Registration for Automation Fair 2026 is open, and the first deadline that costs you money lands on September 15. After that the General Access Pass goes from $495 to $795 and the General Access + Advanced Training Pass goes from $1,595 to $1,895 — a $300 swing either way, for the same event.
We've already covered what each pass includes and how to build the internal case for going. This article is the other half: the deadlines, the mechanics and the fine print that decides whether registering goes smoothly or costs you a tour slot.
| Registration window | General Access | + Advanced Training |
|---|---|---|
| Early — through September 15 | $495 | $1,595 |
| Advance — September 16 to November 13 | $795 | $1,895 |
| On-site — November 14 onward | $895 | $2,295 |
Published pass pricing. Source: Automation Fair 2026 passes page.
One piece of arithmetic worth doing: the refund window closes on September 30, fifteen days after early pricing ends. Cancellations received in writing before September 30 are refunded at 50%; after that there is no refund. So registering early at $495 and cancelling by September 30 costs you $247.50 — still less than the $795 you'd pay to register in October. If your attendance is probable but not certain, the early rate is the cheaper gamble.
Discounted rates at official event hotels near the convention center only open up after you complete event registration, through Maritz Global Events as the official housing provider. A credit card is required to guarantee the reservation.
Hotel and travel cancellations are yours to manage, along with any fees they carry — cancelling your event registration does not cancel your room. Housing changes go to Maritz at automationfair@maritz.com or +1-864-342-6327, Monday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm EST.
Registration lets you sign up for sessions immediately, and this is not a step to defer. Session seats are limited and allocated first come, first served. The catalog displays remaining seats per session, and popular hands-on labs sell out.
The mitigating factor is that many sessions repeat across the four days, so a full session is often not a lost session. Customer Voices sessions are the exception — those generally run once.
If a specific tour is a genuine reason you're attending, register early enough to get the slot. This is the piece of the event most likely to be gone by the time you get around to it.
The venue is the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210. Logan International (BOS) is four miles out; Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT) is 53 miles and T.F. Green (PVD) is 58. All three offer public transit, taxi and ride-share connections into the Seaport.
International attendees can generate a customized visa invitation letter through the event site. Do that early — appointment backlogs, not the letter itself, are what causes people to miss this event.
Registration desks open at 6:30am and run to 5:00pm every day of the show, so badge pickup is never the bottleneck.
Most of Automation Fair registration can wait. Three things can't: the September 15 early rate, your off-site tour slot, and the sessions with limited seats. All three are decided by when you register, not by how prepared you are when you do.
Register, claim your tour and lock your sessions in one sitting, then sort out flights and hotel afterward. If you want help deciding which pass fits or which sessions map to the systems you run, the HESCO team is here — get in touch and we'll work through it with you.