The dates and the venue numbers
The American Dental Association Scientific Sessions run October 8 to 10, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Ave, Indianapolis. The venue forecasts 4,000 attendees. Registration at the center opens Wednesday, October 7, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., which puts the first arrivals in hotel beds the night before the programme starts.
The ADA carries the same three session dates and adds the House of Delegates, which meets October 10 to 13.
Where Saturday ends
Saturday, October 10 is a half day. Registration runs 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CE courses and hands-on workshops run 8:30 a.m. to noon. The exhibit hall runs 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday night is the centre of the ask for a dentist attending the scientific session alone. That delegate needs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. A delegate staying for the House of Delegates needs rooms through Monday night, with a Tuesday, October 13 departure. A group that prices the Thursday-to-Saturday stretch prices the wrong nights for part of its own delegation.
Price the nights your group needs
Ask the property for a two-night rate and a three-night rate on the same room type, then price Sunday and Monday nights on their own. That turns one number into a set of numbers and shows the property which nights your group can move. The building stays busy on Saturday. The ABC Health & Fitness Expo runs in Exhibit Hall A from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on October 10, with 2,000 forecast attendees.
What October costs in this market
Engine measured 1.2 million publicly available Indianapolis rates from May 2024 to April 2026. The market averages $134 a night in October against a $128 annual average. February is the low at $107. May is the high at $158. The page puts the swing across the year at 32 percent, and ranks Indianapolis 39 of 50 markets at 14 percent below the $148 median.
Read the definition before you use the figure. Engine's rates are par rates, the cheapest publicly available price at the time of each search, and the study states that they are not negotiated or booked rates. The measurements are market-wide, so no downtown figure and no group rate appears in them.
So $134 is an anchor. It tells you what the city charges a traveller booking alone in October. Set your walk-away number below it, and be ready to say what the number rests on.
The block deadline has passed
The ADA travel page carries this line: book your hotel room by September 18 for the best selection and availability, with limited hotel options possibly remaining after that date. September 18 is behind you, so rooms held for the meeting can return to general inventory.
Ask two questions when a property answers. Is this room inside the ADA block? Is the block rate still live? Housing questions on the ADA side go to ADA@maritz.com. The discount airfare window the ADA lists runs October 4 to 15.
4,700 rooms compete with each other
Downtown Indianapolis holds 7,100 hotel rooms. The convention center states that 4,700 of those rooms connect to the building by skywalk and that more than half of downtown's rooms sit within blocks of the center. The 4,700 is the number that matters to your request, because those properties compete for the same delegate.
Skywalk hours are event-dependent. The venue gives a rule of thumb of about 11 p.m. for evening lock-down and about 6 a.m. for morning reopening. Ask about the hours on your dates if a walk to the building matters to your group.
The calendar around your dates
This venue's October is full. The Gas Machinery Conference runs October 4 to 7 with 900 forecast attendees. ISBA and IAPSS run October 5 and 6 with 1,000. The Emerging Leaders' Summit runs October 7 with 220. The FullScale Symposium runs October 8 to 10 with 1,000. The ABC Health & Fitness Expo runs October 10 with 2,000. The venue calendar lists the Metal Treating Institute's Furnaces North America from October 12 to 15.
Your dates sit inside the busiest stretch, and two other events share the building with you. Send the request early and name the day you need an answer.
How to send the request
hotelhaggle sends one request to 50 or more hotels at once. Hotels accept, counter or decline, and the platform says responses typically arrive within 24 to 72 hours. Submitting is free. You pay the hotel directly at the agreed rate, and you can walk away from every offer. Group rates start at 10 rooms a night at most hotels, and some properties discount from as few as 5 rooms depending on season and availability.
Indiana is not one of the states the platform lists as restricting name-your-price bookings. That list is Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. One detail to settle on the platform's own pages: the home page reads no commissions and no obligations above a zero-fee block, and the how-it-works page says hotels pay a commission when you book. Ask which applies to your request.
Write the number down first
The block is worth asking about because 4,000 delegates move through one building. Your leverage comes from the 4,700 skywalk-connected rooms, a block deadline that has already passed, and the nights your own group can move. Set the price you are willing to pay, state the nights you need, and hold the number. If no property meets it, walk away and book direct.
