HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — “Hartford has it” is the tourism slogan for the city, but many travelers are now finding themselves looking to surrounding towns for hotel rooms because Hartford does not appear to have enough room.

Several downtown hotels have been turned into condos or apartments to meet the growing need for housing — creatingh a shortage of hotel rooms in and around the Hartford area.

David Griggs, CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance,e said he would like to see another high-rise hotel in Hartford.

With the new convention center full of events and nearby concerts, travelers are also hoping to see another highrise.

Travelers said they had a tough time trying to get hotels in the area.

“It was very hard, I even tried Airbnbs, and I ended up doubling with somebody,” said Corin McClain, of North Carolina.

Hotels in Hartford and the surrounding area sold out this week. Some visitors who were attending the 2023 Maintenance Convention on Thursday afternoon had to book hotels as far away as the Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

Officials warn about man pretending to be fire inspector in Milford

“All of the hotels associated with a conference were sold out, so I had to buy another hotel,” said Nicole Cullen, of Alaska.

Cullen said she has to stay 15 minutes away from Hartford and had to take Ubers back and forth, instead of being able to step out of her hotel and walk to her convention and the nearby restaurants.

“If you’re going into a community for a convention, you want to be able to hit your room, put your things down and walk to wherever you need to be,” Griggs said.

For example, Hartford has a Lizzo concert this weekend, a bridal expo, wrestling, a monster truck jam and sporting events. With so many things going on, business owners said it’s disappointing because they want to capture the people in the downtown area.

“We’re losing out on convention and other business that could be coming into Hartford,” Griggs said. “To support all these new restaurants and retail, we need more hotel space.”

 News 8 reached out to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s office for comment, but has not yet heard back.