On https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/topic/51649-does-the-governing-body-live-on-campus-or-off-campus/page/3/ JW Insider says:
I traveled with only one member of the Governing Body during the time that I was handling work assignments for him. It was only two times, and both times to Europe, so it isn't a lot of experience from which to extrapolate what other members of the Governing Body were doing. The longest trip was about 6 weeks, in 1978, during which time we visited about 12 countries, stopping at the branch offices in 10 of them and attending the "International Assembly" in the other two. After London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Nice/Cannes, we split up after the assembly in Rome (in the wake of a Pope's recent death) and the GB member went to Germany, Denmark, and Sweden while I worked for a week in the branch office in Athens, and then caught up again in Hamburg after one-day stops in Bern, Innsbruck, and Wiesbaden. Then back to London, full circle.
He was traveling on WTS funds that covered flights and basic hotels for both himself and his wife. His travel and accommodations were subsidized by regular gifts he had received from speaking assignments, and these were considered personal gifts which he was able to keep for himself. He did not schedule any public talks on this one particular trip since we were traveling during the summer assembly season. During another trip, I saw first-hand that such talks could result in a lot of 'green handshakes' and even an official branch-approved collection of contributions set up just for his travel and accommodations. The Branch did not assume that a GB member wanted to stay in one of the rooms in the branch office, or at a brother's home, and a couple of the smaller branches had no extra guest room anyway. This particular GB member sometimes stayed in fully gifted resort hotel accommodations instead of the branch, but it was also a chance for his wife to take a breather -- a real vacation. I don't mean to sound sexist, but my guess is that wives probably insisted on a change of pace, away from regular branch routines. I stayed in branches or homes of local witness families, while he stayed almost exclusively in nice hotels and 'resort-style hotels.' I took the train and even slept on the train a couple times (and on a ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Corfu, Greece), while he flew most places. I think that only his NYC-to-London flight was first class, -- while my flight was something called 'Freddy Laker' to London for $99, a stand-by arrangement where I had to camp out at the airport the night before.
(So, although we would meet up at the Branch offices, it was not really the same as traveling with the GB, on that trip, at least. Of course, I am grateful that I got nearly 6 weeks "vacation" in Europe, which would have been impossible without the request of a GB member. I had only earned between 2 to 3 weeks on my own. But even here, there are "stickler" rules at Bethel, that required me to work at the branch in Athens to earn an extra week or so. Or perhaps it got me out of his hair during a time when this GB member was exploring a 'judicial case' centered mostly in Sweden.)
I know that some of the unmarried members of the GB often stayed at the branch offices. This included Fred Franz himself, who had no problem staying in whatever extra room was available, or a local brother's home. This was apparently also true of at least half of the nearly 17-member GB at that time. Flying first class and staying at first class accommodations on WTS funds was only approved for business travel for factory representatives like Larson (non-GB), Wheelock, (non-GB), Henschel, etc., as had previously been done for Knorr, Suiter, etc.
After Russel and Rutherford, life at the Bethel Home itself was only incrementally more comfortable for members of the GB, and it was apparently based on the same 'seniority' arrangement all Bethelites utilized to obtain their choice of rooms (based on years of full-time service). Of course, even though I had the same size corner room in the Towers Hotel, their extra funds allowed them to make it look like luxury for only two persons, relative to my room being shared among four of us. However, visiting and touring at Patterson, I didn't see inside any rooms, but noticed that all rooms seemed to be pretty much the same size.
Just based on experience, I don't believe GB members are given special accommodations that are that much different than any other Bethelite.
