The week and the nights it sets
PASIC runs November 11 to 14, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The venue forecasts 5,200 attendees. The organiser's exhibitor page claims over 7,000 attendees. Each figure sits on its own publisher's page.
The exhibitor show hours set the room nights. Wednesday, November 11 is set-up day, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Thursday, Friday and Saturday each carry a set-up window from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM and show hours from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Saturday teardown runs 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM.
A crew on the 8:00 AM Wednesday set-up call needs Tuesday night. A crew on the 10:30 PM Saturday teardown needs Saturday night. A Tuesday arrival and a Sunday release is five nights.
How the group route works
PASIC routes housing through MCI, the convention's official housing provider. The booking portal carries four routes: individual reservations, a group block request for ten rooms or more, a reservation modification route, and a hotel description list.
The group route lands on a Passkey block request form. MCI publishes a rooming list template as a Passkey-compatible spreadsheet. The template carries one instruction: complete every red font field per reservation before the upload, or the list will not process.
Suite requests need approval, and MCI takes those instructions. Meeting space requests go to the hotel first and then to PASIC for review.
The dates the organiser publishes
The exhibitor page carries one block date. All hotel blocks must be confirmed by September 18, and unconfirmed rooms are released. The initial exhibitor badge list is due October 1.
The registration side carries more dates. Online registration closes October 29. Refunds run through October 29 with a $50 cancellation fee, and no refunds follow that date. The PAS office takes cancellations at 317-974-4488.
Group registration pricing exists. The organiser asks you to email membership@pas.org for it. Registration group pricing and housing group pricing are separate conversations.
The block rate and the booking terms
The exhibitor page states that MCI holds a block of downtown Indianapolis hotels at discounted rates for PASIC exhibitors and attendees. Those rates appear through a link in the registration confirmation email. A planner without a PASIC registration cannot open that link. Ask MCI for the rate sheet.
MCI's help page carries the cancellation terms. The policy varies by hotel, and the confirmation carries the individual property's policy. A booking can be changed or cancelled without charge before the hotel's listed policy date.
Sizing the search in Indianapolis
The groupRooms directory lists 273 hotels in Indianapolis. The venue reports 7,100 hotel rooms downtown and 4,700 rooms connected to the Convention Center by skywalk.
The skywalk matters for a supervised student group. The 4-Day Badge covers Wednesday through Saturday. The student member rate is $235, and badge pickup requires a current student photo ID.
groupRooms publishes a platform footprint of 103,857 hotels across 46 states, a 15-40% savings band and $0 fees.
What to get in writing
Ask for the minimum hold in rooms per night. The published floor is ten rooms, and it applies to the request.
Ask for the cut-off date and the release-back time on cut-off day.
Ask for the attrition percentage and its measurement basis. Ask whether the hotel measures it against the peak night or against total room nights across the stay.
Ask which attendance figure sizes the block: 5,200 from the venue forecast or over 7,000 from the organiser's exhibitor page.
Ask for the group rate inside the contract, with the destination fee treatment and the tax position.
Ask about Tuesday night and Saturday night as separate line items. Each night carries its own exposure.
Ask for the rooming list deadline and the upload format.
Ask who handles a name change after the rooming list closes.
Ask about parking for a supervised group and about any chaperone placement rule.
Ask about a Wednesday set-up extension. The organiser notes that extensions beyond 7:00 PM may be arranged in advance with the PAS Show Director, and that answer decides whether Tuesday night is needed.
