Couple denied motel room after clerk says Puerto Rican driver's license is not U.S. ID

Couple denied motel room after clerk says Puerto Rican driver's license is not U.S. ID

A Puerto Rican couple visiting Sacramento County for their niece’s wedding said they were unable to check into a Rancho Cordova Motel 6 because the front desk clerk didn’t believe they had valid U.S. identification.

When Raul Villanueva presented his Puerto Rico driver’s license late Wednesday night, the clerk told him, “Oh, you need a license from the United States,” he said.

“I said, ‘This is a license from the United States, that’s Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the United States.’ She said, ‘No, it isn’t,’” Villanueva recalled.

A couple from Puerto Rico was denied a Rancho Cordova hotel room after a Motel 6 employee told the husband his driver's license wasn't from the United States. pic.twitter.com/zccFhvy0wv — Tom Miller (@KCRAMiller) May 25, 2018

Villanueva needed his ID in order to verify his reservation. The woman working at the front desk then asked for his and his wife’s passports, which he reluctantly retrieved.

“She wouldn’t take the passports after all," Villanueva said. "When I brought them she said, ‘No, I won’t take it. I won’t take that.' So I said, ‘OK, then give me my money back.’”

The couple called Motel 6’s corporate office Thursday and talked to a representative. The person apologized for the mistake and admitted Puerto Rican identification is on their list of accepted IDs.

"We sincerely apologize for this error and the inconvenience caused to the family," a Motel 6 spokesperson wrote in an email to KCRA.

On the company’s website, it says, “All guests registering must be 18 years of age (19-21 years of age required at some locations) and must present photo identification upon check-in.”

The policy doesn’t state that ID needs to be from the U.S.

Following Hurricane Maria, the couple lived without power and running water for more than a month on the U.S. territory. They were looking forward to the wedding and vacation as a much-needed getaway.

“I came all the way here to have fun, to have a nice time with our family," Villanueva said. "And then, a thing like this thing happen.”

The couple ended up staying the night with a relative. They still haven’t received their money back from Motel 6.