OPTECH 2026: Leaders in the Room. An Industry Moving Forward.

Who attends a technology conference matters—especially when the conversation turns to what gets funded, implemented and scaled.

With OPTECH just days away, now is the time when many attendees are scrolling through the attendee list to see who’s coming—and might be open to a meeting—and who is not. If you’ve looked through the OPTECH 2026 attendee list, you may have a few questions. Why so many tech providers? Where are the operators? We get it—so let’s talk about it.

Here’s the short version: OPTECH is built for housing providers. Roughly three in five housing provider registrants hold senior leadership titles, and no event brings more housing provider decision-makers together than OPTECH. Tech providers are here because the operators are—and that’s exactly how we want it.

That’s what makes OPTECH real estate tech’s must-attend annual event.

As of this writing, the OPTECH 2026 registration snapshot includes:

• Almost 1,100 senior executives across the RETTC community
• Over 340 C-suite executives
• Over 240 housing provider firms represented

These are the people connecting technology to business strategy: improving operations, guiding investment, supporting onsite teams, and shaping the resident experience. OPTECH puts them in conversation with the innovators developing the next generation of rental housing solutions.

Why Operators Make the Trip

Ask housing providers why OPTECH is on their calendar and you’ll hear the same three things. They want to hear from their peers—the people who are living the same challenges and willing to say what’s actually working. They want to get up to speed on the advocacy landscape and understand what’s coming next for their businesses. And they want to see what RETTC is doing around data modeling.

Housing providers run on a lot of different systems, and those systems don’t always speak the same language. MITS, RETTC’s data model for rental housing, gives operators and tech providers a common framework so information can move cleanly from one platform to the next. This year, MITS 6.0 launches at OPTECH, a major modernization of the model, and you’ll hear how it’s being applied to real questions like fee transparency and AI disclosures for digital imagery.

This combination is why operators keep coming back. But this year, you’ll also see some new housing provider firms represented. We’ve been working to grow housing provider representation at OPTECH and across RETTC. We’ve given our amazing exhibitors and sponsors additional benefits that allow non-RETTC member housing provider clients access to OPTECH. We also recently launched our RETTC OnRamp program, which gives smaller and affordable housing providers and nonprofits

Why Tech Providers Belong at OPTECH

Yes, there are a lot of tech providers here—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They come because housing providers are here, and OPTECH is built with housing providers at the center. But OPTECH is also the one time each year the whole RETTC community comes together under one roof.

And that’s the point. Operators get to meet the people building the products they use every day, see what’s new, and sit down with the teams who can make it work in their portfolios. Tech providers get to showcase new products and services to the leaders who decide how they’re used. And everyone gets to network, compare notes, and talk about what’s going to be a focus area in the year ahead.

We look at the conference attendee mix by company rather than by individual registrant. Many registrations are tied to sponsor and exhibitor benefits and, therefore, can skew the headcount. By firm, our attendee mix is roughly 55% housing providers and their industry partners—the lawyers, consultants and advisers who often work on behalf of housing providers—and 45% tech firms and other suppliers. It’s almost exactly the makeup of RETTC’s membership overall.

So when you see a lot of tech providers on the attendee list, take it as a good sign. It means the people building the tools housing providers rely on are showing up to listen, learn, and work alongside the housing providers in the room.

A Program That Works for Everyone in the Room

The attendee list is only half the story. The OPTECH program is built so housing providers, industry partners, and tech providers each walk away with something they can put to work right away. Here’s a closer look at what’s on the agenda.

Leadership Circle is OPTECH’s invitation-only kickoff for C-suite executives, and it’s their tech debrief: what’s changing, what’s working and what to do about it, from the economic outlook to an executive AI workshop.

OPTECH Deep Dives are interactive, hands-on sessions that take on a single high-priority topic and focus on practical takeaways. They often feature multiple speakers, mini panels or real-world case discussions, so attendees can head home with ideas they can use on Monday.

Our keynote speakers, Chris Krebs and Dr. Eric Solomon, bring big-picture perspective to the full conference and set the tone for the conversations that follow.

The AI Strategy Lab closes out OPTECH on Wednesday morning. Three fast-moving, operator-led mini panels cover getting started with AI, building trust and limiting risk, and scaling what works. Attendees leave with a draft AI action plan for their organization.

Fast Pitches are a long-standing OPTECH favorite. Startups get exactly four minutes to explain the problem they solve and show their solution. Pitches are grouped by solution category, so housing providers can head straight to the sessions that match their priorities, and attendees can give quick feedback after each pitch.

Then there’s everything else that makes OPTECH a true annual meeting. Walk the OPTECH Expo for live demos and hands-on time with the tools operators use every day. Visit FuturesLab to see what’s next in rental housing, from robotics to live podcast conversations. Sit in on RETTC committee meetings, which are open to all attendees. Join a peer meetup, or book a short meeting through the new One-to-One Meeting Program, which matches housing providers with technology partners. Whatever brings you to OPTECH, there’s a place for you in the program.

We’re excited to see everyone in Las Vegas November 16-18. We can’t be prouder of the program our committees, speakers, and partners have built. Whether you’re a housing provider, an industry partner, or a tech provider, you’re welcome in this community. And if you’re not a RETTC member yet, now’s the time to join. RETTC membership is your ticket to ride at OPTECH, and the conversations don’t stop when the conference ends.

Explore OPTECH 2026