How We Stopped Inappropriate Users from Abusing Our Hotel WhatsApp Chatbot

“The situation is getting out of hand…”

That was the first line in an email we received from a hotel client just a few weeks ago.

They had deployed our AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot designed to automate bookings, handle inquiries, and offer 24/7 guest support and overall, things were going well… until it wasn’t.

The issue? A growing number of users started misusing the bot.

But it wasn’t your average spam or bot attack. It was something worse… and far more uncomfortable.

Let’s walk you through what happened and how we fixed it (at least for now).

When Chatbots Meet Creeps: What Really Happened

The chatbot, affectionately given a female name (let’s say Sofia), was installed on a hotel website and integrated with WhatsApp. Its job was to handle questions like:

• “Do you have a pool?”

• “What’s the room rate for next Friday?”

• “Can I check in early if I land at 6 a.m.?”

  
  

Sofia handled these perfectly.

But instead of asking about rooms, some users began initiating… well, let’s call it unwelcome conversations. 😬

“Hey baby, are you single?”

“You sound hot, are you free tonight?”

“Why don’t you tell me something naughty?”

Yes, this was directed at an AI chatbot.

Not only was this inappropriate, but it was also wasting the hotel’s AI usage credits since every word, question, and follow-up consumes tokens.

Some users would stay in the chat for 10–15 minutes, trying to flirt with the bot or trigger a reaction, essentially trolling the system.

Why This Was a Serious Problem

At first glance, it sounds like a joke.

But for our client, this had real consequences:

1. Wasted AI Credits = Higher Costs

Every chatbot response consumes GPT tokens (or credits), which ultimately costs money. A bunch of users misusing the bot meant the hotel was burning through their monthly plan fast — and these weren’t even real leads.

2. Bad Data

These interactions showed up in dashboards and analytics, skewing real usage metrics. It became harder to identify genuine intent from nonsense.

3. Brand Risk

Imagine a prospective guest interacting with the bot right after one of these misuse cases. If the bot’s behavior becomes unpredictable due to inappropriate context, it could damage the brand’s credibility.

4. Security Concerns

Trolls don’t always stop at inappropriate comments they might also try injecting prompts, testing bot boundaries, or phishing. This could create legal or compliance issues.

So… What Did We Do?

This wasn’t something we anticipated.

While we had spam filters and guardrails in place, we hadn’t accounted for human bad actors behaving badly toward bots.

So, we developed a keyword-based filtering and blacklist system.

🔍 Step 1: We Built a Library of Flagged Keywords

We combed through chat logs and identified repeated trigger words — inappropriate language, sexual phrases, pickup lines, even coded slang.

Every time a message included 2 or more of these phrases within a short time window, it triggered an alert.

🛑 Step 2: Auto-Warning + Soft Blacklist

Once flagged, the user would receive a polite message:

"We’re here to help you with your booking. It seems like your questions aren’t related to our services. Please come back in a few days if you’d like to continue your conversation."

At the same time, they’d be added to a temporary blacklist, blocking them from further messages for a cooldown period.

🔐 Step 3: Cooldown + Reinstatement

Instead of a permanent block, we introduced a 72-hour cooldown. After this time, users could re-engage — unless they triggered the filter again.

This gave users the benefit of the doubt but protected the bot’s integrity.

What We Learned From This

1. Users will test boundaries — even with bots.The line between human and machine is blurred now. Some users think they’re anonymous and untraceable when messaging a chatbot. That gives them false confidence to misbehave.

2. Human-like bots attract human-like behavior.Giving bots names, personalities, and natural language makes them more effective… but also makes people treat them as if they’re real. For better or worse.

3. Guardrails are a must.It’s not enough to make bots smart. You also need to make them safe, especially in customer-facing industries like hospitality.

   
   

Is This a Foolproof Fix?

Short answer: No.

We don’t believe there’s a perfect system when it comes to moderating intent in language — especially on platforms like WhatsApp, where users expect freedom.

But the system has already helped cut down inappropriate messages by over 85% for our client in just 3 weeks.

And now, we’re working on an AI-powered intent classifier that can recognize tone, context, and escalation not just words. This would allow us to detect even cleverly disguised inappropriate behavior.

Think of it as “content moderation for hotel bots.”

Bigger Picture: What This Means for AI in Hospitality

As hotels and travel businesses increasingly turn to AI chatbots to streamline bookings and customer support, they’re also opening a digital front desk that’s always online — and potentially exposed.

So if you’re using WhatsApp bots, web chatbots, or booking assistants, ask yourself:

• Do you have filters in place for misuse?

• Can your bot recognize harassment or trolling?

• Are you wasting money on irrelevant conversations?

• What happens if a guest receives a weird bot reply due to bad inputs?

  
  

These are critical questions — not just for user experience, but for brand trust and operational costs.

What’s Next for Us at Chatzy.ai?

We’re already working on:

✅ NLP-based intent classification

✅ Better conversation enders for vague users

✅ Spam fingerprinting (to identify repeat abusers)

✅ AI moderation dashboard for admins

Our goal is to help hotels and property owners use bots that convert leads, save time, and defend themselves against misuse — all while delivering a smooth guest experience.

Final Thoughts: Let’s Talk About It

This isn’t just our problem it’s an industry-wide reality.

If you’ve run into something similar with your chatbot (on WhatsApp or web), we’d love to learn how you handled it or help you find a fix.

Our solution works for now. But it’s evolving.

And with generative AI moving fast, we’re sure the trolls will too.

💬 Have an opinion?

Faced similar issues?

Let’s talk. Drop us a message or book a 1:1 consultation at https://www.chatzy.ai