Sean Spicer turns first press conference into ad for Trump hotel: 'I encourage you to go there'

Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer took time out of his first official press conference on Thursday to "encourage" people to visit Donald Trump's Washington, D.C. hotel.

Although Trump has said that he has turned his business over to his sons, he reportedly made a visit to the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday.

At Spicer's press conference on Thursday, one reporter pointed out that the president-elect had scheduled another visit to the hotel to "promote the dining room."

"I think that's pretty smart," Spicer smiled. "I think the idea that he's going to his own hotel shouldn't be a shocker. It's a beautiful place, it's somewhere that he's very proud of. And I think it's symbolic of the kind of government that he's going to run... ahead of time and under budget."

"He's very proud, it's an absolutely stunning hotel," the press secretary added. "I encourage you to go there if you haven't been by."

"But I don't think the idea that president-elect Trump is having a reception at the Trump Hotel should be a shocker to anybody."

Reporters may have difficulty taking Spicer up on the offer to visit the Trump Hotel this week because the media have reportedly been banned from the premises.

Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast Jan. 19, 2017.