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Couple Say Travel Agency Leaving Them In Lurch

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By RAY REYES and JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

TAMPA - A bride-to-be says her dream honeymoon is tainted because a Tampa-based travel agency took her money but didn't pay for the reservations at a Jamaican resort.

Lori McMullen and her fiancé, Jeffrey Cox, paid Dynamic Leisure $5,200 for their Aug. 4 honeymoon and recently checked the Web site of Couples Resort in Jamaica for updates. What McMullen read on the site was like a bad dream, she said.

Dynamic Leisure, which also does business under the name Changes in L'Attitudes, is months behind in its bills to the resort and all future reservations made through the travel agency have been canceled, said a message from Randy Russell, senior vice president of Couples Resort.

Dozens of vacationers have been affected, Russell said. Some customers not aware of the cancelation had arrived in Jamaica and discovered they did not have reservations and were told at the airport they had to pay again to stay at the resort, he said.

Dynamic Leisure has accumulated thousands of dollars in debt with the resort, Russell said.

McMullen has filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General's Office. Three other vacationers also filed complaints this month with the agency. McMullen, who lives in New York, said she called Dynamic Leisure but spent hours on hold.

Daniel G. Brandano, chief executive officer of Dynamic Leisure, could not be reached for comment. The doors were locked and the lights were off Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon at the travel agency, 5680-A W. Cypress Ave.

According to a July 10 report filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Brandano's company owes an investment company about $3.6 million.

Couples Resort has allowed McMullen and Cox to rebook their rooms at the rate previously offered to them, Russell said. Cox said that while he paid the resort about $4,000 to rebook, he and McMullen still wonder whether they will get their $5,200 from the travel agency.

"It's aggravating," Cox said. "I'm trying to go through the right channels to get the money back."

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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