FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)


REGISTRATION

Q: What is the deadline to register for the ATE Conference?

A: The deadline to register for the conference is September 24, 2026.

Q: How many people can register per grant to attend the conference?

A: Conference registration is primarily limited to the principal investigator, co-principal investigators, and team members of ATE-funded grants. Additional attendees may register through association with an ATE project, center, or consortium team. Please see the registration page for details. 

Q: Where can I find my ATE grant number in order to register?

A: To register for the ATE Conference, you will need your ATE Grant Number. If your institution has more than one grant, please consult with your team members to determine who should register under which grant. AACC has coded a set number of slots per grant in the online registration system so each participant must register with a grant number. For NSF ATE award number look-up, please consult NSF’s awards database by using the Advanced Search Function and entering “7412” into the Element Code box to restrict your search to the ATE program.

Q: If my institution has more than one grant, how do I know what grant to register under?

A. Please contact your PI or other grant team members for guidance. AACC has coded a set amount of registration space per grant in the online system so each participant must register with a grant number.

Q: My grant is in a second no-cost extension, can I still register to attend?

A: ATE grants that have recently expired or are in their second or subsequent no-cost extension are welcome to attend the conference and can bring up to two people to attend. Each of the two people is required to pay a $500 registration fee. Please use your grant number when registering. If your grant number does not allow you to register online, please contact ATE registration at 847-620-4467 or by emailing ate_registration@goeshow.com. Registration hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Central.

Q: How can I pay for my conference registration?

A: You may pay online by VISA, MASTERCARD or AMERICAN EXPRESS. You may make a payment by check by mail. Purchase Orders are not an acceptable form of payment.

Q: How can I register if I need to pay for my conference registration fees by check?

A. Unfortunately, the online registration system cannot process payments by check. If paying by check, please complete your registration online and then submit your check payment by mail. Your check must be postmarked no later than October 9. Please note, that if you have not requested a check from your institution to be mailed by October 9, it must be presented onsite. The check presented onsite will have to reflect the exact amount due, or we will be unable to complete your registration, as registrants are not allowed to carry balances forward on their accounts.

Make Checks Payable and Mail to:
AACC ATE
P.O. Box 75263
Philadelphia, PA. 19171-5263
Tax ID # 530196569

Q: What is the policy for transferring or canceling a registration?

A: Please note that you are responsible for payment if you do not cancel and do not attend. Participant substitutions can be made online by September 24 and at any time following by emailing ate_registration@goeshow.com. Refunds minus a $50 cancellation fee will be issued for cancellations received in writing by Friday, October 9. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after October 9, 2026, unless authorized in writing by AACC.

HOUSING

Q: Do I make my own hotel arrangements to attend the ATE Conference?

A: Yes. Each participant is responsible for making their own hotel arrangements.

Q: What is the conference hotel?

A: AACC has secured a block of rooms at the host property, the Omni Shoreham Hotel, located at 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Q: How do I make a hotel reservation?

A:  All hotel reservations must be made as part of the ATE Conference registration process. You have the option of making your hotel reservations when you register for the event or by logging back into the Attendee Service Center after you have registered for the conference to make your hotel reservations prior to the September 24 deadline.

Q: I need housing, but I am not attending the 2026 ATE Conference. Can I still book through the AACC room block?

A:  Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate housing requests that are not tied to a registration record.

Q: What is the room rate if I am paying for my hotel room or for additional nights?

A: The hotel rate is $295.00 or single/double plus tax at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Q: Each active ATE project, center, and consortium gets two complimentary hotel rooms, how do we know who gets assigned the complimentary rooms?

A:   AACC will assign the complimentary rooms to those participants that have complimentary registrations following the September 24 cut-off date. Please note that AACC will only cover up to the conference rate of $295 per night. Attendees are responsible for the cost of upgrades or any difference in room rate.

Q: Can I contact the hotel directly to make my housing reservation?

A:   No. AACC manages its own room block. To access the group rate, all reservations must be made through the 2026 ATE Conference registration form. If you did not make your hotel reservation when you registered, you can modify your registration by going to the Attendee Service Center.

Q: I booked my lodging through a third-party website, and now I want to request that my lodging be added to the ATE Conference housing block. Can I do that?

A:   No. AACC serves as its own housing bureau. Third-party companies like Expedia and Hotels.com are not affiliated with the organization. If you book through these companies, you are subject to their policies. You must cancel that reservation and rebook through the AACC registration form to secure lodging in the AACC ATE Conference housing block.

AACC requires that attendees book through our housing bureau. Several unreputable poachers in the meeting space will take your money for a reservation, but they don’t have a relationship with the hotel.


Q: Is there a housing deadline?

A:   Yes.The deadline to make housing arrangements at the group rate is September 24, 2026.

Q: If I didn’t book my room when I initially registered to attend the ATE Conference, how do I add it to my registration?

A:  To add your hotel reservation, please log into the Attendee Service Center. Cursor over the Service Center Header > scroll down to housing on the navigation > make your housing selection and submit.

Q: I booked my housing reservation. When will I receive my hotel confirmation number?

A: AACC serves as its own housing bureau. If you make a housing reservation before the housing deadline of September 24, you will receive an acknowledgment number from AACC. After the housing deadline passes, AACC will upload all reservation requests to the hotel. Please give the hotel a few days to process all reservations. After September 28, you will receive a confirmation number directly from the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

Q: I need to modify my housing request. How can I do that?

A:   If you have booked housing before September 24 through AACC, you must log into the Attendee Service Center to modify your reservation. You cannot contact the hotel for reservation changes until after September 28 and when you have received your confirmation number from the hotel.

Q: I am supposed to have a complimentary room. How do I go about making sure that my room is direct billed to AACC?

A:   AACC assigns those that registered as complimentary with the complimentary hotel room for up to 3 nights (for the nights of October 20, 21, and 22). AACC turns over all hotel reservations to the hotel following the September 24 cut-off date. You will receive a hotel confirmation after September 28. Please check your hotel confirmation for billing information. If there are any issues, please email ate@aacc.nche.edu prior to being on site. Once on site, please report any questions or concerns to the ATE Conference registration desk so AACC staff can correct the billing prior to check-out.

Q: An emergency came up, and I cannot attend the ATE Conference. What do I need to do?

A:  In addition to canceling your registration, please contact the hotel directly to cancel your lodging if it is after the September 24 housing deadline. Once AACC turns all reservations over to the hotel, we can no longer modify or cancel them for you. Depending on when you cancel, you may be inside of the hotel’s 72-hour cancellation policy. You are responsible for paying any penalties related to canceling your lodging within the window established by the hotel.

Q: I booked my housing directly with the hotel, but my rate is much higher. Can I get the group rate applied to my existing reservation?

A:   AACC acts as its own housing bureau to secure its room block. The only way to book lodging with AACC at the group rate is through the ATE Conference registration form. If you book with a third-party site or directly with the hotel, you are subject to the rates they impose. AACC has no control over the inventory they are selling, and they can set the rates as they deem appropriate.

If you secured lodging before the housing cutoff deadline through a third party or directly with the hotel, the only way to get the group rate is to cancel the original reservation and book a reservation through the Attendee Service Center. Once the block closes, we cannot accommodate your request.

 

HOUSING PHISHING & PIRATE SCAMS

Q: What is a "housing pirate?"

A: Please be cautious about phishing and pirate scams in relation to the 2026 ATE Conference. Commonly referred to as "housing pirates" or "housing bandits," these companies will phone or email attendees and claim to offer good deals on hotel rooms. They may falsely claim to be affiliated with AACC.

Unless you have initiated the communication, please do not provide anyone with your personal information, especially your credit card number. If you provide your credit card information to one of these companies, your card may be charged, and there is no guarantee you will have a room upon your arrival.

Q: What is phishing?

A: Since the return of in-person meetings, there has been an exponential increase in mailing list scams across the association industry. Please be advised that no matter how real these emails may look, they are SCAMS. We do not publicly share our attendee list. It is important to check the sender's email address. If it is not from a name @aacc.nche.edu, ate@aacc.nche.edu, or ate.housing@goeshow.com, then it is not from AACC or the ATE Conference.

Pirates typically scrape websites and social media and copy the organization's logo, hoping to trick you.

Q: How do I report fraud?

A: If contacted by someone asking you if you need a room for the ATE Conference or representing themselves as the "AACC or ATE Housing Bureau," that are not affiliated with AACC, please let us know at ate@aacc.nche.edu so we can stop them from contacting others.

 

GENERAL INFO

Q: Do I make my own travel arrangements to attend the conference?

A:   Yes. Each participant is responsible for making their own hotel and travel arrangements. Information on the hotel reservations is included as part of the conference registration process. Information on area airports and ground transportation can be found on the conference website.

Q: What meals will be offered at the conference?

A:   Lunch and an evening reception will be offered on Wednesday, October 21. The conference will also provide breakfast, lunch, and a light reception on Thursday, October 22, and breakfast on Friday, October 23.

Q: Where do I report any dietary restrictions or special needs?

A.   When you register for the conference, there is a space to indicate any special needs.

Q: What is the conference dress code?

A:  There is no formal dress code for the conference. AACC suggests business casual and would like you to be comfortable. It is also best to dress in layers as sometimes the conference rooms can be very cool. AACC also suggests comfortable shoes as the meeting space can be spread out and involve a good deal of walking.

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