I bet they did not buy up the normal room amounts they usually do. They probably got hammered last year with a lot of unused rooms that they may have been on the hook for. They also condensed the time slots way down which made the times way off from past years. They have never posted about adding more inventory in the past because there was never really any to add so its pretty clear they did not buy the normal amount of rooms. 

You might be surprised how much is added this year over the next so many months. Also I hear people are having good luck going outside the block and calling hotels direct this year, which is normally a rarity to get one that way. Another sign that tells me Gencon did not buy the usual amount.   
 

It takes two to dance.  It's possible the hotels were conservative with their allotments based on the last two years.

Now they'll see the demand is there.  Be patient, be vigilant!  Rooms will open up.

I guess you either get really lucky, or go to the convention every year for 20 years to improve your odds. 

It's the only way to keep it fair. (I had 3:07PM...been going to Gen Con since 80s)
 

But have you gotten a decent time since then? 

And Gen Con is always awesome regardless.

I try to get an out of block hotel lined up - but I've never actually had to use it. With persistence and effort, I've always gotten a downtown hotel when I've wanted one 

And some years I've just not put in the effort - or I've traveled with companions with limited budgets - and we've stayed outside of downtown and driven in.

Still a great con.

In the end, if your Gen Con experience requires you to have a downtown hotel, that's unfortunate. There just aren't enough to meet demand and a randomized lottery for entrance to the housing portal is the only way to be fair to everyone - new attendees and old.

Is the housing portal working?  I tried checking in using the "Manage Reservation" button, and it takes me to a page that asks for a hotel reservation number and email, but doesn't recognize me.

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Alec Usticke, Fans of Gen Con Facebook Group

It seems that I have to copy and paste the reservation number. Manually typing it doesn’t work. 

Ive been able to get a downtown room since then not through the block, but through a hotel loyalty program. That’s the best way to get downtown rooms outside the block.

There were Hilton hotels available at 12:52 today but they were the ones by the circle and I already had an out of block room at the IUIPI hotel so I didn’t use my reservation time because my room has free cancellation till August and I wasn’t much farther.

So whoever got the last Hilton block room, you can thank me. 

If we're honest, most of us probably WANT a downtown hotel because of convenience, the ability to stay out late drinking or partying, etc.  It isn't really a NEED. For people who absolutely NEED a DT hotel - usually for mobility or other medical reasons - don't give up hope yet!  Gen Con is nearly 6 months away and, while it takes effort, it is still possible to get a downtown - even a connected - hotel.  Keep checking the portal!  It's not guaranteed - but its too early to give up on the possibility.

Since I don't travel enough to have the loyalty program option, I usually book an out-of-block room with 100% free cancellation the winter prior to Gen Con.  Its more expensive for sure but its worth it to me, gives my wife some peace of mind and then I do what I can to get us a preferred, lower cost room through the portal.  It's more effort, but so far its paid off every time.  It's about a 10-hour drive for us to get to downtown Indy but we enjoy the roadtrip and then we have our car to haul back any loot; so, while I definitely prefer a DT hotel, if I had to, driving in from a hotel on the outer rim is not the end of the world.  Gen Con is still my favorite time of the year.  When driving in from the outer rim, I always get downtown early (usually around 7 or 7:30AM) and have had great luck with both Gate 10 and with parking in the Pan Am parking lot directly across from the ICC.

We've discussed changing it a few times - but I've always managed to get a downtown hotel with a little effort on my part and its not the end of the world if we don't so it makes it hard to justify switching.

I posted in the Travel, Housing, and Dining forums...  Rooms started to pop in the portal.  Most are outlier (airport, west, north), but I have seen a few non-connected downtown as well.  (2/14/2022 - about 3:00PM EST)