Glimmer Gazette Special Report

An ordinary autumn day on the Mediterranean – and yet this is where a story begins that is so bizarre it's almost too good to be true. Marvin Polte, managing director of Volleytours GmbH, stumbles out of the hotel, pale, confused, staring into space.

"My room has been broken into," he says hoarsely. "Everything's trashed. And everywhere … glitter."

What at first sounds like a joke soon turns out to be a genuine incident. The room looks like a crime scene from a fantasy world: crumpled towels, glitter everywhere, a ransacked wardrobe and small colourful traces left behind – and in the middle of the chaos a little note with a code that will change everything.

The security team finds clear evidence in the hotel room: irregular, roundish prints with glittering particles – apparently hoofprints. Witnesses report seeing a "glowing creature with a tail" giggling its way through the hotel corridors during the night. A camera recording confirms the statements: a white, colourfully shimmering animal walks on two legs, balances a board reading "10% off" and then disappears towards the beach.

Volleytours spokesperson Lea Wacker explains in the morning:
"We have no reason to believe in a mythical creature … but the evidence is clear. We will get to the bottom of this."

Before the cleaning staff can clear up the chaos, the mystery continues. During morning training the unicorn appears again – right in the middle of centre court. It steals towels, drinks from other people's water bottles and makes distorted announcements over the microphone:

"I'm here. I want fun. And I'm giving you 10% off!"

The coaches try to stay calm, but the guests cheer, laugh and film.

"It was completely surreal," head coach Marta remembers. "Nobody knew whether we'd just been hacked or were starring in a commercial."

Within hours the news spreads. The mysterious discount code actually works. Bookings shoot up – but nobody knows who created it.

The Volleytours marketing team works feverishly to find out where the code came from. "At first we thought it was an internal joke," explains Lea Wacker. "But nobody had access – except … well, the unicorn."

Then events come thick and fast. During a night-time search, a coach loses his work phone in the sand. A few minutes later, a post appears on the Volleytours Instagram profile saying: "This account has been hacked!" The shock is huge – what happened?

"That was the moment we realised it had got us not only on site, but online too," says Wacker.

By now the whole crew is puzzling over who – or what – is behind the whole thing.

Some suspect a hacker, others an overexcited mascot playing a prank. Only one thing is certain: the unicorn didn't just surprise Volleytours – it managed, as if by magic, to swindle the company out of ten percent. 

Because until the end of November, every customer gets 10% off their booking with the code UNICORN2026. 

And as the sun sets on the beach, a soft giggle can be heard somewhere in the distance. Has the unicorn really taken control? What began as a joke could be just the beginning of a digital coup.

Find out how the story continues in part 2.