Six Guidebook Publishers and Their Policies on Freebies

Number of books sold per year: 7 million

Freebie policy: Allowed if no quid pro quo

What they say: "Writers are held accountable for all the information in their books," says spokeswoman Susan Spilka. "Wiley does not publish fiction; that holds true for our travel program as well."

Publisher: Rough Guides

Located: London

Titles in print: 250

Number of books sold per year: not available

Freebie policy: Allowed if no quid pro quo

What they say: "No guidebook is perfect and probably no author goes to every single place in the book, whatever they might say, though most guidebook authors cover places more diligently than Thomas [Kohnstamm] appears to have done" for Lonely Planet, says Rough Guides executive editor Andrew Rosenberg.

Publisher: Rick Steves (Avalon Travel)

Located: Edmonds, Wash., and Berkeley, Calif.

Titles in print: 30

Number of books sold per year: 800,000

Freebie policy: Allowed if no quid pro quo

What they say: "My understanding is that guidebook researchers and writers are generally no longer getting royalties," Rick Steves says. "This demoralizes a hard worker."

Publisher: Moon (Avalon Travel)

Located: Berkeley, Calif.

Titles in print: 180

Number of books sold per year: 800,000

Freebie policy: Allowed if no quid pro quo

What they say: "For the Moon series, we're very rigorous in selecting authors. We commission one author per destination, not a research team," says publisher Bill Newlin. "Moon authors own the copyright to their work."

Note: Avalon is an imprint of Perseus Books.