The Block and the Spread
Neuroscience 2026 runs Saturday, November 14 through Wednesday, November 18 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Society for Neuroscience publishes a nightly rate against every hotel in its block. The list runs 43 properties. Nineteen carry the word Walk in the shuttle column and 24 read SfN Shuttle.
The lowest published single is $205 at the Comfort Inn Downtown DC/Convention Center. The highest is $399 at the Marriott Marquis Washington DC, a co-headquarters property that prices at $414 double, $429 triple and $444 quad. The Westin Washington DC Downtown, the other co-headquarters, sits at $393 single. The gap between the floor and the ceiling is $194 a night before tax.
Two Dates That Move the Conversation
The housing policy prints two dates, and one has passed. Hotel reservations could be changed or canceled online until October 16. Changes made after that date are subject to availability. Cancellations received after October 16 may carry a penalty.
November 3 is the last day to make, change or cancel a reservation through SfN Housing.
Beginning November 6, delegates call the hotel directly. That handover moves the conversation from a central housing desk to the property that holds the room.
Through November 3 the record stays with SfN Housing, and the site asks for the registration confirmation number, the last name on the original reservation, the housing confirmation number, the email address used and the zip code supplied at booking. Confirm that record before the handover.
The $18 Inside Every Rate
The pricing note under the list states that hotel rates include a nominal $18 fee to help defray the cost of the shuttle service. The fee sits inside the published rate. Four nights carry $72 of it and five nights carry $90.
An outside booking buys no shuttle, so subtract the $18 before comparing the two. The note says the shuttle runs from most of the hotels, and it carves out no exemption for the 19 properties marked Walk. A delegate at the Marriott Marquis, the AC Hotel, Eaton DC, the Grand Hyatt, the Fairfield Inn or the Residence Inn Convention Center walks to the hall and still carries the fee inside the rate. What the rate is without the shuttle component is the first question for the property after November 6.
The Tax Line
The same note states that current sales and occupancy taxes total 15.95% per room, per night, and that hotel tax is subject to change. With tax applied the $205 room is $237.70 a night and the $399 room is $462.64. The $194 headline gap becomes $224.94 a night, and $899.76 over four nights.
That four-night figure is the number to hold against a per diem, a travel grant or an institutional cap. It is also the number to quote when asking a property to move.
Where the Cheapest Rooms Sit
The $205 figure sits in the section headed Student, Category I, II and III Hotels. The policy behind it sets aside a limited number of lower priced rooms for student and member category I, II and III registrants until August 24, first come, first served until depleted. From August 25 those registrants may book any available hotel, and the tier is open to every attendee.
Below $300 the list also carries Phoenix Park Hotel at $269, Darcy at $279, YOTEL at $279, Motto City Center at $289, Moxy Downtown at $299 and Washington Plaza at $299. Each of those sits $100 or more under the co-headquarters rate.
The Departure-Date Ask
The no-show and departure terms are published. Failure to arrive on the confirmed date results in the room being resold and one night charged plus sales and occupancy tax. Hotels may charge an early departure fee, and the page tells delegates to reconfirm the departure date at check-in.
A delegate whose last session ends on the Tuesday can ask the property to shorten the stay without a fee, in writing, at check-in. A delegate who wants the Wednesday night kept confirms it in the same conversation. Neither request carries a published price.
The Working Order
Confirm the reservation record and the confirmation numbers before November 6. Price every option at rate plus 15.95% and subtract the $18 before comparing an outside booking. Ask the Walk properties what the rate is without the shuttle component. Ask for the $205 to $299 tier by name. Put the departure-date term in writing with the hotel at check-in. Treat a cancellation after October 16 as a request that may carry a penalty.
