The INFORMS Annual Meeting 2026 runs Sunday, November 1 to Wednesday, November 4 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Early pricing closed on September 2, 2026 at 11:59pm EDT. Regular rates now stand at $900 for a member and $1,250 for a nonmember. The meeting is fully in person.
Two moves reshaped the position for a buyer: the early ladder expired and the room block shut.
What the regular ladder costs now
The registration page prints four regular figures: $900 member, $1,250 nonmember, $400 student or retired member and $510 student or retired nonmember. It prints the early figures beside them at $750, $1,080, $325 and $425. September 2, 2026 was a Wednesday.
The organiser states that INFORMS does not offer one-day registrations. Every attendee, including cluster and session chairs and speakers, must register and pay the fee.
The group desk still beats the expired early rate
A group of 10 or more member or nonmember registrants from the same organisation still qualifies for the group rate. The published figure is $675 per member registrant and $945 per nonmember registrant. Group rates do not apply to students or retirees.
The group member rate of $675 sits $75 below the early member rate of $750 that closed on September 2. The group nonmember rate of $945 sits $135 below the early nonmember rate of $1,080. Measured against the regular ladder, the group desk gives back $225 on the member line and $305 on the nonmember line.
The terms are tight. One person from the group must contact Eileen Francis before any registration is submitted and provide the full participant list. Individuals who register on their own at the regular rate are not eligible for a retroactive group rate adjustment or refund. A team that registers first and asks second pays the regular ladder.
The room side closed on October 8
The organiser lists two host hotels: the San Francisco Marriott Marquis at 780 Mission Street and the InterContinental San Francisco at 888 Howard Street. Rooms stay available until sold out or the published cut-off date of October 8, 2026. October 8, 2026 was a Thursday.
No host rate is published. The venue page carries the date, the venue and a contact line, and no housing term. The organiser states that it guarantees sleeping room rates or availability for the event dates only for reservations made through its own hotel portal.
The portal now leads with the group cut-off. It tells attendees who booked inside the block to wait for the hotel confirmation and then deal with the property directly. For new reservations it offers a list of 17 nearby hotels, booked outside the group, and states that those reservations are not eligible for the INFORMS group discounted rates and that pricing and terms may differ from the block.
On a search run for the meeting dates, November 1 to 4, at 21:52 UTC on 14 October 2026, those 17 properties priced from $187 to $701 per night. The median was $341. The low was The Westin St Francis at $187, the high The St Regis at $701. The InterContinental San Francisco, one of the two host hotels, appears in the same outside-the-group list from $667.
That list is the only fallback the organiser publishes for the three nights, and it sits on the portal the organiser endorses.
What to put in the ask
Three nights carry the meeting on a November 4 checkout: the nights of November 1, 2 and 3. A delegate who also stays the closing night of November 4 books four.
Lead with the room count. The brand page states that most hotels offer group rates for 10 or more rooms per night, and that some offer discounts from 5 rooms depending on season and availability. The same page states that a group needing 30 rooms holds 3x the leverage of a group needing 10.
Use the calendar. The brand page calls shoulder nights, Sunday through Thursday, typically 20 to 30 percent cheaper than peak nights. Every night of this meeting falls inside that band.
Take the concessions beside the rate. The brand page lists a waived resort fee among the items to request, alongside complimentary breakfast, free parking, suite upgrades and flexible cancellation terms. Ask for any mandatory property charge to be struck from the group rate and printed as waived on the confirmation.
A single request reaches 50 or more hotels at once, responses land inside 24 to 72 hours, and there is no obligation to accept.
Two terms worth reading before signing
The registration fee admits attendees to all technical sessions and receptions, the coffee breaks and the exhibit area. Lunch is on your own every day. Name badges are required.
The organiser states that it does not work with outside travel vendors and that any company claiming official status for the meeting is a scam. A rate that arrives from an unaffiliated seller carries no organiser guarantee. Ask for the confirmation that comes from the portal.
Flights and the ground side
United offers a meeting discount with code ZSFF643415, valid for travel starting October 30, 2026. Southwest offers discounted fares booked through SWABIZ, valid for travel October 29 to November 7, 2026, into San Francisco, Oakland or San Jose.
Two organiser pages give different airport distances. The travel FAQ reads approximately 12.7 miles from the hotels and convention centre over 20 to 30+ minutes. The Hotel and Travel page reads approximately 14 miles from the convention centre and conference hotels over a 20 to 30-minute drive.
Parking carries two readings on the organiser's own pages. The travel FAQ states that Moscone Center South offers on-site parking in the Moscone South Garage at 747 Howard Street, entered on Howard Street between 4th and 5th. The Hotel and Travel page states that the convention centre offers no on-site public parking and points to garages along Howard, Mission, Third and Fourth Streets.
The walk-away
The early rate is gone and the block is shut. The group desk is the only published discount left, and it is the only line the organiser will confirm. Get the group rate and the participant rule in writing before the first registration is submitted. Anchor the room ask on the portal's nearby figure for the same three nights. Treat an offer that will not print the fee waiver and the cancellation term on the confirmation as the room rate alone.
