Is it illegal to refuse rental to someone becuase they are minors?

Im a property manager at a Motel, and i ask this question because i know that years ago a minor walked into a a few motels/hotels in san Diego and was turned away because she was a minor. She had money to pay for a motel room, but no one rented to her. The end result ended in her staying on the streets and being raped and murdered. This was about 10 years ago, and i never found out what became of it, if any laws were changed, and i was a desk clerk at the time. From that day forward, the owners told us that we could not refuse to rent to anyone who had means to pay. Now as a Manager i wonder if i could be held liable if i turned away a minor, and as a result he or she slept on the streets and got hurt or something. Does any one know the real deal?

Unlike going into a store and not being able to buy something, a hotel/motel rental is actually a contract, since the renter has to sign for the premises. As such, anyone under the age of consent cannot legally sign a contract.
Also, serving alcohol to someone who is already intoxicated and then being responsible for their injuries later, is a result of you irresponsibly adding to their condition which makes you partially liable for what happened to them later. Because their ability to reason was limited at the time, you made a choice for them which led to the resulting circumstances.
But refusing to rent a room to a minor did not cause the circumstances which happened later. Their own actions caused them to be homeless and you cannot be held responsible for that. If nothing else, the person could go and spend the night in the emergency room waiting area at the local hospital and be just fine.

This is not a legal opinion, just my own, but I think you run a greater risk renting the room to a person not old enough to sign a contract than not renting to them. By renting to them, you are enabling them to have a place for whatever actions they may later engage in, which makes you somewhat liable for whatever they may do.

A minor cannot engage in a legal contract. Period. Therefore, you could not expect to be paid for renting a room to one. But if you're talking about California, I'm sure you could find a lawyer to sue you for giving her a room, or for not giving her a room just as well.

What ever your chain owners say, you have to go by it. I would question why a minor is out renting a hotel room.
Your story sounds suspect.
I just called my son who lived in San Diego (and now Oceanside) until just 2 years ago and he said he'd never heard of any such story and he's a 'news freak.'.

You could rent to a minor, but because he/she is a minor, they would not be liable for any damages they did to the establishment. So the motel incurrs liability renting to someone who can't be held responsible in a civil court matter. Also, your General Liability insurance may be voided if you do elect to rent to a minor.

A minor is not considered of legal age to engage in ANY agreement of business whatsoever --- period !! If your bosses say that you must -- then THAT is on THEM -- but, take a step back and look at the flip side of this coin --- You rent a room to this person and --- they get hurt or injured -- or God forbid -- even raped ON your premises --- NOW what about your liability ??
One SHOULD take the initiative in an instance such as this -- to call the police or other authorities and have THEM check this situation out --- there has to be some reason (and none that are all that good to MY thinking) that a minor is out on their own attempting to secure lodging alone in the first place !!!!

No adult can be compelled to sign contracts with minors.