The Best Practices 2026 EXPO & Conference runs Tuesday 13 October to Thursday 15 October at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46225. The venue forecasts 1,200 attendees.
The programme serves facility maintenance staff, plant engineers, energy managers and distributor sales engineers. The sessions cover compressed air, nitrogen, HVAC and process cooling, and blower and vacuum systems. Attendees earn 12 PDH credits.
What the Three Days Deliver
The conference runs two tracks. Track 1 is System Design and Optimization. Track 2 is Maintenance, Reliability and Performance. Tuesday sessions run 8:00 to 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., and the opening session runs 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Workshops sit alongside the sessions. The Compressed Air Treasure Hunt, Pneumatic Conveying and Sales Foundations workshops all start at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday and run to 11:00 a.m. The Industrial Chilled Water Workshop runs 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, and Sales Foundations runs again Thursday morning. The Compressed Air Challenge runs across three blocks: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.
The EXPO floor opens noon to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday and noon to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday. The Leak Detection Pavilion and the New Technology Pavilion both run Tuesday and Wednesday. The Compressed Air and Gas Institute sits its Certified Compressed Air System Specialist exam on site at 2:00 p.m. on both days.
Why the Thursday Return Matters
Thursday is the short day. Session 5 runs 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., Sales Foundations runs 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., and session 6 closes the conference from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A team that flies home Thursday afternoon is back on the plant floor Friday morning.
That shape sets the nights you need. The first workshop starts at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, so Monday 12 October is the travel day. Count the room nights as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and release the crew Thursday.
A six-person team at double occupancy needs three rooms and nine room-nights. Four people need two rooms and six room-nights. Eight people need four rooms and twelve room-nights.
One Request, One Rooming List
Build the trip as a single request. bookMyTeam sends one RFP to 50 or more hotels in the destination and returns their offers side by side. Hotels respond in 24 to 72 hours, and many reply the same day. Submitting an RFP is free, and you pay the hotel directly.
bookMyTeam publishes a group-rate threshold of 10 or more rooms per night, and states that some hotels discount for as few as five rooms depending on season and availability. A four-person plant team sits below that route, so submit the request and let the hotels answer. The mechanics are on the how-it-works page.
One reservation record and one rooming list do two jobs. They keep every attendee on one booking, and they give your finance team a single number at reconciliation.
The Two Official Hotels
The organiser holds reduced-rate rooms at two downtown hotels, both connected to the Indiana Convention Center through indoor walking tunnels. Crowne Plaza Downtown Union Station is published at $214 per night. Hyatt Regency Indianapolis is published at $229 per night. The organiser states that an official hotel holds the best rate for attendees.
Read the two cut-offs separately. The Hyatt Regency line asks for a reservation by Friday 18 September, and that date has passed. The Crowne Plaza group cut-off is extended to Friday 25 September. Confirm both on the same call as your rate.
Getting a Late Approval Through
Registration is priced in two steps. The Full Conference pass runs $550 on the early-bird rate through 30 September, and $675 from 1 October as the standard and on-site price. Six attendees total $3,300 at the early-bird rate and $4,050 after 1 October.
Two published tools carry the argument when your approval cycle finishes late. The organiser publishes a justification letter you complete with your own costs, and an event program you can attach. Registration stays open through the event.
Your First Ask
The registration page publishes one line for group discount inquiries: contact kimberly@airbestpractices.com. That address also handles reservation questions and changes, and it issues a $275 discount code against a conference or expo hall pass when an attendee registers for the CAGI certification exam.
Put four questions in that first email. Ask whether the group discount applies to a small team. Ask whether either hotel block still holds reduced-rate rooms past its published cut-off. Ask for the room-night commitment available on your dates. Ask what the hotel needs on a rooming list and when.
The housing page also carries a fraud alert about third parties that claim to represent the event. Book through the organiser's own links or that address.
Parking is straightforward for a team that drives. More than 70,000 spaces sit downtown, the organiser publishes a parking list with rates, height clearances and oversized-vehicle locations, and Indianapolis International Airport sits about 15 minutes from downtown.
Start with one request and let the downtown hotels answer. Submit it through the RFP form, and browse the Indianapolis hotel directory first.
