What a recruiting team walks into
The 2026 SHPE National Convention runs Wednesday 28 October to Saturday 31 October 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46225. The registration site lists 250+ exhibitors and 200+ speakers and names nearly 10,000 students, professionals, academics and industry leaders attending.
The venue publishes its own figure. The Indiana Convention Center event page forecasts 15,000 attendees for the same dates. Both numbers come from their publishers, and an employer can plan against both.
The 2025 edition drew 346 exhibitors and 763 interview booths, per the convention's facts and figures block. The interview booths are the number a recruiting lead watches.
One reservation, one rooming list
A recruiting team mixes functions. Recruiters work the booth, and engineers run technical screens and second interviews. Both groups need beds on the same nights and arrive together.
That mixed group goes out as one request. Submit one rate request with the room count, the arrival date and the departure date, and the hotel answers once.
Keep the rooming list outside the request. The list carries names, arrival dates and room-sharing pairs. Collect it before the request goes out, because the hotel agreement will name a date for the final list.
The published threshold matters at this size. bookMyTeam states its group rate for a block of 10 or more rooms per night and notes that some hotels discount for as few as 5 rooms depending on season and availability. A recruiting party of 6 to 12 people sits at the low end of that range.
The close that decides the trip: 1 October at 5 p.m. ET
The convention publishes a bulk registration route for employers, with a quote generator and a bulk registration commitment order. Bulk submissions close on 1 October 2026 at 5 PM ET.
Promotional codes carry a second clock. The same page states that all promo codes must be used within 5 business days and before 5 PM ET on 16 October.
A signed requisition that lands in October takes the bulk route off the table, and the code window closes on 16 October.
Registration tiers and the cost of waiting
The registration site publishes three tiers. Early bird closed 9 September at 5 PM ET, with a professional at $480 and an undergraduate or graduate attendee at $345. The regular tier closes 7 October at 5 PM ET, with a professional at $600 and a student at $470. The late tier runs 8 October to 31 October at 12 PM ET, with a professional at $760 and a student at $625. Non-member rates run from $775 to $960.
Six professionals registered at the regular tier cost $3,600. The same six at the late tier cost $4,560, which is $160 a head more.
Four professionals and two advisors at the regular tier come to $3,000. The same six at the late tier come to $3,990.
The official room block and its dates
The convention publishes an official hotel list on its travel and housing page. The page carries four dates. Housing opened 11 August 2026. The name change deadline is 15 September 2026. Housing closes 14 October 2026. The organizer lists Hotel Direct from 21 October 2026. The same page carries an airport parking code, SHPE26.
Nine properties carry a published nightly rate: Conrad Indianapolis $249, Fairfield Indianapolis Downtown $194, The Westin Hotel Indianapolis $189, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown $269, SpringHill Suites Indianapolis Downtown $214, Courtyard Indianapolis Downtown $189, Omni Severin Hotel $189, Hyatt Regency Indianapolis $269 and JW Marriott Indianapolis $269.
The page states that rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis and may sell out before the housing deadline. It ties the negotiated rates and the walk to the convention centre to the official hotels.
Room maths for a six-person team
Three rooms held as doubles across the convention's three nights give 9 room-nights. At the $189 published rate that is $1,701. At the $269 rate it is $2,421.
A Tuesday arrival adds a night. The same three rooms then give 12 room-nights, which is $2,268 at $189 and $3,228 at $269.
Six separate rooms change the shape of the bill. Six singles for three nights give 18 room-nights, which is $4,842 at $269. Run your own room count through the group rate calculator.
A Saturday return that keeps Monday clear
Saturday 31 October is the convention's closing day. A Saturday check-out puts the team home before the working week opens.
A Sunday departure costs one more room night. The block rate is the number to price that night against.
The transfer is short either way. The convention's travel page places Indianapolis International Airport about 14 miles and 20 to 25 minutes from the convention centre and the official hotels.
Getting the team booked
Four things settle before the request goes out: the room count, the arrival and departure dates, the rooming list, and the name that carries the folio.
Four property-level facts belong in the request: the bed configuration the block holds, the breakfast opening hour, the van parking charge, and the policy on a shared team floor. The how it works page sets out the route from request to booked rate, and the Indianapolis directory lists 273 hotels to compare and request.
One request, one rooming list, two dates that decide the trip. Bulk registration closes 1 October at 5 PM ET, and the housing programme closes 14 October.
