Your Hamptons Hotel Stay Just Got EVEN More Expensive...

'Tis almost the summer season out East, so naturally, it's time to let the price gauging begin!

Last week, the Suffolk County Legislature voted to raise its hotel/motel tax. Shocker? Not really. Starting June 1st, guests will see their charge increase dramatically from its current 3% rate to a 5.5% rate.

Just another hefty expense to factor in when considering a weekend in the Hamptons... As if the ever rising cost of rental cars, restaurant bills (you know, if you're lucky enough to swing a reservation), and the ridiculous inconvenience of beach parking (or lack there of) wasn't enough to make you reconsider in the first place.

The tax is estimated to raise $23 million per year for the county, with crown jewel Montauk responsible for $6.4 million of that. Hell, Gurney's alone would pay around $1.8 million a year into the tax. 

So just what will Montauk get out of this exactly? Well, probably nothing.

A majority of the funds raised from the tax have been committed to... a convention center in Ronkonkoma. And the rest? It's apparently going to the tourism agency Discover Long Island, whose budget will go from $2 million to $6 million.

As George Filopoulos, the owner of Gurney's, commented to The East Hampton Star, “the East End requires zero in the way of promotion. Give us some of our money back to solve some of our problems. I’ve booked 340,000 nights since I bought Gurney’s in 2013 and not one of those nights came from Discover Long island. So tell me why $4 million should go there, and not to keep our town from sinking.” 

I think we can all agree that the Hamptons do not need a marketing budget. And considering the county's massive problems like wastewater issues, escalating erosion and outdated infrastructure, these budgeted priorities (which you'll be paying for) are beyond disappointing.

[Photo via Gurney's]