Why Airbnb Never Aimed For 5 Stars

Most companies obsess over what it takes to deliver a 5-star experience.

Airbnb went one step further and asked:

“What would a 11-star experience look like?”

Let me tell you the quick story because it’s one of the best frameworks I’ve ever seen for levelling up team ambition, product innovation, and customer obsession. 

Back in Airbnb’s early days, when they were still figuring out how to stop people thinking the site was “just Craigslist for couches,” they sat down with Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder + PayPal Mafia OG).

He asked:

“How do you create something people can’t stop talking about?”

Brian Chesky’s answer:

They literally mapped it out like this:

• 5★ = You arrive at your clean Airbnb, the host is friendly, everything works.

• 6★ = The host picks you up from the airport.

• 7★ = There’s a welcome gift and personal itinerary.

• 9★ = A parade greets you on arrival.

• 10★ = Elon Musk sends you to space.

• 11★ = You arrive at the airport. 5,000 screaming fans. You’re on a float. It’s Beatlemania. Brian Chesky’s there. You get the key to the city.

Obviously no one builds an 11-star experience but the exercise forced them to rethink the edges of possibility… and reverse-engineer what “remarkable” looked like.

Most teams set goals based on what’s feasible.

The best teams design based on what would blow people’s minds.

Then scale that back until it’s just about buildable.

Adopting a mindset shift of:

This is what gets you out of the average zone.

And when your whole team starts thinking like this?

You stop competing on price or features.

You become the brand people talk about.

How to use the 11-Star Rule inside your company

Here’s how I’ve seen elite founders and operators apply the Airbnb 11-Star rule:

1. Onboarding that people post about

⭐️ “What would an 11★ employee onboarding feel like?”

Forget lanyards and lukewarm intros. Aim for something they’d tell 10 friends about.

Real-world example:

When a new hire joined Notion, they found their favourite coffee waiting on their desk, handpicked books aligned to their career goals, and a personalised welcome message on the company’s homepage for the day.

Ideas you can copy:

→ Create a “First Day Spotify Playlist” curated by their manager & teammates

→ Ship a box of swag with a handwritten note to their home before day one

→ Add a personal Loom video from the CEO saying why they were chosen

2. Make your product moments feel like a concert

⭐️ “What would an 11★ feature launch look like for a customer?”

Most launches are feature lists. Boring.

What if they were experiences?

Real-world example:

Superhuman once manually onboarded every single early user 1-on-1 over Zoom to ensure every workflow was life-changing. Result? The onboarding became the feature people raved about.

Ideas you can copy:

→ Create a VIP beta group with personal invites and lifetime discounts

→ Send users a surprise box when they hit a milestone (like Klarna did when customers hit £1M processed)

→ Drop a cinematic Loom walkthrough for new features, hosted by your founder — à la Apple Keynote style.

3. Turn support into a loyalty machine

⭐️ “What’s the 11★ version of customer service?”

Support usually solves problems. But what if it created raving fans?

Real-world example:

Chewy (the pet brand) sent handwritten condolence cards and flowers when a customer’s pet passed away.

One tweet about it? 70k+ likes and a PR snowball worth millions.

Ideas you can copy:

→ Send flowers or personalised gifts when a customer has a baby, moves office, or closes their first big deal

→ Build a system to track meaningful “micro-moments” and surprise them

→ Give your CX team a £100 discretionary budget per week to go above and beyond

4. Make internal comms feel like storytelling, not reporting

⭐️ “What would 11★ internal updates feel like?”

Instead of lifeless Miro boards or Notion docs, make your company updates experiential.

Real-world example:

At Amazon, senior leaders use 6-page narratives instead of slide decks to pitch initiatives. It forces clarity and creativity. At Shopify, Tobi Lütke’s monthly “Unicorn Board” posts went viral internally and externally, it made vision visual.

Ideas you can copy:

→ Write monthly founder letters that are half strategy, half origin story

→ Embed audio notes or short videos from team leads inside Notion docs

→ Start each all-hands with a 1-minute story that connects the dots between now and next

5. Sales that feels like a tailored Netflix experience

⭐️ “What would 11★ sales feel like?”

Instead of cookie-cutter pitch decks, what if the sales process became the first chapter of the customer journey?

Real-world example:

At Gong, reps build a custom Loom video walking through the prospect’s actual product or site, offering value before the first call. At Drift, prospects get a personalised microsite with relevant case studies and team intros.

Ideas you can copy:

→ Build a “proposal preview” microsite for every new prospect (use Canva or Notion)

→ Include a Loom intro, key ROI stats, and a timeline already mapped out

→ End every deck with a “What 11★ could look like for you” slide

Bonus: Try This In Your Next Leadership Offsite:

💬 Prompt:

Now go build that experience.

Strip it back until it’s executable and suddenly your 5★ service becomes 7★… or more.

If you want to work on your 11 star framework with me, hit reply to this email 🫡

MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🏆

For Your Performance

• Can you give a little more this week..? This experiment will show you can (Link)

For Your Team

• Watch the insane traditions at the game between the two biggest schoolboy rugby rivals in NZ history (Link) - what could you do to get that same energy into your team this week?

For Your Health

• Brb off to work on my conscious breathing after hearing this from Djokovic (Link)