About Us

Welcome to Forest Travel. I hope you will take a few minutes to explore our company and get to know more about our services and benefits. We believe we have an obligation to recognize and respond in meaningful, practical ways to the environmental and social challenges facing all of us and the world we live in.

We believe you take travel to heart and we share in your appreciation for travel by passing along a bit of personal insider knowledge. Our services go beyond those of a typical travel agency because of our experience and expertise. In addition, we bring you specific, additional advantages.

We are committed to continuing our development of products and services that offer our clients exceptional solutions. Forest Travel is a group of professional travel advisors, and we’re a member of Virtuoso, which is a network of the best luxury travel agencies in the world. Virtuoso travel advisors generate $4 billion in travel sales annually, making the group the most powerful and influential in luxury travel.  What does this mean for you?  In a nutshell, the most unique and incredible travel experiences of your life

We are excited about the future and what it holds for our company. As Forest Travel Inc.’s business grows, so does our opportunity to have an even greater impact on the world around us. We invite you to explore our website and read more about our company and benefits

Company Overview

Forest Travel, Inc., founded in 1968, is a full-service travel agency providing corporate, leisure and luxury travel services, along with other special custom travel and concierge service. 

Employing over 90 internal and external travel agents with locations in Aventura, Florida, as well as Miami, Boston, New York, and New Jersey; the firm boasts effective revenues (i.e., equivalent fare sales that generate commissions equal to extra service fees levied by Forest) in excess of $36 million in 2007 sales profitability.

Forest Travel has a strong presence in Latin American, European, and Asian travel, which has developed a solid corporate business in the South Florida market. The Company employs a “specialist” approach that allows Forest to develop expertise with which to serve its clients.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and its reduced levels of overall travel, Forest Travel has validated its ability to remain competitively solid in maintaining its revenue and profitability.

Forest Travel has been able to successfully implement services charges, over and above paid commissions, in anticipation of industry changes. Forest Travel was a pioneer in creating a value structure of fees complemented today by its affiliation with Virtuoso. 

Furthermore, Forest Travel was able to negotiate very competitive commission contracts, as well as special corporate net and bulk fares, with air and cruise lines. Those efforts, combined with an average effective revenue growth rate in excess of 33% from 2005 through 2007, point to a bright future for the company in years to come.

History

Forest Travel Agency was originally established in 1968 in Chicago as a family owned and operated company. The original owners then moved the agency to a small location in downtown Miami in 1976.

In 1982, David Mendal joined Forest Travel Agency and began promoting travel to his friends. His initial clients were mostly Latin American students attending colleges and universities in the Boston area.  David’s fascination with the business grew over the years, and he decided to purchase the agency, now an S-Corporation, in 1986. Mr. Mendal now owns 100% of the Company.

David Mendal’s extensive marketing and educational background enabled him to grow the business substantially, driving revenues from $250,000 at the time of purchase to estimated revenues in excess of $36 million for 2007 – a compound average growth rate of over 31%.  One of Mendal’s early insights was to create internal specialists focusing on specific geographic areas and lines of business. By creating Latin American, corporate, and leisure sales teams, with specialized divisions in luxury travel and luxury cruises, Forest Travel became extremely competitive in the local industry.  Forest Travel agents continued to develop their expertise in all aspects of travel, each focusing on a specific field such as corporate, leisure, special services, luxury travel, etc.; further contributing to rapid and substantial growth.

Forest Travel became a well-known entity in the downtown Miami area. The agency expanded its business to include not only corporate business, but also Latin-American and European visitors, providing the Company with an international presence. Increasing its service offerings, Forest Travel added an airline ticketing facility, cruise and tour counseling, and individual customized travel planning. All of this was done with personalized service, consistently a key element in Forest’s approach to travel arrangements.

In order to position itself for further growth, Forest Travel relocated its offices to larger facilities in the area of Aventura, Florida, a rapidly growing suburb of Miami.  Aventura, and the general area surrounding it, is home to many high-profile companies, along with numerous high-income residents. With its new location, Forest Travel was able to enhance its corporate business; with the larger space, it was now possible for Forest Travel to expand services to its clients.

These expanded services included airport transfers, theater and special events tickets, visas/passport processing, and frequent-flyer miles redemption desk. The Company also purchased a storefront location on Biscayne Boulevard, one of the most prominent thoroughfares in Dade County. Here they created an attractive location targeting purchasers of leisure travel: the Forest Travel Vacation Center.

At the Vacation Center, vacation and leisure travel is arranged on a very personalized level: one of the unique services offered is a drive-through window for ticket pickup. An expansive video library is available to assist clients in their decision-making process. The Diamond Division was created at this location to handle upscale travelers with specific needs.

As airlines consolidated, the travel industry became more sophisticated in its application of technology, offering electronic distribution and personalized services via phone, fax, and email. Forest Travel has remained on the forefront of this trend. In 2001, Forest Travel decided to consolidate both its Corporate and Leisure divisions, along with its accounting department, in a new customized home office.

Due to a rapidly growing client base, it became necessary in 2001 to move to a larger location with better exposure while remaining in the downtown area.  The company purchased a 10,000.(ft)² location in the Aventura area. Branches of Forest Travel remain in South Miami, downtown, and in the Aventura Mall.  With more than 35 full-time agents and over 55 outside sales agents, Forest Travel continues to grow with estimated sales in excess of $43 million for 2009. Today Forest Travel Agency offers a variety of services centralized in various specialized departments.

Summary