The NACAC national college fair in Portland ran two sessions at the Oregon Convention Center: Sunday 18 October 2026 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Monday 19 October from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. An admissions team that staffs both windows sleeps in Portland on the Sunday night.
That night is the unit a travel policy has to price. The organiser publishes no room rate for it.
Seven two-day fairs on the 2027 calendar
NACAC's Spring 2027 schedule repeats the shape seven times. Pittsburgh runs Tuesday 26 January and Wednesday 27 January, with sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the Tuesday. Syracuse runs Thursday 11 March from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday 12 March from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Rochester runs Sunday 14 March from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Monday 15 March from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Gaithersburg runs Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 March. Buffalo runs Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 March. Hartford runs Tuesday 23 March from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday 24 March from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Boston runs Monday 12 April from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Tuesday 13 April from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Each pair holds one night between the two days. The second day closes between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on all seven. A team that flies in on the first morning and out on the second afternoon books that night. A team that arrives the day before books two.
The organiser publishes no block rate
NACAC states on its exhibitor FAQ that it is "currently working on securing hotel room blocks for each of our in-person national college fairs". No host-hotel rate for any date on the 2027 calendar has a published figure.
The same site carries a warning. NACAC does not share exhibitor contact details with its contracted host hotels, and a host hotel will not approach an exhibitor for payment or registration details. The association routes those queries to collegefairs@nacacnet.org.
A property holding rooms through a citywide fair week sets the rate it can hold. A coordinator who books before the block publishes pays open inventory.
Three rules set the headcount
NACAC's exhibitor guidelines carry three. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the fair opens. Stay for the entire programme. Staff a booth with no more than three representatives at one time.
The guidelines also ask for professional attire and a name badge, and they send alumni representatives to the information booth for the Alumni Representative Guidelines before the fair opens.
The second-day close sets the last shift. A representative with an afternoon flight leaves at that close, so the policy names the departure time and the headcount for the closing hour.
One named owner for the scanner
NACAC has retired hardware scanners. Every representative on site brings a phone or a tablet running the GoToCollegeFairs MobileScan app, and the app opens only on the day of the fair. The association asks the designated representative to download it and set the fair and the booth before arrival.
Lead access sits with one person, the individual who registered for the fair. NACAC states that only one person can hold access to leads for a specific event, and that a change of that person runs through customerservice@nacacnet.org.
Students register in advance and carry a barcode, printed or on a phone, and on-site registration runs as well. The NACAC Attendee App holds the barcode, a floor map and notes on the colleges a student visits.
The lines a policy carries
The Oregon Convention Center garage charges $15 for up to 18 hours with no in-and-out privileges, and it applies a $15 to $25 dynamic entry rate during larger events.
Bus parking at the Portland fair ran on the Monday only. Coaches park at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The convention centre holds four turnouts for drop-off and pick-up: two on NE Holladay and two on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Hospitality is a light fare snack service. NACAC states that it is site-specific, that it sits outside the registration fee, and that exhibitors with specific dietary needs should bring their own items.
A policy that funds one night, names the scanner owner, carries the parking line and sets the departure at the second-day close covers the fair. Virginia Falgoust, manager of events and meetings at NACAC, holds the contact for the Portland fair: vfalgoust@nacacnet.org, (703) 299-6844.