Two Routes into a Room
DIY CON runs three days at Centennial Hall in Fair Park. The dates are Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 8, 2026, the doors run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and the show opens 15 days out.
The organiser sells two routes into a hotel room: the Connections Housing block and a direct reservation.
The Organiser’s Deadline Passed on October 11
The Hotel & Travel page names Sunday, October 11 as the reservation deadline. That date has passed, and the rest of the page’s terms stay live.
The page prints one warning in bold: official DIY CON 2026 hotels will not honor direct reservations. The special rates and the features that come with them belong to the housing company’s booking.
The page names the desk beside the warning. Call 702-720-1424, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific.
The Portal Still Prices Seven Properties
The Connections portal at connectionstravel.app/DIYCON2026 opened on the Fan attendee code and returned seven properties for November 6 to 8, one room and two guests, on 22 October 2026. Every rate includes taxes and fees, and each card labels the figure a best available hotel rate at the time of booking.
Element by Marriott Dallas Downtown East, 4005 Gaston Avenue, 1.7 miles from the venue, $319 a night and $638 for two nights. Home2 Baylor Scott and White, 3301 Gaston Avenue, 1.8 miles, $297 and $594. Hotel Indigo Downtown, 1933 Main Street, 2.2 miles, $234 and $468. The Kimpton Pittman, 2551 Elm Street, 2.3 miles, $426 and $852. Lorenzo Hotel, 1011 South Akard Street, 2.4 miles, $228 and $456. Fairfield Inn and Suites Dallas Downtown, 555 Evergreen Street, 2.5 miles, $174 and $348. TownePlace Suites Dallas Downtown, 555 Evergreen Street, 2.5 miles, $209 and $418.
The portal states that those figures are best available rates offered directly by the hotel and are not event-contracted rates.
What the Block Was Selling
Show management describes its rates as the lowest over the DIY CON dates and available only to attendees and exhibitors who book through the official housing company. Rooms were limited and released first come, first served. Connections Housing takes no advance deposit, and no contract is required for exhibitor or group bookings, including requests of 10 or more rooms.
A Family with Kids Tickets
The ticket tiers turn on age. Children 5 and under enter free all weekend and need no ticket. Children 6 to 12 need a Kids ticket, and the door may ask for proof of age. Anyone under 13 stays with a parent or guardian at all times, and workshop participation is open to guests 18 and older.
Two Nights Against Three Days
Three show days need two nights: Friday November 6 and Saturday November 7, with a Sunday checkout. Badge pickup starts the night before. On Thursday, November 5 the desk runs 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Centennial Building and nowhere else. Friday and Saturday pickup runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
A family driving in on Friday morning can collect badges at the door and skip Thursday. The hotel decision then covers two nights, both of them weekend nights.
The Ticket Clock
Early-bird pricing closes October 23, and the organiser puts the saving at up to $24. Adult single-day badges start at $47.63, which includes the ticket price, the service fee and 8.25 percent sales tax.
The first 200 discounted tickets are gone. The tickets page keeps a 50 percent code, DIY50, through Sunday, October 25 at 11:59 PM Central. Every DIY CON ticket is non-refundable, non-transferable and non-resalable.
Parking and Where the Rooms Are
Fair Park holds more than 14,000 parking spaces inside the grounds. Parking is free on a non-event day and priced per event on a show day, and the organiser’s FAQ puts show parking at $15 per day. No overnight parking is allowed.
The park’s Where to Stay page lists 17 properties inside three miles and gives a street address for each. CANVAS Hotel Dallas sits at 1325 Botham Jean Boulevard, the Lorenzo Hotel at 1011 South Akard Street, Element Dallas Downtown East at 4005 Gaston Avenue, and Fairfield Inn & Suites with TownePlace Suites at 555 Evergreen Street.
The Booking Order That Still Works
Call the housing desk first. A released room or a cancellation inside the block is the route back to a contracted rate, and that desk knows which rooms came back.
Then take direct quotes for the two nights. Ask each property to put the rate, the cancellation deadline and the parking charge in the confirmation. A group request is the lever for several families travelling together. hotelhuddle notifies 50 or more hotels on one request, returns offers in 24 to 72 hours, adds no commission to the rate, and starts group pricing at 10 rooms a night.
Buy badges before October 23. The room and the badge run on separate clocks this week.