The cost of distraction at meetings and events 

Exclusive Collection has launched a new insight paper on navigating the impact of reduced attention spans of today’s audiences. This leads to distraction at meetings and events affective ROI and especially ROE – return on experience.

The paper, NETWORKING4.0, is based on quantitative insights from clients and is co-authored by Peter Mandeno PhD, an expert in the science of human connection.

With attention spans continuing to decline from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8.25 seconds today, and with 70% of employees struggling to focus for 20 minutes, event formats must evolve to maintain engagement and effectiveness.

How to address the cost of distraction at meetings and events

The paper offers practical insights for event planners and organisations to address the challenges of reduced attention spans while ensuring business events remain commercially impactful.

Stephanie Hall, Exclusive Collection’s Group Director of Sales and Marketing, comments: “As event scenarios become increasingly experiential, attention has emerged as a vital metric for evaluating effectiveness and ROI. Technology plays a dual role in this landscape; while it enhances access and engagement, it can also fragment focus —particularly among digitally native generations. Capturing and maintaining attention while recognising there is a cost to distraction is more difficult and more important than ever, hence why we created NETWORKING4.0”.

Exclusive Collection is a family-owned collection of country house hotels, spas, golf, cookery school, and a pub and was founded in 1981. Overseen by Danny Pecorelli, Exclusive Collection is one of the most respected companies in the UK hospitality sector: the UK’s first B Corp hotel company – Michelin star restaurants – a Chefs Academy that is encouraging new talent to the sector and numerous awards for its meetings and events proposition.

About Exclusive Collection

Eat well, sleep well, do you well and take a breath from the everyday in beautiful surroundings. Exclusive Collection are proudly leading the way as the first B Corp accredited, family-owned collection of country house hotels, spas, golf, cookery school, and a pub thrown in for good measure. Exclusive Collection was founded in 1981.

The group includes: Fanhams Hall, Lainston House with Season Cookery School, The Manor House with golf club and The Castle Inn, Pennyhill Park with spa, Royal Berkshire, South Lodge with spa and Midlands outpost Ansty Hall.

Entertainment’s unseen power can be tapped into to create engaging and unforgettable event content from conference rooms to post meeting socials.