students who didn't make it. 
• Try again after the cancelation deadline. All canceled rooms will return to the FMEA blocks until December 13.  
• Please Do Not reserve a room outside of the FMEA blocks!  To receive discounts for the ballrooms we use for all-state rehearsals, we must fill most of our allotted room blocks. If we do not meet our required minimum number of hotel nights sold, we will need to raise conference registration rates to compensate for the added cost of the rehearsal space. 

If the price listed on the hotel's website after clicking the button below is not the same as the price listed below, the FMEA block for that hotel may be full and they are showing you full-price rooms instead.  Try again in November after all-state results come out. 

Hotel List

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why are the FMEA Hotels so expensive?

The prices we contract with the hotels are much lower than their standard room rates during the same dates.  In many cases, it is less than half their normal rates. 

Why is it so hard to get a room?

When the blocks first open, everyone tries to get as many rooms as they can in case they need them for all-state auditions, so they fill up very fast.  If you wait until after the all-state results come out, many people have canceled their rooms and it's much easier for everyone else to get a reservation. 

Why don't you wait and open the hotel block after all-state auditions are released?

Our hotel partners are uncomfortable waiting until we are so close to the start of the conference to book room reservations. 

I tried calling but it was busy or they put me on hold forever

We recommend booking online instead. Otherwise, trying again in early November after the all-state results are released.  Many people will cancel rooms they no longer need if their students aren't accepted. 

Is there a cancellation fee?

No, as long as you have canceled all the rooms you no longer need by the cancelation deadline listed, you will not be charged any type of cancelation fee. After the cancelation deadline, a deposit of one night per room in your reservation will be charged to your credit card, and that deposit is non-refundable. 

Someone at the hotel told me that canceled rooms don't go back into the FMEA block, and they are sold at full price instead. Is that true?

Only after December 15.  Before that date, all the hotel rooms in the FMEA blocks that are canceled will go back into the FMEA blocks and can be reserved by other FMEA members at the low FMEA rate. 

The price on the hotel's booking page doesn't match the price listed on this page

If the FMEA Block is full at that hotel, they may be showing you available full-price rooms outside of the FMEA Block. Try again in November after all-state results come out to see if anyone canceled rooms in the FMEA Block.