During UTMB, a brand sets up in Chamonix in one of three ways: a space at the race's official expo, the Ultra-Trail Village; a venue it rents itself and opens to the public; or a private, invitation-only base, such as a brand house where it also puts up its team. In 2026 the town hall squeezed the expo onto Place du Mont-Blanc alone, and brands that want to host guests are turning to private venues.
- A UTMB brand house in Chamonix is a house rented for race week away from the expo, where a brand puts up its athletes and staff and hosts guests by invitation. A camp or pop-up open to the public is a different format, with different paperwork.
- In 2026 the Ultra-Trail Village, the official expo, lost about 20% of its space and brought 110 brands together on Place du Mont-Blanc. The town hall wants tighter control of brand activations in 2027.
- During the races a car is close to useless, so a team's first test for any venue is whether the valley train and the Flégère gondola are within walking distance.
- Chalet Bonami, in Les Bois, sleeps seven people in the bedrooms if each wants their own bed, eleven with the bunk room (four beds, in two bunks, no bathroom of its own), and up to fourteen if some people share a bed.
- The chalet can host up to around thirty guests on top of the people staying, and the minimum stay during race week is five nights.
UTMB brand house, camp or pop-up: the formats brands use in Chamonix
A brand house, sometimes called a team house, is a private place rented for UTMB week, away from the official expo, where a brand puts up its team and hosts its guests. It's the most discreet of the formats.
The table sorts activations documented between 2023 and 2026 into the three groups. Despite its name, i-Run's The House of Mountains was open to the public.
| Group | Format | Documented example | Where | What for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official expo | Stand | HOKA, FlyLab (2026) | Ultra-Trail Village, Place du Mont-Blanc | Event radio, podcast studio |
| Open to the public | Camp in a rented venue | ASICS Trail Camp (2026) | L'Index, Promenade des Crèmeries, Les Nants, about 1 km from the expo | Testing, nutrition, recovery, a run with an athlete, on sign-up |
| Open to the public | Pop-up shop | Satisfy, Off-Road Supply (2026); Nike ACG, Sentier (2025) | Satisfy: Chemin du Nant Favre, Les Pècles, about 1.7 km from the expo | Retail, refuelling, group runs with a waiting list |
| Open to the public | Temporary brand space | i-Run, The House of Mountains (2025) | A brasserie in central Chamonix | Talks, podcasts, testing, hot and cold baths |
| Invitation only | Hotel plus press chalet | HOKA (2023) | The team in a hotel, a separate chalet for the press | Housing staff, hosting journalists |
| Invitation only | Base camp in a hotel | HOKA at La Folie Douce Hotels (2026) | A hotel in Chamonix | Testing, podcasts, a recovery centre |
| Invitation only | Brand house | A common format, rarely announced | A house rented for the week, away from the expo | Housing the team, working, filming, hosting |
The official expo: what the organisers sell and what they control
The Ultra-Trail Village is the race's trade show, and the organisers sell its stands to exhibitors. Official partners go further and tie their brand to the race itself. HOKA is title partner, a deal extended to 2028, with NÄAK, Suunto, TUDOR and a set of official suppliers making up the list.
Outside the expo too, the organisers keep an eye on who uses the race. In 2024 they had a team working against ambush marketing (using an event's profile without being a partner) and asked brands to sign a charter that pointed to Chamonix's advertising rules, without spelling out what it banned. No written rule had been published by November 2026, so a non-partner brand that wants to market around the 2027 race should ask the organisers first.
Away from the expo: the house, the camp and the pop-up
Everything else is rented directly, from private owners or from businesses. In 2024, two years before its pop-up at Les Pècles, Satisfy ran its shop from the garage of a chalet on a residential street, about 1.6 km from the expo.
The dividing line is between two uses. A camp or pop-up takes in the public, with sign-ups, a flow of visitors, and paperwork at the town hall if it uses public land, meaning streets, squares or pavements. A brand house only takes invited guests, up to the limit agreed with the owner, and in a residential area the neighbours care about noise and late nights.
Why a UTMB brand house in Chamonix sits outside the centre, near the train
Two things decide where a brand sets up. The town hall is cutting the space it gives brands in the centre, which pushes them towards private venues; and the race closes roads, which makes walking access to the train and to the Flégère the first thing to check.
A smaller expo and activations turned down in 2026
In 2026 the Ultra-Trail Village was held on Place du Mont-Blanc alone, about 20% smaller than in 2025 at the town's request. It gave back the forecourt of the town's secondary school, which it had used until then. The town hall also granted fewer permits to use public land and turned down several planned activations.
A week when the car stays parked
In 2026 the roads and car parks of eight places on the course were closed to cars during the race: Les Contamines, Saint-Gervais, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex, the Col de la Forclaz, Trient and Vallorcine. Three groups could get an exemption: people with reduced mobility, families with a child under three, and the crews following top elite runners. A team following an athlete at that level should check the conditions with the organisers.
Chamonix itself wasn't on that list: the closures covered the roads and car parks of those eight places, not the whole valley. A car still won't help you follow the race, because it can't get near the places where the runners come through.
The valley train, the Mont-Blanc Express between Saint-Gervais and Vallorcine, runs all week, and so do the Flégère gondola and the line 2 bus. Vallorcine was the last aid station with crew access on UTMB 2026. In 2026 groups of more than nine had to tell the railway 48 hours in advance.
The Flégère gondola leaves from Les Praz, the first village up the valley from central Chamonix, just before Les Bois. La Flégère is the last checkpoint of UTMB (timing and drinks only, no crew access), 7 km from the finish, and the only high-altitude spectator spot you can reach without walking.
A team that wants photos of its athletes can watch them go through there, ride back down to Les Praz, then get to the finish in central Chamonix by train or on the line 2 bus (8 minutes, paid ticket). In 2026 the last gondola down was at 6pm: if your athlete comes through in the evening or at night, you'll have to follow them from the finish or on live tracking.
These are 2026 details and they change every year: the list of closed roads and exemptions, the train rule for groups of more than nine (email [email protected]), and the Flégère gondola timetable. The next season's lift times come out in spring.
Read more: Where to stay for UTMB: which part of the Chamonix valley, and when to book
What a brand team really needs during UTMB week
Whatever the venue, a team needs seven things, and each one is a question to put to the owner.
| Need | Why it's critical that week | Question for the owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Walking access to the train and the Flégère | Roads on the course are closed, car parks in town are full | How many metres to the station and the gondola? |
| 2. Parking for the kit | The kit arrives by car at the start of the week, then the car stays put | How many cars can park on site? |
| 3. Beds and bathrooms | Athletes, staff and content creators don't sleep at the same times | How many separate beds, and how many bathrooms attached to a bedroom? |
| 4. One table for everyone | A meal is often the only time the whole team is together | How many seats at a single table, indoors and outside? |
| 5. Wifi | Editing, live streams, sending footage the same evening | What speed, and in which rooms? |
| 6. Space to brief and film | No office in town that week | Which room can work as a meeting room or a set? |
| 7. Guest numbers and branding | The neighbours and the contract set the limits | How many guests, and what branding is allowed? |
The first two can be checked on a map: a distance in metres to the station and the gondola, and enough spaces for the cars carrying the kit. The other five are checked on site or in the contract.
Arriving from Geneva with the team and the kit
Most teams fly into Geneva. Coach and minibus transfers go by road from the airport straight to Chamonix. By rail, the Léman Express (line L3) runs from central Geneva to Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet without a change, and the valley line takes over from there: for Chalet Bonami, get off at Les Praz-de-Chamonix.
Buy a ticket for the valley line, because Le Fayet is outside the guest card zone. The guest card, which your accommodation hands over on arrival, makes the train free between Servoz and Vallorcine, but not the buses.
The kit comes up by road before the race starts: boxes of product, a backdrop, cameras and lights. Once the races are under way the roads around the course close one after another, so the team drives it up in a hire van or sends it with a courier, whichever suits. If a van comes, ask the owner where it can park, and plan the rest of the week on foot, by train and by gondola.
Housing athletes and staff under one roof
An athlete needs to sleep before a start while the film crew works until midnight. The number of separate bedrooms and bathrooms counts for more than the number of beds advertised.
If the athletes also come to recce the course before the race, the same house works as a base for day runs.
Read more: UTMB course recce: the route in day runs from Chamonix
Working on site: a table, wifi and a room to brief or film in
That week the house replaces the office: a table to spread the schedule on, a connection fast enough to send video, and a quiet room for a filmed interview or a podcast.
Hosting without opening to the public: what to ask
What is allowed gets settled before you sign. Get it in writing: how many guests the house can take, not counting the people staying, what branding is allowed inside and on the outside of the building, and what hours the neighbours expect.
A UTMB brand house in Les Bois: Chalet Bonami against the checklist
Les Bois is a residential hamlet of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, 3 km (2 miles) north-east of the centre, just past Les Praz. Here is Chalet Bonami, need by need.
The Flégère gondola is 550 m away and Les Praz-de-Chamonix station, on the line to Vallorcine, about 400 m: five minutes on foot to each. Central Chamonix is 3 km away, five to six minutes by road, and the chalet has an outdoor car park for four cars or more.
The chalet gives each person staying a guest card on arrival, so the train is free between Servoz and Vallorcine; you still pay for buses.
Sleeping a team: seven in their own beds, eleven with the bunk room
All five bedrooms have a king-size bed and their own bathroom. In bedrooms 1 and 4 the bed splits into two twin beds; in bedrooms 2, 3 and the Master it stays a single double bed.
For colleagues who each want their own bed, that makes seven people in the bedrooms, and eleven with the bunk room. Beyond that, some people share a king-size bed.
At twelve, the bunk room is full and two people share one of the king-size beds. At fourteen, the house sleeps ten in bedrooms with their own bathroom and four in the bunk room, so six people share the king-size beds in bedrooms 2, 3 and the Master.
The bunk room, in the basement and with no window, has four beds, in two bunks, and no bathroom of its own: the people sleeping there use one of the five bedroom bathrooms. The room-by-room detail is on the page for the chalet that sleeps fourteen.
For athlete recovery, the ground-floor spa has a steam room, a sauna and a hot tub on the terrace.
Bonami's tip: send us the team list when you book, and say who is happy to share a bed. The beds are made up before you arrive, and bedrooms 1 and 4 are set up as twins if the team asks.
Working and filming: tables, wifi and a cinema room
Upstairs, the covered balcony has a table for twelve, and in the living room the table for ten and a smaller table for four push together, so twelve can eat at one table indoors. The wifi runs at around 300 Mbps, with boosters throughout the chalet, and bedrooms 1 to 3 each have a desk. Everything is listed on the chalet page.
The basement cinema room, with its 4 m screen, is where the day's footage gets reviewed. The team can hold briefings, film or run a photo shoot at the chalet; the house has hosted runners and brands before.
Showroom and reception: invitation only, up to around thirty guests
A brand can host up to around thirty guests at the chalet, on top of the people staying, and show its products there in a showroom, by invitation only. You can put up discreet branding, such as a roller banner or a flag. The house doesn't open to the public: a camp or a shop open to everyone needs a different venue.
When to book a UTMB brand house in Chamonix for 2027
At Chalet Bonami, UTMB week is usually booked more than six months ahead, for a minimum of five nights, with the arrival day up to you. The race is held every year in the last week of August, so you can book the house for that week without waiting for the exact official dates.
As of 4 November 2026, the UTMB 2027 dates haven't been announced. The town also says it wants to regulate brands' runs, events and side races in 2027, with nothing decided so far; dates, rules and transport timetables come out by the spring.
The price for race week is given on request. It includes end-of-stay cleaning, bed linen and towels, utilities, the concierge service and the tourist tax; a private chef, cleaning during the stay, a driver and other services are added as extras.
For a camp or pop-up open to the public: an event that uses public land in Chamonix has to be declared to the town hall, at [email protected], at least 45 days ahead (procedure checked in November 2026, check again before you apply). The application covers permission to use public land (occupation du domaine public) and a site plan, plus, depending on the event, permission for temporary street trading, a temporary bar or amplified sound.
Chalet Bonami is let as a whole for the week, with no other group. To book the whole house, send us your dates and the make-up of your team, and we'll reply within 24 hours.
Questions about a UTMB brand house in Chamonix
The questions that come up when a team plans its race week.
What is a UTMB brand house?
It's a house a brand rents for UTMB week, away from the official expo, where the team and athletes sleep, work and host guests. Unlike a camp or a pop-up, it isn't open to the public.
Does a brand need to be a UTMB partner to set up in Chamonix during the race?
No, not to rent a house or a private venue. A partnership ties the brand to the race. A non-partner brand is free to set up, but should check with the organisers first if it wants to market itself around UTMB.
Can a brand open a showroom to the public in a rented house?
First you need the owner's agreement. An event that uses public land (streets, squares, pavements) has to be declared to the town hall at least 45 days ahead; for a showroom open to the public inside a private house, put the question to the town hall before you sign. At Chalet Bonami, the showroom is by invitation only.
How many people can stay and be hosted at Chalet Bonami during UTMB?
Seven in the bedrooms if each wants their own bed, eleven with the bunk room, and up to fourteen if some people share a king-size bed. The chalet can also host up to around thirty guests, on top of the people staying.
Have the UTMB 2027 dates been announced?
Not yet: as of 4 November 2026, the organisers said they would be published soon. The race is held every year in the last week of August; in 2026 it ran from 24 to 30 August.