About our President

Mr. David Mendal was born in Bogotá, Colombia on September 19, 1963. He was raised in New York and Bogotá, with the exception of one year, when he attended Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. After completing high school in Bogotá, he moved to Connecticut for two years, and then lived in Boston two years after that. When David was 22, he made a permanent move to Miami, where he currently resides. He is happily married and is the father of three beautiful girls.

David completed high school at the English institute in Bogotá, Colombia and earned an Associate of Arts degree from Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.

David's involvement in the tourism and airline industries began at the early age of 9, when he worked at Avianca Airlines' reservation center in Bogotá. At 16, while a student at Cushing Academy, David worked in a travel agency and serviced the worldwide travel plans of Cushing's international student body. It was during this time that David learned to book and ticket global travel. With his passion for travel firmly established, David started working at Forest Travel Agency as a reservation assistant. Two years later, at age 20, he became the manager of the agency. In this capacity, he handled both groups and individual reservations. Merely a year later, at age 21, David became one of the youngest owners of a travel agency in the United States. He opened up to five locations on the East Coast and grew a $250,000 a year agency to a mega agency as featured in the South Florida Business Journal with sales exceeding $46 million annually and growing rapidly. He has achieved his great success by learning to manage worldwide airline, cruise, and hotel contracts and by creating an educational program for success in the travel industry.

Despite the vast changes that the airline industry has endured in recent years, David has been a pioneer in maintaining and growing a successful travel agency that currently employs over 30 travel professionals.

In addition to Forest Travel Agency, David has grown the agency to include many subsidiary divisions. They include Ultimate Jet Vacations, Luxury Hotel Experts, and Privé Jets. He holds an FAA certified Commercial Pilot Rating and is an avid private pilot.

Ultimate Jet Vacations emerged from years of serving high profile and demanding clients from around the world. These clients yearned for a new form of luxury travel that exceeded expectations and included the luxury of private jet travel, value-added amenities, and exclusive hotels and resorts worldwide. The resulting tour operator, Ultimate Jet Vacations, seamlessly combines these elements to provide custom-made vacation packages serviced by a highly experienced concierge team.

Luxury Hotel Experts is another brand of Forest Travel Agency and a collection of Virtuoso properties worldwide. Only those hotels and resorts that pass the stringent analysis of service, location, décor and amenities qualify to be featured as Luxury Hotel Experts properties. With the LHE website, David has created an online community where busy clients can easily view and book exclusive hotels.

Privé Jets is one of Forest Travel's most exclusive affiliates. It is a leading provider of private aviation and private jet charters, offering an enhanced experience in all aspects of luxury and corporate jet travel through the dedication and expertise of our over 140 highly trained professional travel consultants and affiliates throughout the world. Privé Jets services all aviation requests, from helicopters to jumbo jets. Some of Privé Jets' satisfied clientele include former heads of state, Fortune 500 companies and members of Royal Families.

With Forest Travel Agency serving as an umbrella for the Ultimate Jet Vacations, Luxury Hotel Experts, and Privé Jets brands, David Mendal has successfully incorporated all elements of travel to service even the most discerning clientele.