Three researchers on nonmember badges, three partners on guest badges, four nights in the official block. That is the shape of a Neuroscience 2026 budget, and every line of it comes off the Society for Neuroscience's published numbers.
What the badges cost
SfN publishes $1,245 as the advance nonmember rate and $1,495 as the regular rate for Neuroscience 2026, which runs Saturday 14 November through Wednesday 18 November at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Three nonmember badges cost $3,735 in advance and $4,485 at the regular rate.
Guest badges run $95 in advance and $115 at the regular rate. The society states that single day and Expo Only registration are not available, so no cheaper route brings someone in for one afternoon.
What a guest badge buys
A guest is a non-scientific family member or guest of a scientist. The fee covers a badge, admission to social events, and access to a scientific event for the purpose of observing the registered scientist's presentation. SfN allows a maximum of two guests per registrant and one registration per guest, and it limits attendance to one full day. The presentation day goes on the badge, and the guest is admitted to poster sessions, nanosymposium sessions and the exhibit area only on that day. Guest registration exists for the in-person meeting only.
Three guest badges add $285 in advance or $345 at the regular rate.
What the rooms cost
Housing runs through SfN Housing, whose official housing company is Convention Management Resources. SfN states that neither the participating hotels nor its own headquarters accept reservations directly.
Single rates across the block run from $299 at Washington Plaza to $399 at the Marriott Marquis Washington DC co-headquarters. The Marriott lists $414 double, $429 triple and $444 quad. The other co-headquarters, Westin Washington DC Downtown, lists $393 single. In between sit Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill at $320, AC Hotel Washington DC Convention Center at $325, Hampton Inn Washington Convention Center at $349 and Courtyard Washington Downtown/Convention Center at $360.
Three rooms for four nights is 12 room-nights. At $299 that is $3,588. At $360 it is $4,320. At $399 it is $4,788.
Those are room charges. SfN requires a deposit of one night's room and tax, charges a no-show one night plus sales and occupancy tax, and may apply an early departure fee, so the checkout total runs above the block rate. Sales and occupancy taxes total 15.95 percent per room, per night, and hotel rates carry a nominal $18 fee toward the shuttle service.
What the team spends in total
Three advance nonmember badges and three advance guest badges come to $4,020. Add 12 room-nights, and the conference bill lands between $7,608 and $8,808 before tax, depending on which end of the block the team books. Regular registration moves the badge line to $4,830 and the total to $9,618 at the $399 rate.
The hotel list marks each property as a walk to the convention center or as served by the SfN shuttle, so the block rate carries the whole housing cost. A team that books outside the block takes on its own transfer.
The dates that set the price
Advance registration for nonmembers opened 21 July at noon EDT and closes Monday 5 October at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Regular registration opens 6 October at midnight EDT and continues through the meeting. Payment must reach SfN by the 5 October deadline for the advance fee to hold, and the society states that housing access is not permitted until payment is made.
Hotel reservations can be changed or cancelled online until 16 October. After that date changes depend on availability, and from 6 November the attendee calls the hotel directly. Cancellations after 16 October may carry a penalty, and the cancellation policy is printed at the bottom of the SfN hotel confirmation.
Lower-priced rooms exist for part of the field only. SfN holds a limited set for student and member category I, II and III registrants until 24 August, then releases what remains to all attendees on 25 August. A team outside those categories cannot plan on them.
The fourth seat
SfN sells a virtual component at 35 percent of the in-person fee. The nonmember virtual rate is $440 in advance and $525 at the regular rate. A researcher who cannot travel can still present and watch the livestreamed lectures, and the room count drops to two.
Where a group rate fits
Three rooms a night sits below the block threshold most hotels apply. bookMyTeam publishes the line on its how-it-works page: most hotels offer group rates for 10 or more rooms per night, and some discount from as few as five depending on season and availability. A three-person team has no block to negotiate, so the request goes through the RFP form and the answer gets measured against the SfN block rates above.
Registration questions go to SfN registration at (508) 743-8563 or sfnregistration@maritz.com. Meeting questions go to meetings@sfn.org or (202) 962-4000.
