Five badges, the sixth free
City Summit 2026 is the National League of Cities' annual gathering. It runs at Music City Center in Nashville from Thursday 19 November to Saturday 21 November. Pre-conference activity opens Wednesday 18 November.
The group rule is the cheapest line in the budget. Groups of five or more receive a complimentary sixth registration. NLC requires all the registrations in one session and paid in full. Spouse/guest, student, youth chaperone and youth delegate registrations do not count toward the five.
What a badge costs this week
NLC publishes five price windows per category. For a nonmember city the ladder reads $990 through 20 April for cities that attended CCC26, $1,045 Early Bird through 1 June, $1,240 Advance through 1 September, $1,480 Regular through 16 November, and $1,610 Onsite from 17 November. The $1,045 window closed on 1 June. A nonmember registering this month pays $1,480.
Five nonmember badges at the Regular rate total $7,400. Six paid badges would total $8,880. The group rule saves $1,480 on the sixth seat. NLC members pay $1,115 at the Regular rate and $1,255 Onsite. State Municipal League members pay $1,270 and $1,425. First-time attendees pay $725. A Tennessee one-day pass costs $150.
Seventeen hotels from $269 to $389
NLC holds 17 properties in its official block, each within a short distance of Music City Center at 201 Rep. John Lewis Way S. The Omni Nashville Hotel at 250 Rep. John Lewis Way S is the headquarter property. Every rate is the same for single and double occupancy: Holiday Inn & Suites Nashville Downtown $269, Motto by Hilton Nashville Downtown and Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown $279, Drury Plaza Hotel Nashville Downtown $284, Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown $294, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, The Westin and AC Hotel $299, Renaissance Nashville Hotel $305, Hilton Nashville Downtown $319, Omni, Embassy Suites, Grand Hyatt and Dolly Parton's SongTeller $329, The Joseph $369, JW Marriott Nashville $389.
Six rooms for three nights comes to $4,842 at the $269 rate, $5,922 at $329 and $7,002 at $389. Those figures sit before the 7 percent Metro occupancy tax and the $2.50 nightly fee. A Wednesday arrival with a Saturday checkout covers the pre-conference day inside the three nights.
Book inside the block. Maritz Global Events is the contracted housing company, and NLC states that reservations made through any other company sit at the guest's own risk. NLC discloses that block rates carry a rebate and commission shared with the host city and with Maritz. Registration and housing questions go to nlccs@maritz.com.
No shuttle, a $9 base and a $30 flat
NLC states that it provides no airport shuttle for conference guests. Nashville International Airport collects rideshare pickups at the Ground Transportation Center on Level 1 of Terminal Garage 2. Taxis charge a $9 base fare plus $2.50 a mile, with a flat $30 for trips to downtown Nashville and to Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. A second passenger to the same destination adds $2.
Six staff arriving on separate flights pay $30 each for the downtown run, or $180 across the group.
Two deadlines inside the fortnight
Cancellation requests go in writing to nlccs@maritz.com by 26 October 2026 and carry a $125 fee. NLC accepts no cancellations after that date and none by phone. Substitutions are permitted at any time. The group policy adds a condition: if the group cancels one registration without supplying a substitute, NLC reserves the right to charge the full amount for the sixth registration.
Six rooms against the block threshold
A six-person delegation needs six rooms, or fewer where staff share. bookMyTeam publishes the threshold on its how-it-works page: most hotels offer group rates at 10 or more rooms per night, and some discount for as few as five rooms, depending on season and availability. Six rooms clear the lower edge of that line. The NLC block already prices the three nights.
Outside the block, one request reaches 50-plus hotels in Nashville. Responses arrive in 24 to 72 hours with rates and terms side by side, and the platform takes no markup on the rate. It publishes a 15-40% band below rack rates as its benchmark. Its group-rate calculator opens at a 10% assumption it labels conservative. Its Nashville directory lists 222 hotels while the city-page copy on the same page names 113, so treat both as marketing counts and put the request in.
What the request should name
Four lines carry the room side. Six rooms for the nights of 18, 19 and 20 November, with the checkout day stated. Walking distance to 201 Rep. John Lewis Way S. A rate that holds through the 26 October cancellation date on the badge side. A rooming-list deadline, because the block rate is per room and the badge list is per person, and the two lists stop matching the moment one staffer drops out.
Submit the room request through the bookMyTeam RFP form and check the Nashville hotel directory for addresses before choosing a property. The group rate calculator prices a six-room request against the platform's published band.
