Two fees set the week
The Passenger Vessel Association holds its annual convention at MariTrends 2027 in Tampa from Thursday, Jan. 21, to Sunday, Jan. 24. The venue is the Tampa Convention Center at 333 S. Franklin St. Sessions and the exhibit hall share the building.
An exhibiting company pays for space and for people. A 10x10 booth costs $2,195. The booking portal showed 56 of 115 booths unsold when it was read on Oct. 21, 2026.
Exhibit Booth Staff Registration costs $575 per person. That rate carries two conditions. The staff member must be an employee of the exhibiting company. The company must hold PVA membership.
The booth fee includes one full convention registration. A four-person stand therefore pays the staff rate three times and the booth fee once.
What the $575 buys
The PVA lists the entitlement plainly. Booth staff registration covers all general sessions, the education seminars, the MariTrends exhibit hall, and the food and beverage functions. The convention's social programme sits inside that list, so a stand crew does not buy reception tickets separately.
The exhibit hall opens Thursday at 2 p.m. and runs to 6:30 p.m. Friday hours are 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hall holds three selling blocks across four days, and the longest of them is Saturday.
Four nights, two rooms
Move-in opens Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 3 p.m. and closes at 6 p.m. A second window runs Thursday from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A crew that wants a set stand before the Thursday afternoon opening books the Wednesday window, and that booking puts the team in Tampa on Tuesday night.
The PVA holds a group rate of $299 a night at two properties. The headquarters hotel is the Tampa Marriott Water Street, 0.2 miles from the hall on the venue's own table. The alternate is the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Convention Center at 513 S. Florida Ave, which the venue lists as connected by Sky Bridge. Both rates close on Dec. 30, 2026, or when the block sells out.
Wednesday check-in to Sunday departure is four nights. Two rooms across four nights is eight room nights. At $299 that is $2,392 before tax.
Move-out runs Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the exhibitor schedule. A Sunday departure fits the second window. A Saturday evening flight fits only if the crew strikes the stand inside the two-hour slot.
Programme blocks that shape the crew rota
The convention opens Wednesday with a golf tournament at 9 a.m. and committee meetings from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A welcome reception runs 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and a leadership dinner follows at 6:30 p.m. None of those blocks needs a stand crew.
Thursday carries the opening general session from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Education sessions run 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday adds a general session at 1 p.m. and a gala dinner from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday closes with a reception at 3 p.m. Sunday holds the Passenger Vessel Operators Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the board meeting from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The exhibit hall is closed during the Sunday programme. A crew that stays for the Sunday move-out window leaves before the Operators Day begins, and the airplane decision follows from that.
Tampa International Airport sits about 9 miles from the convention center, according to the PVA travel page. The free TECO Line Streetcar links downtown, Water Street and Ybor City. January highs average 70F and lows 52F on the same page.
Parking decides the vehicle count
The Convention Center Garage sits at 141 E. Brorein St, across from the Franklin Street entrance. The city charges $3 an hour with an $18 daily maximum. Event rates run $5 to $50. Clearance is 6 ft 6 in, and the venue states there is no long-term parking at the convention center.
Overnight parking belongs at Pam Iorio, 301 Channelside Dr, or Fort Brooke, 107 N. Franklin St. The city garages allow overnight parking until 6 a.m. A daily maximum holds $18 at all three.
Four show days at the published maximum cost $72 for one vehicle.
The bill for a four-person stand
Booth space adds $2,195. Three staff registrations add $1,725. Eight room nights add $2,392. One vehicle across four days adds $72. The total is $6,384 before tax, travel and freight.
Two deadlines move that figure. Vessel member registration is $985 and rises to $1,085 on Dec. 21, 2026. Any team member who registers as a vessel member should be booked before that date. Cancellations carry a $100 administrative fee and close entirely on Jan. 1, 2027.
A 10x10 stand carries one convention registration. Additional staff pay the $575 staff rate. The exhibit hall is not carpeted this year, and flooring is ordered through the exhibitor portal.
Group rooms for a stand crew can be quoted through the bookMyTeam group rate calculator, and a block request goes through the RFP desk. The Tampa market carries 175 properties on the city directory.
