Can I speak to the goblin of the house?

Don: Ok, so my spanish can use a bit of work. Mau and I were at this splurge hotel in this tiny town called Cabanaconde. The town is tiny and dirty and non-descript but the hotel was splendid with waterfalls and flowers. Just beautifully decorated and really comfortable so I was wondering if the owners were foreign. It just didn't seem like your typical pueblo hospedaje, feel me? So I ask the manager who is the owner? What I actually asked was "quien es el duende?", and the manager looked at me with the international "huh" expression. Later on I put it all together. Here's a quick spanish lesson.

Dueño = owner, landlord
Duende = goblin, elf

I was asking who the goblin of the house was.
Ugggghhh, why don't they just speak english?