Social responsibility is a priority at some hotel companies, an afterthought at others. Here's the lowdown on 25 hotel chains with properties that appear on our Readers' Choice poll

Amanresorts
Company-wide policy: no
Hires and trains staff from local areas; provides some community health care services in areas where none exists.

Banyan Tree
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Company founded on principles of environmental protection and community empowerment. Resorts built to have minimal environmental impact. Company matches $2 guest surcharge to support the Green Imperative Fund, for educational, environmental, and poverty projects.

CC Africa
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
CC Africa channels $3 million per year back into the local economy and employs more than 2,200 local people. The company's Africa Foundation funds wildlife conservation, clinics, and schools.

Fairmont
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Fairmont's Green Partnership Guide sets environmental practice standards for properties worldwide.

Four Seasons
Company-wide policy: no
Launching social-responsibility policies this year. Partnered with London non-profit Youth Career Initiative to train impoverished youth in Amman. Individual hotels support educational and environmental projects. Supports charities.

Hilton/Conrad
Company-wide policy: no
Targets set for energy saving; individual hotels and brands focus on environmental initiatives and launch community projects. In 2005, Hilton in the Community Foundation donated more than $2.4 million to small charities outside North America. Makes charitable donations at corporate level.

Hyatt International
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: no
Global initiative encourages volunteerism among employees.

InterContinental
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Leader in International Hotels Environment Initiative; all new hotels use energy-efficient lightbulbs. Company works with Youth Career Initiative in Brazil; also buys fair-trade coffee.

Kempinski
Company-wide policy: no
Individual properties launch community projects.

Mandarin Oriental
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Policy encourages energy efficiency; new hotels installing more efficient heating and cooling systems. Company and individual hotels make charitable donations; company supports cross-cultural exchange through a foundation.

Marriott
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Managers are evaluated in part on social-responsibility efforts, including environmental and community programs; committees encourage employees to join volunteer programs in the community; company works with Youth Career Initiative to train underprivileged youth.

Oberoi
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Green Teams at each hotel focus on recycling, conserving energy, and preserving the environment. Three-year work-study program for high school grads covers cost of a bachelor of arts degree in tourism studies.

One&Only Resorts/Atlantis (Kerzner International)
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
In addition to comprehensive environmental guidelines, Kerzner International raised $1 million to fight AIDS in the Bahamas and supports the Global Business Coalition Against AIDS; commits some $500,000 a year toward education in the Bahamas; founded the $5 million Kerz­ner Marine Foundation.

Pan Pacific
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Corporate office conducts a community scorecard review each month in addition to assessing all properties annually to rate their community involvement.

Peninsula
Company-wide policy: no
Individual properties support charities, use energy-saving equipment, and recycle refuse.

Radisson SAS/Regent (Rezidor)
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Policy focuses on environmental initiatives and benchmarks, with annual reporting on energy saving; Green Globe eco-certification at some hotels.

Raffles
Company-wide policy: no
Established program to make staff donations to needy children; individual properties launch community programs and donate to charities.

Ritz-Carlton
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Company encourages volunteerism, and each hotel participates in community programs, including cleaning up litter in Seoul, building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Jakarta, and supporting an elementary school in eastern Turkey.

Sandals
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Monitors all environmental aspects of hotel operations; Green Globe certification at all resorts. Each hotel must support and adopt two schools as part of its operational budget.

Shangri-La
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: no
Corporate social-responsibility committee has surveyed all hotels to help direct future initiatives. A founding member of the Asia Pacific Hotels Environment Initiative, the company has teams working on environmental strategies. Supports Care for Children, a foster-care organization in China, through fundraising.

Sheraton/W Hotels/Le Méridien/St. Regis (Starwood)
Company-wide policy: no
Will launch a global strategy in summer 2007. Starwood has partnered with the Special Olympics and UNICEF, raising $15 million through a $1 guest surcharge. Individual brands have environmental guidelines, and some resorts are eco-certified by Green Globe; individual properties support local educational or community projects.

Singita
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Guests make donations to the Singita Community Trust, which is used for projects in communities bordering the reserve.

Sofitel (Accor)
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Earth Guest program includes detailed monitoring of energy consumption, specific targets for energy saving, fair-trade sourcing, training programs and benchmarking against the United Nations Global Compact. Supports the fight against AIDS and child prostitution.

Swissôtel
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Recycling, energy saving, waste management programs at each property.

Taj Hotels
Company-wide policy: yes
Evaluates compliance at each hotel: yes
Focused on both the community and the environment. Taj is owned by the Tata Group, which contributes substantially to initiatives in health care, education, and other key areas of social responsibility. Employees are encouraged to volunteer in the community.

The Ethical Traveler Index
How much do Condé Nast Traveler readers care about what hotels are doing to support local communities? A lot, according to our most recent poll:

Should hotels be responsible for helping to relieve poverty in the local community?
Yes 74.4%
No 25.7%

Is it important for hotels to contribute to health care in impoverished local communties?
Very important 32.3%
Somewhat important 38.6%
Not very important 23.4%
Not at all 5.7%

How much is your choice of hotel influenced by the support it gives the local community?
Very much 24%
A little 32.3%
Not very much 20.4%
Not at all 23.3%

What can hotels do to support impoverished communities?
Hire locals 83.7%
Train locals in marketable skills 78.5%
Help provide clean water 57.8%
Contribute to education in the community 54.4%
Contribute to health care in the community 40.6%

Given the choice between two luxury hotels, one of which is slightly more expensive but contributes to the community, which would you choose?
More expensive contributor 70.5%
Less expensive non-contributor 29.5%

How much more per night would you be willing to pay at a luxury hotel to support an impoverished local community?
Less than $1: 11.8%
$1–$2: 14.7%
$3–$5: 38.1%
$10 or more: 35.4%

How much more would you pay per night for a hotel that employs locals and has training and health programs?
Less than $1: 12.6
$1–$2: 19.7%
$3–$5: 38.2%
$10: 29.5%

Do you think hotels and resorts should be responsible for protecting the environment they operate in?
Yes 96%
No 4%

How much do hotels' environmental policies influence your decision to stay there?
A great deal 26.8%
Somewhat 47.7%
Not at all 25.5%

Do you wish hotels and resorts would tell you what they're doing to contribute to the community and protect the environment?
Yes 65.1%
No 34.9%