Designers as a group tend to include all sort of people into one lump. It includes an artist who can design a photoshop mockup that might be visually appealing

Designers as a group tend to include all sort of people into one lump. It includes an artist who can design a photoshop mockup that might be visually appealing but too heavy to load. It also includes multi-talented interface designers who can design an elegant but highly functional widget. The former don't get much respect because they are often unaware of the constraints that others in the company are working in. But the latter are certainly well regarded in most companies because a designer's work is almost always noticed. Airbnb seems to have a well designed and functional interface, so this statement makes sense for them.