Universal did not create this scarcity. Other Universal vacationers who are willing to pay a higher rate did.
Of course Universal created the scarcity of APH-discounted rooms (by not releasing any). The overall booking pattern isn't new: President's Day week is
always booked up a few weeks ahead of time for the premium hotels, and of course non-passholders have always been willing to pay more for hotels than passholders, because they have to. But back when Universal released APH rates 3-6 months out, passholders had a chance to book those rooms at a discount before they were fully sold out. Yes, not all hotels or room types were included, and a passholder might have to switch to a different resort or to a different room category, or even split a stay to take advantage of APH discounts, but at least they had the option. This year, to date, 6 weeks out from President's Day week, there haven't been APH rates offered for
any those rooms for those dates at
any time.
The inventory of rooms hasn't changed, and the premium hotels haven't booked up faster than in prior years, at least not for the popular vacation week upon which I've been laser-focused since we booked our trip six months ago -- Universal just hasn't given passholders a chance to get a discount on any of them before they were gone. This is
not consistent with past practice, and it's troubling for those of us who purchase annual passes so we can afford the opportunity to stay in the premium hotels.
P.S. ...and to respond to your comment that Universal doesn't "owe" passholders discounts... you're right, in the sense that it's not obligated to offer them every day, or at every resort, or for every room category. However, by the same token, Universal's passholder advertising is replete with references to "savings year-round with up to 30% off room rates at the Premier and Preferred hotels..." (that's a direct quote from the official website). Universal can't say that hotel discounts are available to passholders (even if in limited quantity, or for a limited time) "year-round," and then deny them any meaningful opportunity to access those savings. At the very least, from the standpoint of good faith customer service (albeit not in a strict legal sense), Universal "owes" passholders what it promises.