The Starfish Principle: How to Scale Hospitality Concepts Without Losing Their Soul or Energy

📌 Key Takeaways

• Matt Bell's “starfish principle” of organizational design—subdividing cross-functional teams as you grow rather than stretching hierarchies—keeps energy alive at scale

• Traditional C-suite structure already proves the model works: if CEOs need cross-functional teams around them, why wouldn't every team?

• Hospitality naturally operates this way in restaurants and kitchens—cross-functional teams putting plates on the pass—but often lose sight of it at the business level

Today, Matt Bell, managing director at Mollie's and former chief hotel operations officer at citizenM, shares why organizational design determines whether you can scale a hospitality concept without losing its soul. Listen to the full conversation →

Most hospitality concepts die when they scale.

Not because the food gets worse or the design loses its edge. They die because the structure kills the energy.

Matt Bell has scaled concepts across citizenM for nearly a decade and now leads Mollie's as managing director. He's figured out how to grow without losing what made it work in the first place.

The answer? Stop building “spiders” and instead build “starfish.”

The Starfish vs. The Spider

"The starfish, if you cut it in half, it grows again, becomes a whole starfish," Matt explained. "Whereas a spider, if you cut it in half, it dies."

Most hospitality companies build like spiders. Hierarchical. Top-down. As they scale, they stretch—adding layers between leadership and the guest experience. The further you get from the end product, the more you lose.

Matt's approach is different: "As you grow, you subdivide and grow again, as opposed to stretching and becoming bigger."

Each team remains self-contained and self-performing. Cross-functional. Close to the guest. Empowered to execute brilliantly.

That's the starfish principle. You don't stretch the organization. You replicate the core structure.

Why Cross-Functional Teams Beat Hierarchies

"As soon as you create silos, as soon as you create this top-down approach to what you're doing, naturally as you scale, people become further from the end product," Matt said.

The solution? Bring decision-making closer.

"You have to empower those people to do that. And that's about creating, from an organizational design perspective, creating circle teams that are cross-functional, empowered to execute brilliantly, and then start to learn from one another."

These aren't committees. These are complete units—small enough to move fast, equipped to deliver the full experience, accountable for outcomes.

As the company grows, you don't add layers above them. You create new circle teams with the same structure.

The Irony Nobody Sees

Here's what Matt points out that should be obvious: Your C-suite already works this way.

"At a C-suite level, you have that. Your CEO has that. They have a collection of individuals sitting around them that have those competencies," he said. "Why would you not replicate that? If you know that is what you need at a C-suite level, why would you not replicate that through the business?"

It's staring you in the face. The CEO doesn't operate in a silo. They have a CFO, COO, CMO, and head of people—a cross-functional team with complementary skills working toward a shared goal.

If it works at the top, why build differently everywhere else?

You're Already Doing This (In Your Kitchen)

Matt's second observation: Hospitality already understands this model. We just forget it in other parts of the industry.

"Within a kitchen, it's a cross-functional team that's working. In a restaurant, it's a cross-functional team. And so ultimately, to put a plate of food on the pass takes a number of people that are touching that process."

When you're putting multiple plates on the pass simultaneously? "You've got this notion of agile at scale happening that's then connected from your kitchen to your restaurant."

This is how hospitality actually operates. We know how to do this. We just fail to see it when we think about business structure.

"As an industry and business, actually, we understand how to run and execute within restaurants and hospitality and within that space. But on a business basis, sometimes we lose sight of the importance of what that looks like."

The secret isn't hiding. You're already living it in your operations. You just need to design your organization the same way.

Freedom Requires Frameworks

Matt's other insight on leading hospitality teams: Clarity and constraints create freedom.

"Clarity on the north star is really important and understanding there's a strategic framework that sits around that gives the freedom," he explained.

Without frameworks, people freeze. "If there is no framework for what you do, people can be scared to move away from where they are. If they understand where their boundaries are, they're happier to go and explore it."

This isn't about control. It's about confidence. When teams know the vision, the direction, the boundaries—they can move fast and experiment within that space.

"If those frameworks aren't correct or if they're in the wrong place or they need challenging, then collectively we move them."

The frameworks aren't rigid. They're negotiable. But they must exist.

What Kills Scaling: Politics and Silos

"Top-down hierarchical political structures don't work."

They create distance. They slow decision-making. They make people protect territory instead of serve guests.

"You need to find frameworks that create security and understanding and you need people that operate within that that are happy to explore. And if those frameworks aren't correct or if they're in the wrong place or they need challenging, then collectively we move them."

This is the opposite of hierarchy. This is distributed authority with shared accountability.

Three Questions for Hospitality Leaders Trying to Scale

1. Are you building starfish or spiders? As you grow, are you creating new self-contained teams with full competencies? Or are you stretching existing structures and adding layers between leadership and guests?

2. Does your business structure mirror a high-performing kitchen? Look at how a good restaurant or kitchen operates—cross-functional, agile, empowered. Now look at your org chart. Do they match? If not, why?

3. Do your frameworks create confidence or fear? When you set strategic direction, do teams feel free to explore within it? Or do they freeze because boundaries aren't clear? Clarity creates freedom.

Matt Bell spent nearly 11 years at citizenM scaling globally while maintaining industry-leading guest satisfaction. Now he's applying those principles at Mollie's.

His formula isn't complicated: Build cross-functional circle teams. Keep them close to the guest. Subdivide as you grow rather than stretch. Create clarity that enables freedom.

This insight comes from Matt Bell in a conversation with our guest experience correspondent, Danica Smith, where he talked about scaling hospitality concepts while maintaining energy and creativity. Hear the interview and learn more about his approach to organizational design →

Matt Bell is managing director at Mollie's and former chief hotel operations officer at citizenM, where he spent nearly 11 years scaling the brand globally across 30+ hotels in 18 cities.

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