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Black Hat USA 2027 runs July 31–August 5 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center — the premier information-security conference, with trainings expected July 31–August 3 and the main briefings August 4–5 (confirm the split on blackhat.com). DEF CON 35 follows immediately (August 5–8 at the LVCC).
Where to stay: Black Hat is at Mandalay Bay on the south Strip, so on-site hotels (Mandalay Bay, Delano, Four Seasons) give walk-to-session access. If you’re staying for DEF CON too, a central-Strip base bridges both venues. Book early for “hacker summer camp” week.
Black Hat USA 2027 returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center from July 31 to August 5. The premier cybersecurity conference brings together more than 23,000 (2026 figure) security researchers, IT professionals, executives, and vendors for four days of hands-on trainings followed by two days of briefings and the Business Hall. If you are attending Black Hat this summer — or combining it with DEF CON the following week — here is how to choose the right hotel and make the most of your stay.
Black Hat USA 2027: Key Details
Black Hat rolls straight into DEF CON — see the cybersecurity-week compression in our calendar.
Exhibiting rather than just attending? See our breakdown of the cost to exhibit at Black Hat, including sponsorship tiers, Mandalay Bay union labor, and how to budget for your team.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | Black Hat USA 2027 (30th Edition) |
| Dates | Saturday July 31 – Thursday August 5, 2027 |
| Trainings | July 31–August 3 (Saturday–Tuesday), expected |
| Briefings + Business Hall | August 4–5 (Wednesday–Thursday), expected |
| Venue | Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
| Attendance | 23,000+ verified (2026) |
| Followed by | DEF CON 35 (August 5–8, LVCC) |
Black Hat runs for six full days — the first four devoted to intensive trainings, the last two to briefings and the expo hall. Many attendees stay for the full week and roll directly into DEF CON 35 at the Las Vegas Convention Center starting August 5. If you are doing both events — the full “Hacker Summer Camp” — plan for up to 10 nights in Las Vegas and consider switching hotels between venues.
Best Hotels for Black Hat USA 2027
Mandalay Bay Resort — The Host Hotel
The host hotel and the default choice for most corporate attendees. Mandalay Bay connects directly to the convention center — you can be in your training session within 10 minutes of leaving your room, without stepping outside into the August heat. The resort has a dedicated Black Hat room block that typically sells out 6–8 weeks before the event. Book early or expect to pay significantly more through general availability.
Show-week rate: Check live rates
Distance to venue: 5–10 minute indoor walk
Best for: Corporate attendees, trainers, speakers, those who want zero commute
Delano Las Vegas — Suite Upgrade Within the Complex
Delano offers all-suite accommodations within the Mandalay Bay complex. If you are running a multi-day training course and need a quiet room to prepare materials, or if you are a CISO traveling with a small team and want a living area for evening debriefs, Delano provides that separation without sacrificing proximity. Same internal access to the convention center as Mandalay Bay.
Show-week rate: Check live rates
Distance to venue: 8 minute indoor walk
Best for: Security leaders, trainers who need workspace, teams sharing a suite
Luxor Hotel — The Hacker Budget Pick
Luxor connects to Mandalay Bay via the free enclosed tram. It is the go-to option for security researchers attending on their own budget, red teamers whose companies provide modest travel stipends, and anyone who prefers to spend their money on training courses rather than hotel rooms. The tram runs continuously during the day, keeping you out of the brutal August sun. Rooms are dated but functional — and the savings versus Mandalay Bay fund an extra day of training.
Show-week rate: Check live rates
Distance to venue: 12–15 minutes via tram
Best for: Independent researchers, self-funded attendees, budget-focused teams
Search Luxor deals on Hotels.com →
Excalibur Hotel — Maximum Budget Stretch
The cheapest option with tram access. Excalibur is the final stop on the Mandalay Bay tram line — about 18–22 minutes door-to-session. Room quality is basic and the casino can be noisy, but for attendees who plan to spend 14+ hours per day at Black Hat anyway, Excalibur is a bed, a shower, and a real saving versus the host hotel. The cybersecurity community has a long tradition of choosing Excalibur for exactly this reason.
Show-week rate: Check live rates
Distance to venue: 18–22 minutes via tram
Best for: Maximum budget savings, attendees who live at the conference
Fontainebleau Las Vegas — The DEF CON Bridge
If you are attending both Black Hat (Mandalay Bay) and DEF CON (LVCC), Fontainebleau is worth considering for the second half of your trip. Located directly across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, it is one of the newest luxury resorts on the Strip and offers premium accommodations with minimal commute to DEF CON. Some attendees split their stay: Luxor for Black Hat, then Fontainebleau for DEF CON.
Rate: Check live rates
Distance to LVCC: 5 minute walk across the street
Best for: Hacker Summer Camp attendees doing both Black Hat and DEF CON
Compare Fontainebleau rates on Expedia →
Hotel Cost Comparison — Black Hat 2027
| Hotel | Show-Week Rate | Distance | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandalay Bay | Check live rates | 5–10 min (indoor) | Zero commute |
| Delano | Check live rates | 8 min (indoor) | Suite + quiet |
| Luxor | Check live rates | 12–15 min (tram) | Best value |
| Excalibur | Check live rates | 18–22 min (tram) | Budget max |
| Fontainebleau | Check live rates | 15 min rideshare | DEF CON bridge |
Hacker Summer Camp: Black Hat + DEF CON Strategy
🚖 Skip the LAS rideshare surge
Harry Reid Airport → Mandalay Bay during Black Hat/DEF CON week: expect surge pricing and a rideshare queue. Fixed-price transfer available (check the current quote), driver waits at your gate — useful for late-night CTF arrivals.
Pre-Book Your Transfer→The cybersecurity community calls the first two weeks of August in Las Vegas “Hacker Summer Camp” — Black Hat at Mandalay Bay (July 31–August 5) followed immediately by DEF CON at the Las Vegas Convention Center (August 5–8). Many attendees do both. The challenge: the two venues are on opposite ends of the Strip, about 15 minutes apart by rideshare.
Three strategies depending on your budget and priorities: stay at Mandalay Bay for the full stretch and rideshare to DEF CON; split your stay between a Mandalay Bay area hotel and a LVCC area hotel; or choose a mid-Strip hotel like Aria or Cosmopolitan as a compromise location. If you are renting a car to move between venues, compare prices in advance on Carla — parking at both venues is available but rates differ significantly.
Security Tips for Black Hat Attendees
This deserves its own section because Black Hat is unlike any other trade show. The attendee pool includes some of the most skilled hackers in the world, and Las Vegas during Hacker Summer Camp is a uniquely hostile wireless environment. Leave your primary laptop at home if possible and bring a dedicated conference device. Disable Bluetooth and auto-connect WiFi. Use a VPN on all connections. Do not connect to the hotel WiFi for anything sensitive. Carry a portable battery — you will need it. These are not theoretical risks; they are annual traditions at this particular event.
For more practical Las Vegas tips beyond cybersecurity concerns, see our complete hotels near LVCC guide and our after-hours activities guide.
DEF CON 35 Overlap: How to Plan Your Hotel for Hacker Summer Camp
Black Hat USA 2027 wraps on Thursday, August 5. DEF CON 35 opens the same day at the Las Vegas Convention Center, roughly fifteen to twenty-five minutes north of Mandalay Bay depending on traffic. If you came for one and decide to stay for both — which most security professionals end up doing once they realize they already paid for the flight — your hotel decision matters more than your conference badge does.
Three hotel strategies dominate Hacker Summer Camp planning:
- Anchor at Mandalay Bay for the full week. You get walkable access to every Black Hat session, the Briefings on Wednesday and Thursday, and a short rideshare to DEF CON Friday through Sunday. Downside: Mandalay Bay rates spike during Black Hat week, and traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard during conference hours can turn a fifteen-minute drive into forty-five.
- Stay near LVCC at Resorts World, Wynn, or Westgate. This makes DEF CON walkable or near-walkable, and the Las Vegas Monorail connects you to the Strip resorts hosting Black Hat parties. Westgate is closest to LVCC. Resorts World has the Vegas Loop station, which runs between LVCC and Resorts World for free during conferences.
- Split the difference at a mid-Strip property like the Cosmopolitan, Aria, or Bellagio. You’re equidistant from both venues but closer to the late-night vendor party circuit, which clusters in mid-Strip steakhouses and lounges.
If you’re attending both events, book one hotel for the entire July 31–August 8 window. Changing hotels mid-week sounds clever — until you’re hauling a backpack of laptops between two properties in 105°F heat, and DEF CON registration opens at 8 AM.
Budget for the entire nine-day window when you book. Last-minute room moves during Hacker Summer Camp are expensive, exhausting, and almost always unnecessary if you commit to one anchor property from the start.
The Vendor Party Circuit: Where Cybersecurity Deals Happen After Hours
The Briefings are where research gets disclosed. The vendor parties are where deals get done. If you are a CISO, vendor, founder, or anyone selling into the security market, the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday are the highest-signal hours of the entire week.
Vendor parties cluster in mid-Strip and South Strip venues during Black Hat. The Trainings days (Saturday through Tuesday) are quieter — most attendees are still rotating in, and the vendor calendar does not ramp up until Tuesday night. From Wednesday onward, the parallel-event count climbs fast: by Thursday evening, there are typically eight to twelve overlapping vendor parties, plus three or four community gatherings, plus the unofficial Hacker Summer Camp circuit that spills into DEF CON weekend.
Recurring high-signal events to watch for:
- QueerCon mixers, running since 2003, are the longest-standing community gathering at Black Hat. RSVP opens on the QueerCon site usually four to six weeks before the conference.
- CrowdStrike, Microsoft Security, Palo Alto Networks, and SANS all host invitation-only receptions, typically Wednesday evening. Vendor sales reps are your route in — if you are a customer, ask in May or June, not on Wednesday morning.
- Hack the Box and other CTF organizers run open parties later in the week, friendlier to early-career practitioners.
- The Black Hat Briefings Reception on Wednesday night is included with any Briefings-tier pass and remains the easiest networking entry point if you do not have private invites.
Where to find the current list each year: the unofficial Hacker Summer Camp parties spreadsheet (search X for the HackerSummerCamp tag plus “parties” two weeks before conference), the r/Defcon subreddit, and the hackersummercamp.com community site.
Capacity matters. Most vendor parties cap between 200 and 500 attendees, and the good ones fill within forty-eight hours of opening RSVPs. Get on the lists in June, not in late July.
A few honest notes about the circuit. The free drinks are real, but pacing yourself is the asset — networking ROI collapses after three or four parties in a night. Networking at vendor parties is usually a polite name for sales conversations, so plan accordingly if you are trying to evaluate vendors or close a deal. Quiet alternatives exist: late-night sushi at Aria, drinks at the Skyfall Lounge atop the Delano, the Resorts World pool deck if you are staying north Strip. Not every conversation needs to happen in a packed cabana.
If you are at Black Hat to sell, the parties are non-optional. If you are there to learn, treat them like dessert — useful, not the meal.
OPSEC for Black Hat: How to Avoid Becoming the Story
Every year at DEF CON, the Wall of Sheep displays credentials passively sniffed from attendees using unencrypted services on the conference network. Every year, a few of those credentials belong to people who really should have known better. Black Hat is the same crowd one venue south, and the same operational security principles apply — except the stakes for a CISO caught on the Wall of Sheep are higher than for a hobbyist.
The basics are non-negotiable.
Network OPSEC. Use your mobile hotspot before you use venue Wi-Fi. If you must use venue Wi-Fi, force a VPN at the OS level — not just in your browser. Turn off Bluetooth, AirDrop, Wi-Fi auto-join, and any Discoverable mode the moment you walk into Mandalay Bay. The Black Hat NOC publishes an annual report on what they observed running on the conference network. It is required reading before you arrive.
Device OPSEC. Bring a burner laptop if you can. If you cannot, at minimum strip work data, sign out of corporate accounts, and treat the device like it will be confiscated. Avoid USB charging stations entirely — juice jacking has been demonstrated at Hacker Summer Camp multiple years running. Bring your own charger and a power bank. Cover your webcam. Mute your microphone in software when not in use.
Physical OPSEC. The hotel safe is fine in theory, but default factory codes are public knowledge. Change yours immediately on check-in, then change it again. Never leave devices visible in your hotel room — the housekeeping staff is honest but the building is not. Keep your conference badge in your pocket the moment you step outside the venue: badges are routinely photographed for OSINT, and badge codes can leak more than you would think.
Identity OPSEC. Use a throwaway email address for conference registration and party RSVPs. Do not post badge photos showing scannable codes. Be skeptical of QR codes on flyers and bathroom posters — that is an annual prank that occasionally turns serious.
A note on hotel networks. Mandalay Bay’s Black Hat NOC monitors the conference network; the in-room Wi-Fi is a separate, unmonitored hotel network and should be treated as hostile. Same rule for every other Strip property: hotel Wi-Fi is not your friend during Hacker Summer Camp. Use your hotspot. If you can, bring a travel router with a hardened VPN configuration so every device you carry routes through one trusted egress point.
The goal is not paranoia. The goal is to walk out of the conference with the same devices, the same credentials, and the same data you walked in with. Plan for it now. The Strip is air-conditioned, the briefings are recorded, but operational mistakes are forever.
Budget-Conscious Alternatives Off the Strip
If you’re looking to save on accommodation without sacrificing quality, Station Casinos properties offer excellent value for trade show attendees. With convenient shuttle services, modern rooms, and significantly lower rates than Strip hotels, they’re a smart choice for budget-minded professionals.