OPTECH 2026 Guide: Attendees, Parties, After Parties and Las Vegas

By Andreis Bergeron, Head of GTM & Partnerships at Brickwise.

OPTECH 2026 runs Monday, November 16 to Wednesday, November 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. RETTC, the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center, says more than 3,000 professionals attend. The only official evening events are two receptions inside the expo hall. Every dinner, drink and private party beyond that is hosted by a company, and none were publicly listed as of November 2.

RETTC does not publish a breakdown by job title, seniority, company type or units managed. Here is what the public data does show.

Three kinds of attendee. Registration is split into housing providers (operators and owners), tech and industry partners, and government employees and policymakers. Sponsor packages hand out complimentary seats in the same three buckets. The pricing tells you the room is built around operators, with vendors paying more to be there.

Seniority. The only seniority figure I could find is from 2025, when NMHC, which then ran OPTECH, said more than 1,000 attendees were CEOs, COOs, CTOs, CIOs and VPs. Against a room of 3,000 plus, that is at least a third. It is a floor, not a 2026 number.

Members only. Registration is reserved for people at RETTC member firms. That filters out much of the casual traffic you see at open conferences.

Who is on stage. I read the full RETTC agenda on October 30. The speakers fall into a few groups:

• Property management software leaders. AppFolio's CTO, RealPage's CIO, Entrata's president and leaders from MRI, Yardi and Rent Manager share one Tuesday panel
• Institutional operators such as Greystar, Bozzuto, Mill Creek, Cortland, Kettler, Continental, Cardinal Group, MAA and BH
• AI and data vendors, including EliseAI, Funnel and Cherre
• Government and security, with a HUD Assistant Secretary and former CISA director Chris Krebs
• Behavior and strategy, with cognitive psychologist Dr. Eric Solomon

What is missing. No split by company type, no exhibitor count and no units managed. If RETTC releases a post event report, I will update this page.

• Opening reception: Monday, November 16, 4:30 to 6:00 PM, inside the expo
• Networking reception: Tuesday, November 17, 4:00 to 5:30 PM, inside the expo
• Networking lunch: Tuesday, inside the expo
• Influencer Happy Hour: for approved influencers only. Applications are closed
• Fast Pitches: four minute startup pitches

Everything before 1:00 PM Monday is invite only, and programming ends at 11:30 AM Wednesday. RETTC lists no official late night party.

RETTC lets sponsors and exhibitors host client dinners, receptions and other gatherings, as long as RETTC approves them in advance and they do not clash with official programming or expo hours. In practice, that is where the real after parties live. They are invitation only, and most never appear on a public page.

As of November 2 I found no public list of 2026 sponsor parties. The 2025 pattern is a useful guide. One vendor hosted a Sunday dinner, a Monday dinner at Craftsteak and a Tuesday happy hour with a whiskey tasting at Whiskey Down, all inside the MGM Grand.

How to get invited:

• Ask the vendors you already work with. Most have a table or a room
• Check the OPTECH app and LinkedIn posts that say "see you at OPTECH"
• Treat Sunday night as open. Nothing official is scheduled, so it is the easiest night to organize your own dinner
• Plan on Tuesday as the big night, because programming ends Wednesday at 11:30 AM. That is my read, not an official statement

Sphere. The Eagles' residency at Sphere runs November 13 to January 23, 2027, and Metallica's run goes from October 1 to March 13, 2027. Both overlap OPTECH week, so check Sphere's calendar for exact show nights. Sphere's official F1 afterparty with the Backstreet Boys is on November 21, after OPTECH ends.

Formula 1. The Las Vegas Grand Prix runs November 19 to 21, starting the day after OPTECH wraps. The MGM Grand group rate shows it: $188 a night from Sunday to Tuesday, $258 on Wednesday, November 18, and $338 on Saturday, November 14, plus the $39 resort fee. If you stay past Wednesday, book early.

Nightclubs. Clubs publish lineups month by month, and the listings I found on third party guest list sites conflict. Two sources agree on Saturday, November 14, before OPTECH: Alesso at OMNIA and Cassian at LIV. I could not confirm lineups for November 15 to 18, and F1 weekend lineups disagree between listings. Check each club's own calendar before you plan around a DJ.

Dinner. Restaurants inside the MGM Grand that suit group dinners include Craftsteak, Morimoto and Hakkasan. Online booking often caps at six to eight people, so call for larger groups.

These are my picks from the agenda I read on October 30. Times may shift.

• The Platform Shift: PMS, AI & the Future of the Rental Housing Ecosystem. Tuesday 1:30 to 2:30 PM, Expo Stage. Leaders from AppFolio, Rent Manager, RealPage, Entrata, MRI, Yardi and Greystar
• Enterprise Systems & Integrations Committee: Understanding MCP. Tuesday 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Operators including Bozzuto, Greystar and ResiQ on what connects to their property management system
• FuturesLab AI block. Tuesday 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, Terrace Ballroom. Short talks on AI and MCP, about 15 minutes each
• Buy, Build or Partner? Monday 1:00 to 2:00 PM. Operators explain when they buy AI, build it or partner
• Small to Midsize Leaders Meetup. Monday 2:30 to 3:15 PM, hosted by Sherman Residential and FIRE. The closest room to smaller operators

The Krebs keynote on Tuesday from 2:30 to 4:00 PM is the easiest session to skip if you need the time for meetings.

Registration is $895 to $1,095 for housing providers, $1,095 to $1,995 for tech and industry partners, and $250 for government employees and policymakers, depending on when you register. A badge reprint costs $200. RETTC does not refund registrations within ten business days of the event. Taxes on the hotel rate are 13.38 percent.

Brickwise builds Alice, an AI agent that works on top of the property management system you already run and handles lead to lease, maintenance triage, rent collection and compliance. If you want to see how it works, or just compare notes on what you hear at OPTECH, grab 30 minutes with us.