Is it customary that they have their process displayed online or in a pricing guide so I can shop around?

Anyway, I'm thinking maybe HF has more advantage for online bidding, as they could essentially create many virtual IDs and have a large pool of fund to leverage.

You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp.

Is there any online services/tools where I can do the above DIY?

You can also do this online, but harder to build trust.

I'd recommend starting to network with local REIA and joining community groups or online forums related to real estate.

The way I do it is go to the property records for the county online find the owner's info and then Google search their phone number.

So, you'd want to go into it knowing you were going to: go all out to beat your competition, have a distinctive property, stand out online, and have your return compensate you for the headache of running a little hospitality business.Does that help? 

Unfortunately, I don't think it's realistic that you will find a generic commercial lease online that checks all the compliance boxes for your state, city, and county.There are limited service property managers that will do retail tenant placement (rather than full property management, which it seems like would be overkill for this one commercial unit you manage), and this would be included as part of that basket of services.You could also hire a lawyer, but I think that property management company will be more cost effective. 

Since you mentioned investing out of state, I'm assuming you're asking about getting a partner online, or at least not a friend/acquaintance.