How could it? Of course this is how any strat would work! We were a clan of 7 players and got our asses kicked 2 strats in a row. Finally we had enough members in this strat to stay alive. The only way to make up for lack of members, is having strong allies.
How many players are in your strat faction?
EDIT: I don't actually expect you to answer this. All I am saying is that zerg recruiting members shouldn't be the only viable strategy. Having a clan of 100+ members (including occitan) gives you a big enough advantage that no one clan can compete against. It literally does not matter what you do, because you have enough resources to recoup faster then anyone else.
This isn't a problem with hospitaller strategy, but with the general mechanics of strategus.