I can fangirl all day about frameworks, and if you’re not using them yet in your business, you’re missing out! Think of them as tools for providing clarity, structure, and inspiration to yourself and your team. They give us a roadmap for success while challenging us to dream beyond our (my) self-imposed limiting beliefs. One framework that I especially love is Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s 11-Star Experience. Here’s my take on what makes it so powerful, and how you can apply it to your business or brand.
What Is the 11-Star Experience Framework?
Brian Chesky introduced the 11-Star Framework during an interview with Reid Hoffman on the Masters of Scale podcast. The idea is deceptively simple:
- Start with what a 5-star experience looks like (meeting standard expectations).
- Then imagine increasingly better service levels, all the way up to an 11-star experience, which ventures into the completely surreal and irrational.
The purpose? To reset your thinking, break free from limiting beliefs and design a service so exceptional that it leaves a lasting impression people want to share and talk about with their friends. While the 11-star level might be logistically impossible (being greeted by Elon Musk and taken to space), it inspires you to find a sweet spot between practicality and awe — think, a 6- or 7-star experience that customers can’t stop raving about.
Just give yourself permission to think and dream a little more like this, and I have no doubt your business will be better, more than what you can rationally imagine.
Why Frameworks Like This Work
Frameworks are powerful for several reasons:
- They give us permission to dream big.
Many businesses operate within self-imposed constraints. Chesky’s approach says, What if we removed all those limits? What if we aimed for magic? - They create a roadmap for innovation.
By plotting experiences across a spectrum (1-star to 11-star), you can visualise opportunities for improvement and identify actionable steps to surprise and delight your customers. - They help raise standards.
Once the thought of delivering a 7-star experience is implanted, settling for mediocrity is impossible. And which truly great brand was ever ordinary? - They foster ingenuity and inspiration.
Chesky’s process is a reminder that extraordinary ideas are born from imagining the extremes — and then working backwards to something achievable.
Breaking Down the Framework
Here’s how the framework works in reality:
- 1-Star Experience: A nightmare scenario — no host, dirty accommodation, and frustration.
- 3-Star Experience: Minimal effort. The host shows up late or the space isn’t well-prepared.
- 5-Star Experience: Everything is as expected — clean space, prompt check-in. No surprises.
- 6-Star Experience: A warm welcome with personalised touches (a gift basket or a stocked fridge).
- 7-Star Experience: The host goes above and beyond, such as arranging local experiences or offering use of their car.
- 10-Star Experience: An exceptional, even impractical level of hospitality — think VIP treatment, celebrity-level accommodations, and beyond.
- 11-Star Experience: Elon Musk greets you and offers to take you to space.
The sweet spot is typically between 6 and 8 stars, where experiences are feasible but far exceed expectations.
What Makes Airbnb’s 11-Star Experience Framework So Successful?
What differentiates Brian Chesky and Airbnb from every other competitor is his thinking, which he reveals is a design-led framework. He redefined the standard of hospitality by putting design and user experience at the centre of Airbnb’s strategy, and we can take a page out of his book to create better products and services. At its core, a design-led framework is a holistic, user-centric approach to problem-solving – and when implemented in these 3 steps, they build a solid foundation for sustainable success:
- Empathy: Understanding customers’ needs and desires deeply.
- Innovation: Solving problems with creativity and originality.
- Collaboration: Embedding design into every decision, from product features to marketing.
This approach has allowed Airbnb to consistently deliver memorable experiences, inspiring both hosts and guests to form deeper connections.
Why Design-Led Development Works
1. Solving the Right Problems
One of the primary reasons products fail is a disconnect between product creators and end users. Design-led development bridges this gap by starting with user needs, ensuring every decision aligns with solving real problems.
2. Breaking Down Silos
Research by McKinsey & Company shows that integrating designers with other functions is a hallmark of top-performing companies. Design-led organisations eliminate silos, enabling cross-functional teams to collaborate effectively and innovate faster.
The five steps of design thinking guide the process:
- Empathise: Understand the needs and pain points of your users.
- Define: Clearly articulate the problem you’re solving.
- Ideate: Brainstorm creative solutions that address the problem.
- Prototype: Develop tangible representations of your ideas.
- Test: Validate your prototypes with real users and refine them based on feedback.
The goal is simple: to create products customers want, that are feasible for teams and economically viable for the company.
How Can You Apply This Framework?
1. Think From the Customer’s Perspective
Ask yourself: What would make my customers not only satisfied but delighted? Imagine the full spectrum of possibilities.
2. Push Boundaries
Dare to dream up wild, 11-star ideas. Even if they aren’t practical, they’ll inspire creative solutions you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
3. Find Your Sweet Spot
Identify elements from your extreme ideas that can be realistically implemented to create a 6- or 7-star experience.
4. Use Iteration to Refine
Chesky emphasizes that achieving excellence is an ongoing process. Gather feedback and keep improving.
Your Turn to Dream BIG
I see frameworks like the 11-Star Experience as an easier way to raise our standards, not only for ourselves but also for our teams – especially for our teams. Frameworks limit excuses on how and empower us to think better, design better, and be better.
For me, this framework is also about inspiration and leadership. Be the leader in your team and call them to action. Take a day to map out your customer journey, push your imagination and redefine what exceptional looks like for your business. There’s no better way to end this article than with a closing thought: to be audacious. So in the words of Ray Dalio…
Life Principle: Never rule out a goal because you think it’s unattainable.
Be audacious. There is always a best possible path. Your job is to find it and have the courage to follow it. What you think is attainable is just a function of what you know at the moment. Once you start your pursuit you will learn a lot, especially if you triangulate with others; paths you never saw before will emerge. Of course there are some impossibilities or near-impossibilities, such as playing center on a professional basketball team if you’re short, or running a four-minute mile at age seventy. – Ray Dalio, Principles
I’d love to hear how you’re applying this in your own work. What’s your version of an 11-star experience? Share your ideas in the comments or connect with me on social media at @roxvaneyk everywhere. Let’s dream bigger together.
Credits: The 11-Star Experience Framework was first introduced by Brian Chesky in his interview with Reid Hoffman on the Masters of Scale podcast. Animation by Papi Digital.
Papi Digital animated the cool animation of the same interview between Brian Chesky and Reid Hoffman on YouTube. Check their YouTube channel here
