It will be easier, but you will pay 2x-4x more than you would if you were local and on-site watching.What's your plan for watching the rehab? 

As well as doing annual inspections on HVAC systems, make sure detectors are working properly, air filters are changed and just to make sure the tenant is taking care of the property? 

My initial plan was to buy homes at wholesale price, fix them and retail them through an agent.

The initial plan was to slowly rent out the spare rooms and renovate until a refinance/moving out and onto the next property made financial sense. 

I was thinking that the cleaning fee could simply be covered by whatever the host is currently charging their guests, and the maintenance fee could be a set monthly amount to cover basic needs such as pool cleaning/maintenance, lawn care, pool deck cleaning, and minor touchups.What do you all think about this?

I would investigate the tax implications of your plan to sell the existing house.

However, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting took forever, to do the reviews,  comments and approval. 

Managing the $37,413 renovation budget required careful oversight to ensure timely completion.

HELOC then you can use the equity for another deal but I would only use it if its for a flip or brrr or possibly if have a plan to pay the heloc off over short period of time.

I would suggest making sure you are screening your tenants very carefully.